Summary
There’s a lot of joy to be had in an ordered system, to see different partsworking in harmonyto perform a task at max efficiency. Such is the appeal of the Automation genre. These games usually start you out with tasks that are time-consuming and tedious to do yourself, but ware automatic once you set up the right number of interconnected machines.
A lot of these games are similar -and mostly indiedeveloped - especially since it’s a simple concept to start with that can balloon in complexity. However, some games in the genre just stand out, for the unique spin they provide, the excellence in their gameplay, or just how fun they are.
7Factorio
Arguably the founder of the automation and logistics genre, Factorio comes highly recommended. Chances are, if you’re here to begin with, it’s because of this game. But if you’ve never heard of Factorio, then you should give it a shot, especially if you need to scratch that itch.
This game might be on the pricier side for some, but it’s well worth it. Don’t wait on a sale though, because the dev promised that the price will never go down and will go up in the future to match inflation.
You start with little to your name except for the ability to harvest resources and a dream. Gather those resources to build machines and automate the process. Use these to build better machines or refine existing resources. Outfit yourself with weapons to defend yourself and turrets to defend your home. Repeat until you realize that everything is yours, working in clockwork rhythm to a beat you set.
6Satisfactory
In many ways,Satisfactoryis a simplified Factorio with fewer enemies. However, they have a very important difference: this one is in 3D and that makes all the difference in the world. Adding the extra dimension means that your supply and logistics have to keep things like angles and elevation in mind if you want your supply chains to work, much less work efficiently.
Exploration in this game is also a lot more satisfying than in other titles on this list, since you’ll have to climb and delve to find some of the more esoteric resources or alternate routes for resources. There are few things more satisfying than finding a cave system that allows your conveyor belts and vehicles to go through a mountain, rather than above it, or finding the same resource not on the other side of a mountain.
5Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure
This game has an interesting combination of elements that take it out from the shadow of Factorio. You control the titular Sparks, laying out their paths to do familiar tasks like gathering resources and moving those resources to the right place for refinement.
It’s a rarer variation of Automation game that tasks you with managing bots to move resources rather than conveyor belts. While functionally similar, this style forces you to deal with different logistical problems like finding the right amount of Sparks to run a production line without running into traffic jams, which are more likely when you cross different paths.
Also, this gameis a Pikmin-like, as those same Sparks that run your industries can follow you around while you explore. Much like in Pikmin, you throw those Sparks to fight enemies while also commanding their movements to prevent casualties. All of this is wrapped in a cozy woodland aesthetic.
4The Last Clockwinder
The Last Clockwinder, just by its nature, is the most unique game on this list. It’s a first person VR game where you record your actions and those actions are carried out by an automaton you leave behind. Simple and intuitive, this also has a surprising amount of depth and creative freedom to solve any given task.
The minimum specs to run this game are modest, but it requires an Oculus PC or OpenXR. It is also available on the Oculus Meta Quest.
Even something as simple as getting a piece of fruit from A to B is a joy to program, from the throw of the first robot to the catch and throw of the second one. This is probably one of the coolest and most inventive ways to do an automation game, and if you have a VR rig, then it’s definitely worth a go, even if it’s a little on the short side.
3Nova Lands
Nova Lands puts you in the boots of an explorer colonizing a new planet. It’s a cute little game with a 16-bit art style reminiscent of GBA or SNES games, but with a modern color palette. Aside from a surprising lack of a tutorial, it’s pretty newbie friendly and could be misconstrued as simplistic. Stick with it, and you’ll see that its later systems have some bite.
Another entry in the bot-logistics genre, this game is pretty easy to start with. It has the hallmarks of the Automation genre in a cutesy package, but with a few twists. The first is that there are NPCs for whom you can complete quests for which later function as shops.
The second is that the game takes place on a handful of islands, and if you want all the resources you need, you’ll have to jump between those islands and work out inter-island logistics chains.
2Rusty’s Retirement
Rusty’s Retirement is the most newbie-friendly game on this list, encouraging you to play at your own pace. In fact, since it’s also an idle/incremental game, sometimes it encourages you not to play at all.
If you get into this game, you’ll find yourself turning it on and forgetting about it while you complete other tasks or even play other games. Set it to Private Mode on Steam to avoid spamming your friends’ notifications.
Rusty’s Farm is yours to manage, but you can only do a few things directly: create farm plots and buildings, build bots, buy stuff, and plant seeds. The rest is done automatically by Rusty orany bots you’ve hiredor built. Though the work always eventually gets done, you can move it along by hiring new faces at the farm, which unlocks further functionalities and more efficient automation.
1Dyson Sphere Program
In this game, you enter a lifelike universal simulation with the goal of creating a network of the titular Dyson Spheres and making the stuff of the universe and complete the simulation. You do all this while fighting off periodic attacks from a swarm of robots called the Dark Fog.
For such a staggering goal, the game is surprisingly intuitive to pick up, especially if you have previous experience with automation games or RTSes. It’s standard automation stuff: harvest, process, automate, upgrade, etc. There’s RTS and Tower Defense elements mixed in too, but it’s all relatively simple to manage.
But you only start on one planet. Things go quickly off the rails as you set up networks on and with other planets. After all, it’s a lot of work to fully utilize the power of one sun, much less a network of them.
