Shapez is a factory building game with a really simple to understand game mechanic. Create shapes of all colors and forms and thats it. Sounds boring? You would be absolutely wrong. Never underestimate the addiction potential of this endless world with limitless possibilities for automation structures. Lets have a closer look!
General Information – small dev studios for the win
Shapez has been released in June 2020 by the single developer Tobias Springer. Its steam page boasts overwhelmingly positive reviews and with its current price tag of 10 € (half that in a good sale) the first impressions are already good. Note also that the game has just gotten a successor whose graphics have been massively updated and have been transformed in to 3D.
Gameplay – Factory here, Automation there
The gameplay of shapez is quite simple and self explanatory also eliminating the need for overly long introductions at the beginning. You simply rotate, color, stack and cut shapes that exist in random spots on the map to feed a central hub in the middle of the map via conveyor belts. The hub changes the shapes it requires from you to get to the next level each time. For example to get from level 1 to 2 you need to feed it 30 gray circles. With increasing levels the shapes get increasingly complex and in turn require increasingly complex and large production factories. With each level you unlock a new possibility to edit the shapes color, orientation, place and so on. Going to the extremes you can even go completely crazy and build whole computers in this cute looking game.
The main factory blocks are the extractor (1) which harvests the random on the map occurring spots of shapes and colors, the conveyor belt (2) which moves harvested items/shapes from one spot to another, the coloring module (3) which inputs a shape and a color and colors the shape in this color, the cut module (4) which halves the input shape into two pieces and the turn module (5) which rotates a shape 90°. As you can see there aren’t that many and they are not very difficult to understand. This original simplicity that quickly evolves into complex and tightly build automation machines is exactly the factor which makes this game so appealing and addictive. Try it out yourself and you will soon want to build more and more complex factories as if it lies in the human nature to automate everything we see.
Graphics – Simple 2D top down style
Shapez works with a simple top down style 2D graphics style and focuses more on the gameplay mechanics than the textures. I personally like the minimalistic design not just for its clean look but also for its performance. Even with quite a few buildings and automations set up the game runs well and smooth even on older hardware. That said the game can absolutely run on work laptops such as the Thinkpad x270 but if you actually want to achieve any work i would rather recommend you not to install it :).
For performance reasons the game switches between two modes depending you zoom in on the map. If you zoom out it switches to a map mode in which you can not build and buildings and any items on conveyor belts are not rendered. For me personally this was a bit annoying as i wanted to have a better view of the surrounding factories while building the current one. But don’t worry the dev though of that:
Modding capability – Mods keep game alive
We talk quite a bit about mods on here and that for a reason: Mods keep games alive. The most popular example is the all known king of computer games Minecraft. For our detailed explanation look here. But also Kerbal Space Program 1 is a perfect example for a game that even lives on after its successor has been released thanks to an incredible modding community that has extended the possibilities in graphics and gameplay mechanics again and again over the years.
Luckily the dev of Shapez also included modding capability into the game which allows you to browse through a large assortment of different mods including one that changes the zoom point in which the map view kicks in. Its simply brilliant when game developers include functions like these.
Summary – great game with addiction danger
Shapez is a well made game with a very reasonable price point when you wait for one of the many steam sales. Its simple but clean graphics style allows it to run well on older and less powerful hardware. Combined with the addicting nature of its automation gameplay which lets you want to build ever more complex and expanding factories across the whole map this game make for a great time killer for long train rides or flights. Also thanks to its integrated modding capability the game even allows you to customize it to your liking and has a passionate community.
Shapez: Shapez is a fun 2D factory building game with an addicting gameplay mechanic. It simple but clean textures and graphics are no obstacle for keeping you entertained for hours on end and make the game perfect for long flights or train rides. In a Steam Sale you can get it for 5€ making this a no brainer for automation fans and people playing on less powerful hardware. – GLPC: phantom
