The best factory games for Nintendo Switch

Automation games are all about optimization. In most automation games, you'll be tasked with creating your own factory and gathering materials to make everything work. The machines can be positioned freely with the aim of optimizing the system as best as possible.

Switch, Nintendo's eighth-generation console, has a number of automation-style games. With the Switch's portable mode, you can take your automation on the go, optimizing your factory on the fly. Automation games can have a wide range of styles and complexities, from simple puzzles aimed at beginners to more complicated simulations. Here are some of the best.

7

Automachef

Released in 2019

Automachef, developed by Rhombico Games, is a puzzle-oriented automation game focused on designing and managing your own kitchen. With the ultimate goal of automating every aspect of your restaurant, you will place machines to prepare, cook, and serve food to your customers.

You will have to deal with limited space in the various levels of the game, trying to develop your business. There are multiple modes to explore, with more freeform gameplay available in the game's sandbox mode.

6

Big Pharma

Released in 2015

Big Pharma, developed by Twice Circled, is another game that combines automation with running a business. Big Pharma is about running a business in the medical field, where the main decision is to find a balance between profit and altruism.

How will you price your products? How well can you optimize your production line? These and other questions are central to Big Pharma. Like Automachef, the game is divided into levels and also includes a sandbox mode where you can build without limits.

5

The colonists

Released in 2021

In The Colonists, developed by Codebyfire, you will be tasked with colonizing a new planet with the help of a team of robots. You'll direct your robotic workers to build settlements across different levels, assigning them to specific jobs and advancing your new civilization.

Taking inspiration from classic city-building games, you'll guide your robots to become self-sufficient, with the ability to play through scenarios created by other players or on randomly generated maps. There is also a sandbox mode to explore freely.

4

Great little workshop

Released in 2019

In Little Big Workshop, developed by Mirage Game Studios, you will design and manage your own factory to produce a variety of goods. You'll be challenged to build almost anything you can imagine, from toys to musical instruments.

In addition to the machines in your factory, you will have to manage the workers you employ, making sure they are happy while they work. The quality of materials used in a product must be managed, and different products require different equipment to produce.

3

Terre Nova

Released in 2022

Nova Lands was developed by BEHEMUTT and is set on an unexplored planet ripe for exploration and industry. In Nova Lands you will design your base, create automated systems, and explore more of the planet in your quest for self-sufficiency.

When you start the game, you'll be confined to a single island, with the option to explore more when you advance far enough to leave the confines of your starting location. When you advance far enough, you'll be able to create autonomous robots to further automate tasks and keep your factory running efficiently.

2

Autonauts

Released in 2019

Autonauts is a game developed by Denki that focuses on programming your robotic workers to perform a variety of tasks on a newly colonized planet. As you build your base, you'll need to design different routines for your workers to take on new challenges and automate your systems.

What sets Autonauts apart from other automation and factory building games is the visual programming language the game uses, an easy to learn system that can be as complex as you want to make it.

1

Farm

Released in 2022

Factorio, developed and published by Wube Software LTD., is one of the most popular titles in the automation game genre. In development since 2012, Factorio is a game with a deceptively simple loop that begins with gathering resources and building machines to turn those resources into more advanced technology.

With the aim of escaping the planet on which you find yourself trapped after an accident, in your mission you will have to face the native life forms of the planet.