videogamescritic
← all games
Mindustry

Mindustry

AnukenDev · released Sep 25, 2019

StrategyPCiOS (iPhone/iPad)

An open-ended factory management game with RTS and tower defense elements.

Steam page ↗Metacritic · users 8.7 ↗
89
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “v8 Build 159” (1mo ago)

93%
At launch
96%
Steam all-time
n/a
Press
73%
Player sentiment
96%
Recent sentiment

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 304 sampled Steam reviews (282 positive / 22 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Multiplayer & servers6% mention it
  • Difficulty & balance5% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Controls & UI18% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

83%

42 reviews

5-15h

89%

71 reviews

15-40h

95%

63 reviews

40-100h

98%

58 reviews

100h+

96%

70 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)––0
All-time Steam reviews96%911000
Metacritic user ratings–916
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)96%91810
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 90.1, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 28,018 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jul 6, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 810 total reviews in window · weighted 236 up / 10.4 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Patch history

  1. v8 Build 159
    Jul 6, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  2. v8 Build 158
    May 23, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  3. Mindustry v8 Released
    Apr 14, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  4. Build 157 (Beta)
    Apr 9, 2026
  5. Build 156 (Beta)
    Mar 23, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  6. Build 155 (Beta)
    Feb 9, 2026significant · resets scoring window
  7. Build 154 (Beta) - Major Audio Rework
    Dec 16, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  8. Build 153 (Beta)
    Oct 30, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  9. Build 152 (Beta)
    Sep 27, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  10. Build 151 (Beta)
    Aug 25, 2025
  11. Build 150.1 (Beta)
    Jul 25, 2025
  12. Build 150 (Beta)
    Jul 23, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  13. Build 149 (Beta)
    Apr 30, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  14. Build 148 (Beta)
    Apr 21, 2025
  15. Build 147.1 (Beta)
    Apr 14, 2025significant · resets scoring window
  16. Build 146
    Sep 4, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  17. Build 145
    Jun 19, 2023
  18. Build 144.2
    May 22, 2023
  19. Build 144
    May 11, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  20. Build 143.1
    Apr 8, 2023
  21. Build 143
    Apr 1, 2023
  22. Build 142
    Feb 21, 2023
  23. Build 141
    Jan 12, 2023significant · resets scoring window
  24. Mindustry 7.0 Released
    Nov 11, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  25. Build 126.2 Released
    Mar 29, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  26. Build 126 Released
    Mar 5, 2021
  27. Build 125 Released
    Feb 16, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  28. Build 124 Released
    Feb 7, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  29. Build 123 Released
    Jan 20, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  30. Build 121: Campaign Co-op Changes
    Dec 6, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  31. Mindustry 6.0 Released
    Dec 1, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  32. 6.0 Progress Report #3
    Oct 26, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  33. 6.0 Progress Report #2
    Sep 9, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  34. 6.0 Progress Report #1
    Jul 1, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  35. Build 104 Released
    Feb 11, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  36. Build 102 Released
    Dec 30, 2019
  37. Build 101 Released
    Dec 13, 2019
  38. Build 100 Released
    Nov 20, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  39. Mindustry 5.0 Released
    Oct 25, 2019