Substructure, developed by Dubious Designs and published by Hooded Horse, presents a familiar automation game premise: players land on an alien world and construct sprawling factories to extract and process resources. However, the game fundamentally alters the genre by introducing verticality, allowing players to build drilling equipment and elevators to descend into subterranean caverns.
Exploring the Depths
While the surface offers a recognizable starting point, the underground introduces new challenges and rewards. Darkness is a significant factor; players must establish lighting systems to navigate and exploit the subterranean environment. These depths harbor unique resources and alien fauna not found on the surface. Furthermore, toxic spores, while hazardous, can accelerate the growth of certain plants, creating complex production puzzles. The game's lifts serve as crucial conduits between these different levels, acting as mobile platforms where machinery can be situated to transfer resources between them.
This verticality and the intricate logistics required to manage it are key differentiators. Stu Taylor, CTO of Dubious Designs, highlighted the lifts as a core innovation, stating that this complex scheduling and constraint puzzle would not have been possible within the engine of a game like Factorio. Taylor, who previously created the Ultracube mod for Factorio, aimed to create a more approachable yet puzzle-focused experience with Substructure, leveraging their own engine to implement features that facilitate this type of gameplay.
Environmental Hazards and Unsettling Discoveries
The deeper levels of Substructure are not merely resource depots; they also contain unsettling remnants of a prior planetary civilization. Patches of organic matter, described as "fields of skin," and the discovery of organic matter and bones when mining these areas suggest a past presence that contrasts sharply with the player's industrial expansion. Michael Donoghue, CEO of Dubious Designs, noted that while the surface is intended to be a "calming and safe and inviting" homestead, the deeper surfaces will become increasingly hostile, incorporating survival game influences.
Design Philosophy and Player Accomplishment
Dubious Designs emphasizes the