Mindustry Honest Review: Another 2d Factorio Clone?

WHAT IS MINDUSTRY?

Mindustry is a sandbox factory game developed by Anuke with tower defence and command-and-conquer elements. It’s available for both PC and mobile, though the PC and iOS versions are paid.

WHAT’S THE GAMEPLAY LIKE? IS IT GOOD?

The core gameplay involves conquering a planet. You start by being dropped onto a planet with the most basic tech, like simple conveyor belts, drills, and towers. Your main goal is to collect resources, refine them, use them for research, and launch into another sector to conquer it, then repeat.

Each sector on the planet offers two possible game modes: Attack or Defence.

• In an Attack Sector, you build supply lines to your unit factories to create drones for attacking the enemy core. At the same time, you need to defend your supply lines and core, as the enemy can also create drones and attack you.
• The Defence Sector is more straightforward. You defend your core from waves of enemies by building turrets or creating drones to defend specific areas.

While the gameplay sounds simple, the real charm of the game lies in how you build your factories. You refine resources, mine them, and create systems to defend your supply lines from enemies who could attack at any time.

As an avid player of this game, I find the gameplay loop highly addictive. I also have a deep fascination with micromanagement-heavy games like this one.

BEYOND SERPULO: THE CHALLENGE OF EREKIR

Aside from the first planet (Serpulo), there’s another, much more difficult planet called Erekir. The mechanics are more complex here. For example, towers require more resources to operate, and transporting those resources becomes more challenging.

Take Surge Alloy production as an example:

• On Serpulo, you feed the surge crucible lead, titanium, copper, silicone, and large amounts of power.
• On Erekir, it’s more complicated. You need silicone, slag (lava), power, and heat to produce the same alloy. Heat is a new mechanic on Erekir—certain buildings need heat to function or to boost their efficiency.

I won’t go into all the mechanics because it’s better to experience them yourself.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Mindustry offers more than just another 2D factory experience. With its blend of resource management, tower defence, and strategy, it delivers a unique and satisfying gameplay loop. If you’re a fan of factory games and love micromanagement, this one is definitely worth checking out.

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