StarRupture Review: An Explosive Twist on Factorio-Style Automation

Screenshot: StarRupture

Factorio popularized the open world base building and automation combo genre, with Satisfactory serving as the next logical evolutionary step. As it turns out, there is still gold to mine in the niche that is automation plus base building, and StarRupture does a great job of mixing ideas together to make something new. Which isn’t surprising, since developer Creepy Jar pulled off something similar with their underrated survival title, Green Hell.

In StarRupture, you play as a convict that is sent to a hostile planet to pay off your debt to society. Except, it’s more like a debt in a very literal sense. Your corporate overlords hold the keys to your survival and progress, and completing orders for them—by shipping off massive quotas of raw materials and later manufactured goods—is the only way to extract even more resources to make newer things.

Screenshot: StarRupture

Before you know it, you’ll have a sprawling base pumping out orders for your corporate patrons. Granting you access to more equipment as you fulfill orders and prove your usefulness is a satisfying way to progress, and it fits neatly in with the lore of StarRupture. The marriage of mechanics into a game’s lore is something I really appreciate.

There is more to do in StarRupture than just base building and tweaking your production line. Unlike similar games where the open world is simply a place to gather materials, StarRupture has a bunch of things for you to find. Being able to stumble across the ruins of those who have come before not only helps flesh out the game’s world, but it makes creating your own base to survive in feel a little bit more meaningful.

Screenshot: StarRupture

As you explore, you’ll run into the local wildlife. Not just one or two, but whole swarms of man-sized (and bigger) bugs. Individually, they don’t pose much of a threat, but it’s easy to become overwhelmed. These creatures aren’t just waiting for you as you venture from your base, either—they will eventually find and try to destroy your base. This can be a real issue at first, but as soon as you unlock turrets, holding off swarms of spitting and slashing monsters becomes trivial. Despite “advanced combat” being part of the Steam store page description, gunplay in StarRupture is just okay so far. It’s definitely passable.

Alien creatures aren’t the only hazard you’ll find—the environment, with its devastating, world-scouring fire purges, is something to watch out for. The planet goes through a shocking transformation in a way I haven’t really seen in a video game like this before. Lush greenery is reduced to ash, and bodies of water are evaporated away as the star literally ruptures and spews incinerating fire. The first time I holed up in my base when I was warned of an “incoming wave” was one of the most surprising moments I’ve had in an open world survival game. It was so hot it left the metal of my base glowing red. The world itself takes a while to recover, too, as the air is thick with ash, eventually clearing until the world returns to a lush green (in certain biomes) before the cycle repeats.

Screenshot: StarRupture

I really like what I’ve played of StarRupture so far. The tower defense aspect is done well enough, but once you’re established it feels like there aren’t any meaningful threats. Instead of just dealing with the world incinerating ruptures, I want to deal with giant bugs that threaten to smash my walls and take down my defenses, too.

StarRupture has released into Early Access, but it’s a pretty polished game even in its current state. However, developer Creepy Jar has promised updates for the next year of the game’s Early Access period. With promises to listen to community feedback, StarRupture is looking like it might be something special.

StarRupture takes the automation base building concept and throws it into a world that’s fun to explore. The extra layer of lore has made me really invested. That being said, the Early Access roadmap promises more wildlife, new buildings, new locations and points of interest and much more, including new exploration mechanics.