Have you got the ..... not as good as syndrome

[mjs warlord]

Yes i know its a strange title but this seems to stop me getting games similar to what i have already done.

As you all know my go to game is satisfactory and whilst waiting for them to release new content i have been looking at similar types of games and i have lost count of the number of times i have said ...... not as good as ( satisfactory ) ...... maybe its because coffee stain studios set the bar very high for other to try and follow.

Factorio seems to have a lot of good reports but to me the top down view reminds me of games that were made in the early 1980's

 

[neogunhero]

..... maybe its because coffee stain studios set the bar very high for other to try and follow.

That's really the main issue. A well-made game that raises the bar for standards and quality makes every other game that doesn't quite reach that bar less interesting to the player. Of course, that is subjective as different people can handle different levels of quality.

Take my girlfriend for example, one of the very first video games she was really into and obsessed over was Red Dead Redemption 2. When I first showed her that game, she immediately became obsessed and played it for hundreds of hours. Everything from the voice acting, animations, storyline, graphics, ambient audio, everything set the bar of quality extremely high for her. Every game that she played afterwards just was not good enough, even if it was an entirely different game. She expected the same level of quality to be able to enjoy any other game besides RDR2. It took a while to get her to lower her standards because unfortunately, not every game will hit that same level of quality that RDR2 did, arguably no other game has surpassed that bar in terms of singleplayer 3D action games.

I think the biggest thing is to have a more open mind and give some other games a chance. It will be very hard since Satisfactory has set that level of quality in your mind but being open to new experiences and games may come with some surprises. You may find that Factorio scratches that same itch that Satisfactory did, even with a totally different graphics style, and you may get hooked on it just the same.

 

[mjs warlord]

That's really the main issue. A well-made game that raises the bar for standards and quality makes every other game that doesn't quite reach that bar less interesting to the player. Of course, that is subjective as different people can handle different levels of quality.

Take my girlfriend for example, one of the very first video games she was really into and obsessed over was Red Dead Redemption 2. When I first showed her that game, she immediately became obsessed and played it for hundreds of hours. Everything from the voice acting, animations, storyline, graphics, ambient audio, everything set the bar of quality extremely high for her. Every game that she played afterwards just was not good enough, even if it was an entirely different game. She expected the same level of quality to be able to enjoy any other game besides RDR2. It took a while to get her to lower her standards because unfortunately, not every game will hit that same level of quality that RDR2 did, arguably no other game has surpassed that bar in terms of singleplayer 3D action games.

I think the biggest thing is to have a more open mind and give some other games a chance. It will be very hard since Satisfactory has set that level of quality in your mind but being open to new experiences and games may come with some surprises. You may find that Factorio scratches that same itch that Satisfactory did, even with a totally different graphics style, and you may get hooked on it just the same.

I just looked at a few videos of RDR2 ... i think i might just give it a try

 

[Johnway]

yes, plenty of games i look for the budget or the like X but not as good. They fall in the same genre but not as polished or quite stick the landing to be brilliant. JRPGs, dungeon crawlers, Squad based tactical RTS, survival horror games, shooters etc etc. might need to think up a list first though.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Yes i know its a strange title but this seems to stop me getting games similar to what i have already done.

As you all know my go to game is satisfactory and whilst waiting for them to release new content i have been looking at similar types of games and i have lost count of the number of times i have said ...... not as good as ( satisfactory ) ...... maybe its because coffee stain studios set the bar very high for other to try and follow.

Factorio seems to have a lot of good reports but to me the top down view reminds me of games that were made in the early 1980's

Yep, I pretty much try just about all the new factory games that come out, and I end up disappointed.

 

[Pifanjr]

Not really. One of the most important things about a new video game for me is that it provides me with a novel experience. Almost every game adds their own unique twist or mechanics even if it looks a lot like other games I've played.

This means that most games cannot live up to my experience of when I played it for the first time, giving new games a leg up over replaying a game even if they don't execute their mechanics quite as well.

The main exception here is games that I never "finished". For example, I put a lot of hours into Dwarf Fortress, but there's still a ton of content I've never seen. So any new colony sim game has to compete with the breadth of unexplored content in Dwarf Fortress and most simply don't look interesting enough to give them a try over trying Dwarf Fortress again. Rimworld being a notable exception, but also yet another colony sim I haven't nearly seen every bit of content from, making it even less likely I'll give other colony sims a chance.

Games with such a large amount of content are extremely rare though, I get bored of most games pretty quickly.

 

[Zloth]

A game doesn't have to be better than what I played before. It just has to be better than what I would get out of the older game by playing it a second time.

 

[Colif]

If you start with the best, it can be difficult to find anything that matches it. No reason you should lower your standards just cause other games can't match it.

Now that you have tried the alternatives, you can save your money as you know you have the best already.

niche games are like that.
It just takes someone who thinks they can improve on what Satisfactory has done, and brings something unique to the market before you might find something better.

 

[Slasken]

Factorio seems to have a lot of good reports but to me the top down view reminds me of games that were made in the early 1980's

It might look simple, but the gameplay is very deep. Once you start playing it, you realize why graphics are like this, and a top down view has some advantage in a game like this. Give it a try, I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[Colif]

They erred on the side of smoothness and no lag
If the graphics were amazing it would behave like Cities Skylines 2 when it comes to reaction times.
Instead they chose simpler graphics to let engine run game smoother
Its not a simple game underneath. There are a lot of moving parts

I haven't played it, but I have watched others play it.

 

[DXCHASE]

Not a city-builder player but this is certainly the case right now within the ARPG space. Each different ARPG played im always saying, at one point, "this game doesnt do this as well as...".

That's really the main issue. A well-made game that raises the bar for standards and quality makes every other game that doesn't quite reach that bar less interesting to the player. Of course, that is subjective as different people can handle different levels of quality.

I agree, and, to another extent, its seeing as a gamer, a huge, well funded, well known company making sub-par games as opposed to smaller studios hitting the nail on the head for the type of game being played in the same space. I can handle different levels of quality but gamers expect a certain bar to already be there for said company and they actively miss it it seems.

If you like TBC games with some parry/dodge mechanisms id say check out Expedition 33. Its beautiful and has a really good story with good voice acting. Or, youve said you like dungeon crawlers, maybe check out some of the games in the ARPG space.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Yeah I have that feeling literally every time I play a current game that's well optimized and polished, then play one of the many these days that aren't. I know it's not what you mean, but does genre really matter much, especially since it's so personal preference? We all know what kind of games we like, but they do at least need to perform adequately, and not be riddled with bugs and crashing.

For me, The Last of Us Part 2 has been much better than expected performance rand polish wise. That said, it's got a lot more scenarios than the first game where you're fighting with companion AI. They tend to get in your way a lot, and at times blow your stealth when they get spotted by enemy AI. The game is a bit unpredictable in that regard, as it's mostly like Ghost Recon Wildlands where friendlies are supposed to be invisible until player is seen. Doesn't always work that way though.

I've also had them get right in front of me at times while trying to move in to do a sneak kill on an enemy, and they quite often take cover spots you want to take, and you can't get them to move if they took it first. They'll also bump you a bit out of cover if you've taken a spot that's not really big enough for two.

That said, it's definitely still a game worth playing, and offers a ton of challenging stealth segments and epic boss battles. I'm not a big fan of muscle bound Abby, but hopefully someone will make a mod using her likeness a bit earlier in the game where you play as her in a flashback and she's not muscle bound.