Captain of Industry: Captivating Strategy for the Industrious
A strategic factory-building game that effortlessly turns twenty minutes into two hours.
Captain of Industry is a strategic factory-building game developed by the small yet really talented game studio MaFi Games, offering a distinctive approach compared to its counterparts.
Set on a tropical island, players are tasked with managing resources, constructing a thriving society, and navigating challenges in this engaging gameplay experience.
Your starting point includes a harbor, a small village as a habitat for citizens, and a fleet of trucks for transportation.
With a bit of food, a capital ship anchored at the harbor, and an old ruin left behind from previous inhabitants of the island, your journey begins.
One of your first steps should be to secure more food for your people to prevent their demise. However, the path to building a farm is not one click away, you will need to do several additional steps.
Instead of finding it among the available construction options, you turn to a research lab, a hub for planning not only the farm but also a multitude of other essential structures.
Creating a farm requires building materials, and although some are available at the harbor, you’ll soon find them insufficient. To produce more, you delve into the island’s resources, including iron and wood.
Trees can be felled with a tree cutter tractor, but mining iron ore demands a machine shop for crafting excavators, followed by smelters to extract iron. The game’s realism shines as excavators not only mine resources but also unearth dirt, rocks, and slag, altering the island’s landscape dynamically.
As you progress, gasoline becomes a crucial resource to power your vehicles. Discovering oil on the island opens up the opportunity to build oil rigs and refineries.
However, progress brings its own set of challenges, including toxic water, accumulating trash, and the impact of weather on farm production.
Captain of Industry excels in intertwining production chains, creating a delicate balance where the success of one process hinges on another.
The game demands constant expansion, intricate production chains, and the operation of numerous machines, providing a captivating and immersive experience.
Trading with other islands is possible, albeit in limited quantities initially, pushing players towards self-sufficiency.
Beware of the “death spiral,” where a shortage of one resource triggers a cascade of failures, potentially leading to the collapse of your entire economy.
For those who overcome the challenges, Captain of Industry unfolds opportunities to refine uranium, craft microchips, build data centers, and even launch rockets into space.
Captain of Industry presents a formidable challenge, particularly on advanced maps and higher difficulty settings.
The game’s visual appeal is striking, radiating a vibrant summer ambiance with meticulous attention to detail in every structure and machine.
The auditory experience is equally commendable, with well-placed sounds and an outstanding original soundtrack by the renowned artist Ondřej. Matejka.
Despite occasional game crashes, the technical aspects are acceptable, considering the game’s active development at the time of this review.
For enthusiasts of games like Factorio, Infinifactory, or Dyson Sphere Program, Captain of Industry promises a captivating addition to your collection.
However, be forewarned: it’s the kind of game that effortlessly turns twenty minutes into two hours. Allocate ample free time for this immersive experience.