Thank you Tobias Springer for providing us with a review code!

shapez.io, created by Tobias Springer, has a very simple concept: Get the designated shape indicated in the center of the hub. It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you do it, it will accept it. It really couldn’t be any simpler of a concept. There are no failure methods and no limit on how many structures you can build. The complexity starts when each level demands more and more from you.

In the beginning, you only have access to a few structures, such as an extractor and a belt. Scattered all throughout on a seemingly infinite grid are areas where certain shapes congregate. The extractor extracts these shapes, and the belt leads them to the hub. Level one is simple enough; just get a few squares and you’ll unlock level two, which will ask for circles. Unlocking other structures such as cuttters that split the shapes in half or in fours, painters that paint the shape, and things like tunnels, balancers that take two different belts and effectively combine it into one belt, and stackers that stack shapes. Besides the main objective, there are also side objectives that if you achieve them, will speed up the process such as increasing belt speed and stacking speed.

Because there is no rush on how you achieve things, you can take this as casually as you can, and that is one of shapez.io’s strengths. In many cases, when I had a setup for one of the levels, I would walk away and do something else. I would come back and be on the next level as well as upgrade a few of my systems. I saw this as a passive experience. Since I have a two-monitor setup, one screen I would watch a movie or something, and on the main screen I would set up automation processes. This game is very complementary to anything else that you might be doing so it can be a great experience for casual players.

The complexity also makes it great for enthusiasts too. The hub will demand more and more complex designs and shapes as the levels continue. It will want shapes in a different color, shapes cut at a specific angle, shapes stacked onto each other, and so on. Later on, it stops asking you for a specific amount and wants a specific shape, per second. Towards the “end game,” (around level 20) a whole new layer is unlocked called wires. Wires have their own form of complexity to it, but in the simplest way of explaining them, they are a crucial method to automating certain processes and are borderline required for the higher levels. In the higher levels, I do wish there was a better method of navigating through your structures. There are markers that can be placed so you can quickly get to a section, but that requires putting them there in the first place and despite the extensive tutorial, shapez.io doesn’t bother to explain that marker system well.

For the visuals of shapez.io, it best resembles a spreadsheet or a document. None of the geometrical shapes are complex. As for the type of game it is, the visuals are fine, although it can be seen as flat or boring for some. Personally, it reminds me of my previous jobs as I previously worked in office settings, using plain sterile applications. Depending on the way you think, designs can become extravagant and pretty due to all the structures and colors going around. As I tend to be more “efficient”, my designs got rather ugly—but hey, as long as it works! Dark mode is also an option for people who like to play at night or are sensitive to bright whites.

Accompanying shapez.io is a relaxing set of music pieces. Throughout the soundtrack, you’ll hear tracks inspired by lo-fi beats, jazz, and other soothing genres. As with most games, the music can be shut off entirely so you can listen to your preferred relaxing beats. It does set the mood to not take shapez.io so seriously.

This was a strange experience for me. In ways, I did enjoy this game as the general concept makes sense, and taking it at your own pace is great, but I guess in my more twitch-reaction mindset, I found it mentally exhausting at some points. Mr. Tobias Springer managed to create an interesting factory simulation heavily inspired by Factorio. In fact, he even said that if it wasn’t for Factorio, shapez.io wouldn’t exist. So if you enjoy games or are curious about games such as Factorio (or can’t afford them), shapez.io is a solid buy or even a nice entry point. There’s a lot for the enthusiastic crowd to pick apart such as 45 achievements with two “soft ends”, one being at level 26, where free play is unlocked, and another one at level 100 when the last level-based achievement is unlocked. As it does go on theoretically forever, people can easily get dozens or hundreds of hours out of it. If you happen to still be on the fence for this one—there is a reason why this is called shapez.io. Put the name in your browser and you can access the free version going up to level 12. The paid version has “infinite” levels and more structures to use.

As of June 2021, shapez.io has received DLC in the form of puzzles. This DLC takes the concept of shapez.io and adds more brainteasing to the experience. In a separate menu from the main game mode, the player can access puzzles. There are 20 tutorial puzzles in a small space for the player to access to get used to the somewhat new experience. Similar to the later levels of the standard game mode, pieces must be fed into the feeder at a determined rate. Sometimes there are multiple feeders placed around the area. The puzzles can’t be cheated in where you feed the pieces into one and then switch into the other. All of them must be fed pieces at a continuous rate for the puzzle to be considered complete.

With each puzzle, there are places where structures cannot be placed, and the structures are predetermined. Some of these puzzles can get very complicated so be prepared to spend a long time wracking your brain. On the left side, you’ll see statistics showing how many players solved the puzzle and the average amount of time it took to complete them. It’s cool that there is a bit of a friendly competition going on to work for in terms of the puzzles—seeing if you can do them faster than others. If you happen to get stuck on a level, you can simply move on to the next one so the philosophy of the DLC is the same as the original game mode. Do it at your own pace.

Puzzle DLC has theoretically infinite replay value because of user creation. You, as well as every other player can create levels so the fun will last as long as the community does. As with all user-created content, there can potentially be inappropriate levels, but despite quickly going through a lot of them, I haven’t seen any (Looks like the report system is doing its job.) If you want a similar, yet different experience and more of shapez.io, you can’t really go wrong with spending an extra $5 or so.