Dyson Sphere Program Review (PAX AU TELEMANUS)
As controversial as it is to say and with the caveat that I haven't played Factorio's latest expansion.... I'll say that DSP is the best Automation game. I say this with 213 hours in Factorio and 338 hours in Satisfactory. Both are excellent games and shine in their ways. DSP gets the number 1 spot because it offers the most fulfilling experience overall.
The best way I can think of putting it is imagine if a game did everything Factorio did but better except for the sense of danger and pressure from alien attacks. Then take that same game and have it do everything Satisfactory does but better except for the visual experience of exploring Satisfactory.
That would give DSP the crown in its:
recipe complexity
challenge to source resources
time to achieve satisfying results
sense of progression
visual appearance of active automations
sense of intrigue in what you're building towards
complexity of factory planning (without overly burdening the experience}
cleanliness of very complex factory designs, increasing the satisfaction of the build
reliability of logistics systems
scientifically relevant, albeit theoretical in the late game, materials and technologies
I could go on but you get the idea that the experience from beginning to end and for every play-through is amazing.
The down side is you don't get the never-ending pressure and sense of urgency Factorio's alien attacks add to the experience. The addition of enemies to DSP is welcome and enjoyable for what it is... at best a light-hearted tower defense and at worst a slightly repetitive planet/space defense removal process.
The down side is you don't get to go cave diving or get the sense of skydiving 100's of meters while exploring that you would in Satisfactory. While there are 100's of diverse planets to explore across multiple galaxies, being able to circle any planet in about 30 seconds doesn't allow for much fulfillment and traveling through dark, cold space is understandably not very scenic.
However, if you ever wanted to play the best automation game and didn't need lots of bullets or beautiful water as a requirement, you've come to the right place.