Scrap Mechanic
Scrap Mechanic is a sandbox video game developed for Windows by Swedish[1] game studio and publisher, Axolot Games, in which players can build machines, vehicles, and buildings, and share their creations online. The initial version of the game, released on January 20, 2016, was a creative mode, with unlimited access to all available parts for building. On the day of its release, it was the top-selling game on Steam[2] and is estimated to have 1–2 million sales.[3] The survival mode update for the game, with new game mechanics including wildlife, scavenging, farming, and cooking, as well as an underwater biome, was released on May 7, 2020.[4] It was the third-best-selling game on Steam the week after the update.[5]
Scrap Mechanic | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Axolot Games |
Publisher(s) | Axolot Games |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release | January 20, 2016 |
Genre(s) | Indie, simulation, survival |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Gameplay
Survival mode
Players begin at the site of a crashed spaceship, with very few items. They must search for supplies and food in order to survive. The spaceship has a basic crafting station called a Craftbot with limited functionality, primarily focused on allowing players to build a simple automobile to begin exploring the world.
The second major location in the game is the mechanic station, where most complex crafting can be undertaken with the other crafting stations: the large Craftbot; the Dressbot, for making clothes; the Refinerybot, for refining raw materials; and the Cookbot, for combining raw foods into recipes. Other locations include ruined structures filled with enemy robots, supply crates, and chests with loot, the trader's post, where items can be purchased with harvested and refined resources, and warehouses, large buildings storing more advanced supplies.
The world is inhabited by a variety of robots that attack the players on sight. These include: spider-like Totebots, whose heads can be used to make music; Haybots, who wields a pitchfork and drop scrap metal (which can be refined for crafting); Tapebots, who guard warehouses and shoot tape rolls at intruders; and the large boss fight Farmbots, who wields a chemical gun and a large scythe. They also hold the keys to the warehouses.
Players can also find a merchant with whom they can trade for special items including guns and clothing. The merchant accepts crates of fruit and vegetables as currency as well as caged farmers that can be found throughout the world.
Creative Mode
In creative mode, players start with full access to an unlimited supply of all items in the game, allowing for the creation of a variety of buildings, vehicles, and machines, none of which require energy or fuel to function. There are no enemies, and players cannot be injured or die. Creations can be saved and shared via the Steam workshop.
Backstory
The mechanics (players) are en route to a planet whose farming system is fully automated. They are headed there to manage the planet's robots. Unfortunately, something goes awry during reentry, and the mechanics crash-land. They survive, but they soon discover things have gone wrong on the planet. The robots who are supposed to be tending the fields have gone haywire, smashing the crops they previously gathered and attacking any creatures who are not robots. Working together, the mechanics must build a life on the bot-infested planet. As the game is still in development, more story elements are expected to be revealed over time.
References
- "Info". Axolot Games. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
- Grayson, Nathan (January 20, 2016). "A Game About Building Crazy Cars Is Tearing Up Steam's Charts Right Now". Kotaku. Archived from the original on May 4, 2020.
- "Scrap Mechanic · AppID: 387990". SteamDB. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
- Wales, Matt (April 29, 2020). "Contraption builder Scrap Mechanic's very long-awaited Survival mode finally out in May". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on May 2, 2020.
- Partleton, Kayleigh (May 18, 2020). "CHARTS: Halo The Master Chief Collection shoots its way to the top". PC Games Insider. Archived from the original on May 29, 2020.