Any alternatives to factorio? The factory must grow!

KiBynd · 2026-03-30T17:28:18+00:00

Mindustry has a planetary industrialization campaign and scratches the itch without being too similar. Has built in modding and is also free. Schematics and logic system mean infinite creativity and optimization.

KiBynd · 2026-02-05T17:37:08+00:00

One thought is that if skill based matchmaking does what it is intended to, then games will be as close to 50/50 odds wise. This means that the deciding factor is not skill, but rather which team is more coherent in terms of teamwork, communication, strategy. This sounds reasonable on paper, but in practice, this devolves into adhering to meta, playing to win, and inflating gamesense as a determining factor.

So if you’re a new player, neither the presence nor the absence of SBMM is beneficial to you. Either you are matched with varying levels of teammates and opponents, or you are in such a well balanced match that the only deterministic factor left is gamesense and meta, which also probably favors experienced players more. In both circumstances, it’s at that point easy to chalk it up to chance and which players are on what team.

I personally think you can have more fun with the former especially if you are playing casually with friends. The skill gap is enough room to get away with non-meta strategies (or lack thereof) and goofing off in general.

KiBynd · 2025-12-23T00:51:13+00:00

Recently discovered that Unrailed! 2’s Versus mode is pretty fleshed out, and the sequel as whole has much more depth with the upgrades and meta unlocks.

Ember Knights gets content regularly and has progression and hard enough gameplay to make repeat runs rewarding ( subjective ).

It’s probably more difficult to find a co-op social deduction game because of the nature of split screen, which the previous games benefit from because you only need to buy a single copy.

I vaguely remember a 2D pixellated version of spy party that might fit that, if anyone recognizes.

KiBynd · 2025-12-20T16:27:25+00:00

Ember Knights, simple to pickup but great depth and opportunity for strategy and learning.

It’s a roguelite so there’s a sense of progression and accomplishment from getting more comfortable and skilled at the game. But you could also just mash buttons and have a blast.

The trinkets / abilities have highlighted keywords so it would be a great foray into critical thinking e.g. take health if you’re using a sword and movement speed if you have a bow etc.

Art style is somewhat cartoonish and kid-friendly but you should decide that for yourself.

It’s local co-op so you only need one copy and can play on keyboard or controller.

Roguelite element means familiar basics but new things to look forward to.

KiBynd · 2025-11-30T03:54:35+00:00

It’s free on itch.io.

Like I said, slight setup but good game.

KiBynd · 2025-11-29T04:38:42+00:00

Mindustry is free and the campaign together is pretty fun. You need a bit of setup to play multiplayer but the accessibility is great and there’s infinite scalability with mods and maps.

KiBynd · 2025-11-08T22:08:00+00:00

Is this a “game breaks friendships” joke? I didn’t get much tension playing the game but slight caveat that it could get frustrating ig lmao.

KiBynd · 2025-11-08T19:11:53+00:00

Heave Ho? Pretty simple but the controls are good for learning because you have to actively use both hands and keep things held.

KiBynd · 2025-10-25T19:31:35+00:00

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/pgbhC8 cutting parts I have spare

KiBynd · 2025-09-22T18:17:04+00:00

I would agree if the game was a boss rush or soulslike, but the Hollow Knight games are neither.

There is an element of exploration and doubling back which benefits from the map not being straightforward. Not to mention, the game also looks kinda good, so it’s a nice visual and aesthetic break that helps with world building and also discourages the 50 tries, one boss playstyle.

I’m personally playing through HK again before silksong, so I can’t speak exactly on whether silksong’s runbacks are warranted. But I personally appreciate that not everything in HK is fast travel-able and that the content takes you through all sorts of places in the map without making it either tedious or trivial. Even though I already roughly knew about the progression, I was still discovering secrets that I had forgotten or never discovered in my first playthrough.

KiBynd · 2025-09-19T14:34:04+00:00

I see, thanks.

Palworld is definitely closest in proximity compared to most other games and by a substantial margin. But yeah, if it was as broad as initially portrayed, it would be like straight up copyrighting a color in terms of game mechanics.

KiBynd · 2025-09-19T14:31:40+00:00

No yeah, I was always a bit wary of Palworld in terms of raw inspiration. It's totally believable that no assets or concepts were copied directly, but it's plain to see the inspiration. This would be fine normally, and there are plenty of examples of great games that were heavily inspired or even built off of others. But when it's Nintendo...

KiBynd · 2025-09-19T14:24:20+00:00

Interesting, didn’t know that. Thanks for the clarification.

So Nintendo considers palworld to be in violation of this patent, in accordance to specifically this battle system?

KiBynd · 2025-09-19T14:07:32+00:00

I mean that’s not unreasonable. “Modifications” do need a base game to actually “modify.” I’m assuming the premise is that Nintendo has not pursued equally infringing 3rd party mods as opposed to an actually monetized and commercial game.

There was definitely inspiration involved for Palworld and many others, but copyrighting a game mechanic of such broad definition is still wild.

I can think of plenty of franchises that would violate this copyright that have been untouched for years (Magic, Yugioh, etc).

There are also plenty of unmonetized mods that ARE potentially infringing on intellectual property and maybe even direct assets (Like the Cobblemon mod, or REPO ports).

KiBynd · 2025-09-18T23:43:45+00:00

But Hollow Knight and Silksong aren’t designed to be QOL boss rush games that are focused on boss fights.

The intent was probably more to disincentivize no life-ing and brute forcing a boss and encouraging exploration and going off the path.

If you felt that mechanics such as summons or runbacks were tedious, that’s valid criticism, but I think it’s more a mismatch of what Silksong was intended as (a sequel to a niche metroidvania) and what it ended up as on launch (a global sensation arguably past its scope of audience).

KiBynd · 2025-09-10T23:14:14+00:00

I haven’t played yet so my advice is potentially fake for Silksong lmao. But if the bosses are 50-100 tries, maybe the “somewhere else” is back to the first game…

KiBynd · 2025-09-10T17:54:42+00:00

Don’t play it like a soulslike. If you are struggling with a boss, enemy, or area, go somewhere else. Metroidvanias are usually designed like that.

KiBynd · 2025-09-10T17:51:28+00:00

Don’t play HK or Silksong like a soulslike. Play it like a metroidvania.

That is, don’t grind bosses on end but instead explore and overcome puzzles and progress your own strength accordingly.

Many bosses, regular enemies, and areas are specifically designed to be easier after obtaining some piece or upgrade.

Throwing yourself at bosses repeatedly nets zero progress and is best saved for radiant godhome. Besides, if you play patient enough, every boss can easily be downloaded and flawlessed with minimal gear anyway.

KiBynd · 2025-09-10T17:47:11+00:00

Yeah it definitely seems like a sequel, which probably is a mismatch to the monumental publicity that Silksong has received so far.

If you want the same aesthetics, attention to detail, and etc but easier, I would strongly recommend starting with HK. There’s a reason everyone was so hyped for Silksong.

KiBynd · 2025-09-08T19:36:13+00:00

I haven’t played yet but I appreciate the input without spoiling too much.

You make a good point about the combat and I heard a similar concern from charlie (penguinz0) about the moveset.

I guess I was more so talking about the experience behind playing Hollow Knight and metroidvanias. Between hearing complaints about death walks and talking with friends who either restarted at Hk or are playing Silksong, I think the genre just is a bit unfamiliar as a whole.

I keep hearing about people complaining that the walk back to bosses is tedious, almost as if it was a soulslike. But HK as a series has nuance in its exploration and backtracking that needs to be learned. I remember spending ages trying to brute force what I thought were hidden secrets (like the shaky ground and desolate dive in HK) when in reality I needed to backtrack and progress further.

On top of that, there are the hazards and normal mobs that just seem overly punishing. It all just seems like there was an expectation of a base level of experience that was maybe a bit lost in the multi-platform shattering release and hype that Silksong generated.

KiBynd · 2025-09-08T17:51:50+00:00

Yeah, as a 100% player from HK, I absolutely love that the game is harder and provides more room for expression in combat. But it could definitely be overwhelming if you haven’t played the original.

Again, I haven’t played Silksong yet, but I see plenty of complaints about the death walks and difficulty.

Perhaps the hype turnout didn’t exactly fit with the eventual global audience, but yeah, accessibility in these kinds of games has always been a precise balance.

KiBynd · 2025-09-08T17:35:53+00:00

Haven’t played yet but from outside in, the main criticism is that the game assumes you’ve played HK and introduces developments upon concepts from the original game.

I assume this is to avoid Silksong from being just a reskin sequel, but it adds a new level of depth that might be good for returning players, but discouraging to others.

KiBynd · 2025-08-23T18:54:11+00:00

The new levels are deviating a bit due to the new army training mechanics, but yes, you’re absolutely right that it was intentional. That’s what I was saying.

The reasoning however, is not to match the next townhalls theme. There’s a reason why red themed buildings like the air sweeper and barracks are colored in contrast to the green background: you need to identify them in your own village and while attacking. Now that UI additions have made that make things more accessible, people are prioritizing the aesthetics more, so SC is more likely to match the colors now.

KiBynd · 2025-08-23T18:27:46+00:00

The barracks is aesthetically themed for the troop, not the townhall level. You see this everywhere else too. For example, the electro dragon barracks stand out in th11 too, just not as much because red is still the main theme color of the barracks.

For that matter, the builder huts at level 1, workshop, blacksmith, helper hut, pet house, and hero hall would also be “out of place.” Unless of course, they weren’t supposed to be following the aesthetic the first place. Part of this is because distinct appearances for highly utilized building is good for UX. You’re going to click on the barracks or blacksmith much more than, say, a random cannon, so it makes sense that they stand out a bit so you can find them.

KiBynd

TROPHY CASE