JUNKPUNK

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"JunkPunk is a 2-5 player cooperative Science Fiction Real Time Strategy game, both online and single-player. Explore a vast open world to collect and refine scrap materials, craft tools, and regrow plant life to transform the planet's atmosphere. Experience a captivating plot and stunning visuals as you cleanse and restore the planet to prosperity."

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Play Modes

Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 718 reviews

story16 positive mentions

grinding76 negative mentions

The game has a unique and interesting concept of cleaning up a junk-filled planet and terraforming it.
The visuals and atmosphere are appealing, creating an engaging environment for players.
The developers are active and responsive to community feedback, showing potential for future improvements.

The game feels unfinished and lacks substantial content, with only one main mission currently available.
The user interface and controls are clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustration during gameplay.
There are significant issues with gameplay mechanics, such as power management and resource gathering, which detract from the overall experience.

story
122 mentions
13 % positive mentions
84 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around terraforming a polluted planet, but players find it lacking depth and clarity, often feeling like they must create their own narrative. While the initial quest progression introduces basic mechanics, many players report frustration with unclear objectives and a lack of guidance, leading to repetitive gameplay. Although some enjoy the setting and potential for future updates, the current storyline is seen as shallow, with limited content available at this early stage of release.
- “I really enjoy the game and the story is taking shape more and more.”
- “This was actually an interesting story point; while exploring, you find out about machines and plans to turn the planet from a literal dump to a habitable slice of space.”
- “I really like the story and setting they have created.”
- “The story (if you want to call it a story) is shallow and explained with few words.”
- “There is no reason, no incentive to build anything or progress the storyline (if there is one).”
- “Currently there are no further missions once you complete the monolith tasks, but the developers plan to add more missions as they continue to work on the game.”
gameplay
89 mentions
10 % positive mentions
83 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this early access title is characterized by a rewarding production setup and resource management loop, though it suffers from clunky mechanics and a lack of optimization. Players appreciate the potential for enjoyable moments and the satisfaction of cleanup gameplay, but many find the experience marred by tedious tasks, unoriginal mechanics, and a general absence of a cohesive gameplay loop. While the game shows promise for future improvements, current gameplay can feel grindy and lacks challenge, with some core mechanics still needing refinement.
- “Gameplay loop is extremely pleasant and it feels rewarding to build up your production setup towards full, self-sufficient and perfectly 'on time' automation with the least number of machines necessary for the task.”
- “You spend most of your gameplay time figuring out how to produce something you need, building what you need to produce it, and collecting raw materials.”
- “The initial gameplay has a little bit of a learning curve, once you've managed to understand how things work, the gameplay generally progresses rather quickly. For being early access, this game has amazing potential for being a great game down the line.”
- “The gameplay loop is absolutely missing.”
- “Very clunky building and mechanics in this game.”
- “It's clunky, it's unoriginal and it has grind mechanics from the start.”
grinding
76 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly in the early stages where resource gathering can feel overwhelming and unfulfilling. While some appreciate the grind as a necessary part of progression, others criticize the clunky UI and controls that exacerbate the experience, leading to frustration. Overall, the game offers a significant amount of grinding, which can be enjoyable for some but may deter others due to its lack of polish and engaging content.
- “After 37 hours of grinding (picking up junk), I'm still waiting for the game to begin.”
- “One big complaint I have is that gathering the necessary materials to start the terraforming process takes a ton of grinding time, which after a little bit got very repetitive and redundant.”
- “The map is bland, there's zero incentive to build a base, the character and asset design looks like a toddler started to make stuff, then got bored, and the harvesting is insanely grindy and boring.”
graphics
75 mentions
51 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the overall aesthetic, atmospheric effects, and smooth performance, particularly highlighting the weather and lighting effects. However, some players feel that while the visuals are appealing, they lack polish and can be inconsistent, with comparisons made to other titles in the genre that offer superior graphics. Overall, the game's junk-punk aesthetic is appreciated by some, but others believe it falls short of expectations, particularly in terms of gameplay experience and visual coherence.
- “The graphics and atmospheric effects are gorgeous.”
- “I think the graphics are really nice and the world has plenty to explore, it seems.”
- “Good fun, great graphics.”
- “The only thing that could be done to make this game interesting and worth playing would be to expand on the visual aesthetics and maybe try to do something more interesting with the idea of playing as a robot.”
- “Graphics is supposed to be retro but in reality it's just bad, and when you realize that the cool world in the trailer is just a backdrop, and the reality is that you're on a mission to grind 6000 basic components with poorly designed equipment that is bugged and generally nonfunctional, you will start to realize that even for that cheap price, you have been tricked by a nice looking trailer again.”
- “Slow progression, tedious material management, painful UI mouse mode swaps when building and managing inventories... painful UX in general, inconsistent behaviors of keyboard keys, frustrating gameplay, and unpolished graphics.”
atmosphere
27 mentions
44 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its engaging and immersive qualities, reminiscent of classic titles like Fallout and infused with a post-apocalyptic vibe akin to Wall-E. Players appreciate the gorgeous graphics and atmospheric effects, which contribute to a feel-good experience, despite some initial jankiness and a lack of direction after certain tasks are completed. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature that enhances the game's appeal, even if it sometimes overshadows gameplay elements.
- “I was a little put off by some of the jankiness at first, but the atmosphere and world quickly won me over.”
- “Junkpunk has the feel-good factor of Wall-E or No Place Like Home, and a cool post-apocalyptic vibe with some great atmospherics and scenery.”
- “Aside from a great core concept, the game also features an atmosphere that reminds me of classic Fallout and truly establishes this idea of junkpunk.”
- “Once I got the atmosphere generator up and running, there was no more direction and really nothing to do.”
- “I found myself hoping that after cleaning up the atmosphere, I would get new techs.”
- “It took me about 6 hours to finish the task to clean the atmosphere, and I am no speed gamer.”
music
24 mentions
50 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players praising its enjoyable and upbeat nature that complements the game's ambiance. While some feel it could be improved, the overall consensus highlights it as a strong point, enhancing the gaming experience without being overwhelming. Additionally, players appreciate the inclusion of collectible songs and the variety of music tracks available.
- “The music is actually enjoyable.”
- “But the music is upbeat and not nerve-wracking, so we may be able to go longer than expected.”
- “The ambiance of the planet and the music track go well together.”
- “Music seems fitting although it leaves a bit to be desired for my tastes.”
- “Oh and you occasionally get a nifty cosmetic item, piece of music or find out some little tidbit about the inhabitants that lived there but basically, it's just scrapping.”
- “But the music is upbeat and not nerve-wracking so we may be able to go longer than expected.”
optimization
17 mentions
18 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
24 % negative mentions
Overall, the optimization of the game is a mixed bag; while it demonstrates stability and encourages factory layout optimization, players report significant performance issues, especially as complexity increases. Many users find the user experience clunky and frustrating, with bugs and slow performance detracting from the gameplay. Despite some acceptable performance on mid-range systems, the game lacks the necessary polish and optimization to stand out in its genre.
- “Resources and sources thereof are well varied, and encourage optimization of the factory layout.”
- “Seriously, the game is weirdly well made as far as stability and optimization goes.”
- “I'm sure it could be optimized much faster than my approach, but it also never necessitated any investment in learning or developing these pipeline mechanics.”
- “The bugs, performance issues, and clunky UX alone make it frustrating to play, but when I have so many other games that do the exact same thing and more, it really just makes me question why this game exists.”
- “Nothing about this game is optimized.”
- “Performance on my mid-range graphics card was acceptable at any resolution or preset, but the game consistently 'felt' slow in intangible ways - a toggle run button may have helped a lot in this regard, and the drag-and-drop interface routinely felt clunky and imprecise (several times I was trying to move an item from inventory to a storage crate or vice-versa only to end up dropping it on the ground instead) - there are numerous look-and-feel improvements to be made.”
stability
16 mentions
25 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
75 % negative mentions
The game's stability is mixed, with some players reporting minor bugs that can often be resolved by saving and reloading, while others have experienced significant issues leading to refunds. As an early access title, it is expected to have glitches and incomplete features, but many users note that these problems are likely to be addressed in future updates. Overall, while some players find it relatively stable, others caution potential buyers about its current state.
- “It's not too buggy, and most issues can be fixed with a simple save and load.”
- “It's not buggy, but they are still working on implementing core mechanics and features.”
- “This is an 'early access' game and with that comes bugs, glitches, and a lot of empty space.”
- “Refunded after 20 minutes; it's buggy and not really playable.”
- “The only other problems I have are things that will likely be addressed in future updates, like extremely repetitive sound effects and various bugs/glitches that will get patched along the way.”
humor
4 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from the amusing objects players can equip their robot with, as well as the comical animations of the robot as it scurries around energetically. This lighthearted approach adds a playful charm to the gameplay experience.
- “You find funny objects for your robot to wear, and you can upgrade your robot and drill.”
- “It's very funny to control the little robot, running and leaping around like it’s in a big hurry.”
monetization
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been widely criticized by users, with many labeling it a "cash grab" that prioritizes profit over player experience.
- “Cash grab!”
- “Cash grab!”
replayability
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Users note that the game offers a degree of replayability, particularly through the exploration of automation features, even in its early development stage. This suggests that players are encouraged to revisit the game to experiment with different strategies and mechanics.
- “I'm going to replay today and experiment more with the automation aspects, so even at this early stage of development, there's some replayability.”