JUNKPUNK
- November 12, 2021
- SCT
- 14h median play time
Get on Steam"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."
Reviews
- The game has a unique and interesting concept of cleaning up a junk-filled planet and terraforming it, which is engaging and fun.
- The graphics and atmosphere are appealing, creating an immersive environment that enhances the gameplay experience.
- The core mechanics of resource gathering and crafting are satisfying, providing a rewarding sense of progress as players build and automate their factories.
- The game currently lacks content, with only one main quest available, leading to a feeling of emptiness after completing it.
- The user interface and controls are clunky and unintuitive, making building and managing resources frustrating at times.
- There are significant bugs and performance issues, including crashes and problems with power management and automation systems, which detract from the overall experience.
- story61 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 82 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around terraforming a polluted planet, but players find it lacking depth and clarity, often feeling like they are left to create their own narrative. While the initial quests provide a basic framework, many players report a tedious grind for resources and a lack of guidance, leading to frustration. Despite these issues, some players appreciate the unique premise and are hopeful for future updates that will expand the storyline and gameplay.
“The game's quest chain starts with simple instructions to guide you into learning the interface and crafting.”
“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.”
- gameplay44 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a grindy resource-gathering loop that can be satisfying, yet is marred by clunky mechanics and a lack of optimization. While the core mechanics show potential and provide a rewarding experience in building automation, many players find the gameplay tedious and unoriginal, with several aspects needing significant reworking. Overall, despite its flaws, the game offers enjoyable moments and a solid foundation for future improvements as it continues to develop in early access.
“The 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.”
“Indeed, one of the main strengths of this game is the mining of individual piles of trash - like the first week of a new farm in Stardew Valley, this game puts the satisfaction of 'cleanup' gameplay first and foremost.”
“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. I personally managed to complete the terraforming tasks in around 3 to 4 hours. For being early access, this game has amazing potential for being a great game down the line.”
“Awkward gameplay at this time, and currently the developer claims they're reworking the entire campaign from the first major milestone onwards.”
“The gameplay loop is absolutely missing.”
“It's clunky, it's unoriginal, and it has grind mechanics from the start.”
- grinding37 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 excessively tedious and time-consuming, particularly in the early stages. While some appreciate the satisfying mechanics of resource gathering, others criticize the clunky UI and slow progression, leading to frustration and a lack of motivation to continue. Overall, the game offers a significant amount of grinding, which can be enjoyable for some but overwhelming for others, especially given its current unfinished state.
“To reach both missions (monolith 1 and 2) you need a crazy amount of resources, a whole lot of grinding, and maybe for nothing if the developers finally come with an update and maybe (as far as I know, nobody knows) your saves are gone.”
“After 37 hours of grinding (picking up junk), I'm still waiting for the game to begin.”
“One big complaint I have, and I'm not sure if this was designed due to the lack of content at this time, but 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.”
- graphics36 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the aesthetic as "gorgeous" and "well done," particularly highlighting the weather and lighting effects. However, others criticize the visuals as outdated, likening them to Xbox 360 standards, and note that while the art style is appealing, it lacks polish and can feel inconsistent. Overall, while the graphics have their strengths, they are overshadowed by gameplay issues and a lack of innovation in visual design.
“The graphics and atmospheric effects are gorgeous.”
“I think the graphics are really nice and the world has plenty to explore, it seems.”
“Good graphics – both artwork and effects.”
“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.”
“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.”
“Graphics is supposed to be retro but in reality it's just bad and when you then 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 buggy equipment, you will start to realize that even for that cheap price you have been tricked by a nice looking trailer again.”
- atmosphere13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its engaging and immersive qualities, reminiscent of classic titles like Fallout and featuring a post-apocalyptic vibe akin to Wall-E. Players appreciate the beautiful graphics and atmospheric effects, which enhance the overall experience, although some express disappointment with the lack of direction and content after initial tasks are completed. Overall, the game's atmosphere is a standout element that captivates players despite some gameplay shortcomings.
“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.”
“Game has atmosphere, but it's not actually a game.”
“Once I got the atmosphere generator up and running, there was no more direction and really nothing to do.”
“And I found myself so hoping that after cleaning up the atmosphere, I would get new techs.”
- music12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % 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 find it strong and fitting, a few feel it could be improved to better suit their personal tastes. Overall, the soundtrack enhances the gaming experience, making it a notable aspect of the game.
“Fantastic game, well thought out, good music, sounds, good rendering.”
“The music is actually enjoyable.”
“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.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the optimization of the game is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the stability and variety of resources that encourage factory layout optimization, many report significant performance issues, especially as complexity increases. Early access status is acknowledged, but persistent bugs, clunky user experience, and a lack of necessary optimizations detract from the overall enjoyment, leading to frustration for players.
“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.”
- stability8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report minimal bugs that can be resolved with a simple save and load, others experience significant issues that hinder gameplay. As an early access title, it is expected to have bugs and glitches, with many users anticipating improvements in future updates. A few players have noted a lack of major concerns, but the presence of repetitive sound effects and incomplete features suggests that the game is still a work in progress.
“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.”
“It's still a little buggy.”
“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.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from the amusing interactions with quirky objects for the robot to wear and the comical animations of the robot as it scurries around, creating a lighthearted and entertaining 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.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy has been criticized as a cash grab, suggesting that players feel the game prioritizes profit over player experience.
“This game feels like a cash grab!”
“The monetization is overly aggressive and ruins the experience.”
“I can't enjoy the game because of all the paywalls.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players note that even in its early development, the game offers a degree of replayability, particularly through the exploration of different automation features. This suggests that users are encouraged to revisit the game to experiment with various 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.”
“After completing the game once, I found little incentive to go back and play again. The lack of varied outcomes really diminishes replayability.”
“While the game is enjoyable, I don't see myself returning to it after finishing the main story. The replayability factor is quite low.”
