Creator of a beloved Factorio mod gets their chance to make a spiritual successor, and it looks hypnotically brilliant

Play too much Factorio, and you'll start seeing conveyor belts in your dreams. There's something mesmerizing about a sprawling network of production lines, and they sear themselves into your eyeballs if you stare too long. It's undoubtedly one of the best management games ever, and with so many modders making unique experiences inside it, there are countless ways to get a Factorio fix. Now, the creator of one of its most praised mods is having a go at making a spiritual successor under the banner of Dubious Design. Backed by Manor Lords publisher Hooded Horse, Substructure wears its Factorio inspiration on its sleeve, but it's not without some twists.

If you're into your Factorio mods, you may have come across Ultracube. This mod centers your attention on a singular cube that powers your entire facility, and ensuring it doesn't succumb to downtime is imperative. It forces you into optimization, rather than relentless expansion. Its creator is now taking things to a new level, developing their own game that could one day rival Factorio itself.

Like the game that inspired it, Substructure is set on an alien world. This "mysterious interstellar body" has suddenly appeared on the edge of our solar system, and could pose a potential threat. As the leader of an expedition, you must go there to investigate what this celestial anomaly is all about, and uncover secrets that lurk below its surface.

And that, folks, is the key twist - as well as building a sprawling facility on the planet's surface, you'll also head underground. The resources and challenges below are different to the ones you'll face above, but these two worlds can be linked by way of elevator shafts that can move structures between both levels. This means that what you find and build underground can be used to improve and expand your base on the surface.

Of course, when causing such disturbance deep below an unknown planet, you may stumble across some strange phenomena or even awaken slumbering, alien threats, so be prepared.

While you can tackle Substructure on your own, it also supports co-op, so you can explore and build in tandem with a friend. Due to the developer's roots, it'll of course have modding support from day one, letting you tweak the experience or add new elements as you see fit. If that all sounds good to you, be sure to give Substructure a wishlist here.

As the game has only just been revealed, there's no release window or date to speak of yet, but if you're a fan of Factorio or any of the similar games that have spawned from it, it's definitely one to keep an eye on.