This week's Epic Games freebie blends Factorio's automation with high fantasy exploration

Sometimes you just want to build things. Whether it's your own burgeoning metropolis in Cities Skylines, or conveyor belts and factories in Factorio, some of my best days at the PC have been spent crafting huge automation systems that I, quite franky, am too stupid and too monetarily challenged to build in real life. This week's free Epic Games Store game, Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure, allows you to do just that, but throws in some fantasy exploration that's reminiscent of games like Stardew Valley. As someone who loves a sprinkling of fantasy, it's an immediate download.

Trading out the heavy machinery feel of Factorio for cozy high fantasy vibes, Oddsparks replaces your conveyor belts with the titular Sparks, adorable, fully petable creatures with their own unique traits. You'll have to automate your Spark workforce (sparkforce?) to ensure that everything runs smoothly, but there's no Palworld-esque sweatshop nonsense here: it's just about having fun.

In order to increase your roster of Sparks and expand out your blueprint library, you'll have to venture out into the wild to tackle some beasties and unearth hidden knowledge. You'll learn more about the world on your adventures, and experience several, procedurally generated biomes as you go.

You can complete quests for your local villagers, too, unlocking new buildings for your factories, as well as new technologies. In order to keep your hard work safe, you'll need to automate your defenses to keep your foes at bay - the Sparks can only do so much.

Playable solo or with three other players (bringing the total to four per instance), Oddsparks has a lifetime score of 82% on Steam, and 4.6 on Epic. That's not half bad. Plus, there are myriad DLCs, including Coaster Rush which, as a Rollercoaster Tycoon enthusiast, is an absolute must-buy.

Oddsparks: An Automation Adventure is free right now on the Epic Games Store, and will be until 8am PST / 11am EST / 4pm BST / 5pm CEST on Thursday, May 7. It's accompanied some free Firestone goodies worth up to $100, so if you're looking for a new skin for Luana, as well as a slew of chests and cosmetics, you can grab that, too. All you need to do is head here.

With summer coming in, it's the perfect time for a good ol' cozy game. Sure, you can't quite switch your brain off with Oddsparks, but it's a chill, relaxing departure from the likes of League of Legends and big, heavy, single-player RPGs. Now, how exactly do I pet those Sparks.