An Early Access code was provided, with many thanks to Keymailer.
Oddsparks is an automation simulator similar to Factorio or Satisfactory but with an adorable twist. It’s a cozy and cute version of this type of game.
The Gameplay of Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure is an automation adventure game with a cozy and cute aesthetic. You end up with a selection of little critter friends called Sparks, and each one of the different kinds of Sparks has a thing they are good at, or only they can do.
Using all these friends, you can automate collecting materials, making ingredients, and creating useful items. As you complete quests, you unlock the ability to make new kinds of Sparks and new machines to churn out different materials, and you can build up your hometown with all these new things.
In the first six hours or so, I had a massive army of little wooden friends that were collecting wood, bringing wood to the sawmill, cutting them into beams, and then feeding those beams into another sawmill to make planks. After that, another set of Sparks would bring the planks over to another building to churn out wooden swords. As my buildings continued to spread, I was able to deliver more and more complex quest items, allowing me to make even bigger and better machines to make more items.
You can also just have some Sparks follow you around, collecting items in the area, fighting monsters, or just keeping you company. They will follow you until you attach them to a machine or a path. If you have ever played Factorio, they are similar to the robots you can make and program to keep your industry going.
Currently in Early Access
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure is currently in Early Access, but it doesn’t really feel like it. There’s a ton of stuff to do, and I haven’t run into a single bug or issue just yet. The movement, the action, the tutorials, and the quests are all very well implemented.
I don’t know how deep the game goes and what the plan is moving forward, but it feels like a big game already. The sound design, music, and quests are also done well. One of the things that feels missing from the world is characterization; we don’t get much of a story from the NPCs or your avatar. There is a story, but not as much as I was expecting from a cute and cozy game like this.
One of the other things that feels like it is not yet tuned is the flow of the game. It feels just a touch slow; I spend a lot of time waiting for my factories to churn out enough materials to turn quests in, which is mostly fine. Overall, the progression just seems a little bit too slow.
There isn’t much of an incentive to wander too far from the base until a quest requires you to, which is what I think slows Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure’s gameplay down. It’s because even if you find a place to make Sparks or something, you probably won’t be able to build on it just yet because you need to complete the quests before it first to have the materials.
Usually, in these building games, you have too much to do, but Oddsparks ended up going the other way. It’s not terrible for a cozy game, but it did get a little boring in the late game.
Final Thoughts
Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure is a fun-building game with an adorable aesthetic, fun mechanics, and fairly well-tuned play. In spite of it being a little slow and the world not feeling completely filled out, I still think it’s worth a play, especially if you are new to this genre. But if you are expecting the challenge of Factorio, you’re not going to get it here.
You can find the Steam page for Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure here if you want to wishlist it or purchase it in Early Access.
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