Opus Magnum

Opus Magnum
90
Metacritic
97
Steam
94.035
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$9.99
Release date
7 December 2017
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
97 (4 424 votes)
Recent
96 (27 votes)

Opus Magnum is the latest open-ended puzzle game from Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem, Infinifactory, and SHENZHEN I/O. Design and build machines that assemble potions, poisons, and more using the alchemical engineer’s most advanced tool: the transmutation engine!

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Opus Magnum system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
  • Processor: 2.0 GHz
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: 1366 x 768
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 600 MB available space
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Deadlines Over
Deadlines Over

10/10 Quite Hard but you'll eventually get it, and don't look up how to beat any puzzle its more fun that way...unless your actually perma stuck.

erikiscoolqwe
erikiscoolqwe

The mechanics make it relatively easy compared to the other games, but that allows you to spend time perfectly optimizing your creations.

SilverGuzzi
SilverGuzzi

Engrossing puzzle game with no time deadlines. Simple clean graphics. The story is on rails but reasonable so far. The sub-game reasonably entertaining and also has no time limits or deadlines. Got the game during a discount but wouldn't have been disappointed if I'd paid the full amount. All in all a good game if you are interested in a puzzle and prefer to take your time.

bandy-bandy
bandy-bandy

I'm only at about a third of the game (I think) but this is a great surprise for me. Not a regular puzzle player. This one is nicely presented. Programming the automaton and seeing it in action gives big r/oddlysatisfaying vibes!
And the minigame is a quicker, lower stakes minipuzzle, making it even more addictive (I did the 100 win challenge in almost one go).
PLEASE MAKE THE INGAME TEXT BIGGER !

rexisnotmydog
rexisnotmydog

It's a puzzle game for people who can visualize and think their way through a solution. Not quite like a free building sim game

Pigbull320
Pigbull320

Well worth the price, im maybe half way through the game so figure a dollar an hour a good deal for a game. I would guess the game is worth at least $24, lets see how many hours i put in after finishing. A little bit of replay value and the mini game Sigmar's Garden is really fun, after i lost 5 pounds of hair learning how to play. Wish they had a Sigmar's Garden mobile game, Id pay five dollars for one.

cainthekiller
cainthekiller

Well, having only played 20hours since last week, I can say I very much recommend this game. It's very easy to get started, like other Zachtronics ganes but it does pose quite a challenge to optimize the puzzles up to full speed or minimum cost. I look forward to discovering all the puzzles.

ElenaSSF
ElenaSSF

The game itself is learning the moving parts and assembling them to make the contraption. After which the metagame is optimizing and refining for best speed/size/cost etc. If you like tinkering, that's a blast.

MangoMan
MangoMan

Absolutely great game for maximizing one's machines. It's honestly astonishing how much more efficient you can make stuff if you keep trying. Banger of a game.

littlehobbit
littlehobbit

This is a game about building little engines to make things. The tutorial is *excellent*, the ramp from easy puzzles to harder ones is just about perfect, and the art of the whole game is beautiful. The story is a little thin, but there's enough there to make me eager to solve the next puzzle and get more hints about what's going on. It perfectly captures the programming experience of staring at a task making That Face, as well as the feeling glorious triumph when you finally crack it. It is so much fun.

Colind8
Colind8

The first Zachtronics game that everyone can enjoy! This is such a great game with a fantastic story.

fishspeakers
fishspeakers

I like this game because it's lots of fun and really encourages creativity. Great if you like programming games

espacesinfinis
espacesinfinis

Cerebral Satisfaction

If you enjoy figuring out how to make logistical processes work, you will find Opus Magnum satisfying - and at times, challenging.

There's a sort of solitaire mini-game called Sigmar's Garden. I foresee enjoying it - and the extra puzzles that drop through an alchemy periodical in game - after I've finished the plot-linked main arc of the game.

That plot is surprisingly engaging for its minimalism, world building and all, and hinges on a small cast of interesting characters and their story as a way to bring together the various puzzles along the way. In each puzzle, you figure out how to make something the characters need to proceed from alchemic elements.

Those elements include earth, air, fire, water (basically anything you can bend in Avatar/everything but Lilu); salts you can make from any of those; lead which, combined with mercury, you can level up to a number of other metals right up to gold; and sort of life and death. You create alchemic engines out of simple-ish machine parts and program them to combine these elements into an end product. In some respects, this is a simplified hardware/software kind of exercise.

It's worth noting that Opus Magnum is also a game you can wander away from and come back to a while later with ease, which isn't the experience most games push for, but I appreciate it as a palate cleanser to return to between other things.

Especially if you find it on sale, it's worthwhile to pick this one up.

Porco Rossolini
Porco Rossolini

Definitely a magnum opus for zachtronics, fun puzzle game where you make machines that combine atoms to make things.

Voidlord597
Voidlord597

Clever puzzle game that gives you multiple options when it comes to improving your solutions. Whether you want to build something fast or cost efficient, you can. Either way it's satisfying. You can even build overly convoluted nonsense if you fancy such things.

tuxcrafting
tuxcrafting

sometimes i'm proud of a solution, look at the top percentile, and then apparently i need to somehow get 1 cycle out of it
10/10

TheFourthEye
TheFourthEye

This is an excellent puzzle game. I love that you can choose to simply create a working solution, or spend more time improving your solution in various ways.

Otawong
Otawong

Make some things with machines. It's a very good game.

Allen104
Allen104

This game is crashing like crazy. How about solution to THAT

MilesDyson23
MilesDyson23

Great puzzle game. Not as programming-like as e.g. TIS-100 of the same developer, but very satisfying.

Upright_Man
Upright_Man

Awesome puzzle game, would absolutely recommend this to anyone wanting to challenge themselves or who have a love of finding efficiencies.

Possum
Possum

Fantastic puzzle game with a beautiful aesthetic, deceptively simple mechanics and completely open-ended solutions for anyone who wants to grind for efficiency or just get the level over with already.
A great starting point for Zachtronics games if the more code-oriented ones are going over your head.

copper koopa
copper koopa

Fantastic and fun

its difficult but fair and just a really good time

Krohnos
Krohnos

Opus Magnum scratches a certain itch in your brain. If you like Factorio, you'll like this game.

Peridot
Peridot

This game is beautiful and the story is really clever, plus Sigmar's Garden is really fun

HexaBurger
HexaBurger

Great puzzle game, would recommend

Shevvek
Shevvek

Very enjoyable puzzle game, with a good mix of challenge and relaxation. The puzzles are rewarding to solve repeatedly trying different creative ideas to optimize speed, cost, or area. My one criticism is that the UX could be improved.

For example, why does Ctrl-Z undo, but Ctrl-C doesn't copy? Why is the solution title not drag selectable when renaming? Why is it not possible to open the options menu or directly exit the game from within the solution editor? Why does the instructions tape not have numbers below it to keep track of which instruction you're on? Why does the fullscreen UI not display the system clock time? Why do fonts not scale appropriately for high resolution screens? Why does windowed mode break the ability to accurately click on objects?

It would be nice to be able to save parts of solutions to re-use them in future puzzles without having to rebuild them from scratch every time.

It would be nice to be able to edit the solution while pausing it on an instruction other than the initial position.

It would be nice to have the ability to repeat subsequences of instructions, not just starting at the first instruction.

wilesjc
wilesjc

Loving It. Never been able to get the fastest solutions but optimizing to the best of my ability every level has been loads of fun. I've spent hours agonizing over single parts getting to where they needed to go and it couldn't have been more enjoyable.

Evangeline_Blue
Evangeline_Blue

If you like being creative and solving, I wouldn't call them puzzles, but, manufacturing issues, with a limited set of tools, then, you will like this game! I don't normally go for this sort of thing, but, I saw it in my discovery queue a while back, and I finally got it. Very, very glad I did!

Eve

cookie
cookie

Measures your solutions in three categories:
- Cost
- Speed
- Size

Each is evaluated individually (i.e. you can have a very cheap but extremely slow one to reach cheapest solution) and you see what the worldwide best is, very addictive to reach it (similar to TIS-100).

What I don't like is that you can't zoom in.

Lidl Gaming
Lidl Gaming

Probably the easiest zachtronics game. You have no limits so your first solution can be as inefficient as you want.

Obegoo
Obegoo

I really wish you could skip the story.

Jack
Jack

FR (EN below)
Fantastique jeu si vous êtes fan d'automatisation et de puzzles. La difficulté est croissante, les tableaux de score de chaque niveau vous incitent à améliorer votre machine si vous en avez envie. L'absence de limite permet de compléter chaque niveau avec une solution prototype "sale", que vous pouvez perfectionner si ça vous démange, sans vous y forcer. La création de GIF en un clic est parfaite pour partager vos solutions avec vos amis.
En bonus : la musique est apaisante, l'histoire et l'ambiance sont présentes. Pas une obligation dans un jeu de puzzle, mais un ajout apprécié.
Les niveaux bonus rajoutent des heures de jeu, et l'accès aux puzzles créés par d'autres joueurs assurent une durée de vie quasi-illimitée.
Seul défaut : le jeu explique mal les raccourcis qui sauvent la vie. (ctrl-drag pour copîer-coller des instructions ou un composant, drag+wasd pour pivoter un composant tout en le déplaçant).

EN
Fantastic game if you're a fan of automation and puzzles. Starts of easy, incrementally introduces more pieces and rules. Absence of limits allows you to complete a level with as ugly and expansive a solution you want, but leaderboards encorage you to improve them, without ever forcing you to do it. You can create a GIF of your solution in one click at the end of a puzzle to share it easily with your friends.
Bonus: Music and story are good. Optional in a puzzle game, but improves it a lot.
Only negative point : The game doesn't explain clearly a couple of life-saving tips (like ctrl-drag to duplicate instructions and elements, or wasd while dragging to rotate an element).

mjklaim
mjklaim

One of the best puzzle game based on programming machines:
- it's graphically very pleasant, very beautiful;
- audio is excellent;
- it's less looking like programming than the other games by the same devs (important when you already program all day);
- love the story and characters;
- the optional game is a time trap.

Fen the Fox
Fen the Fox

it's so much fun to build a machine that's the most complicated thing youve ever seen to shave just a few cycles off of your solution.

Scruffy
Scruffy

Honestly one of the best games I have played in a long long time.

Really fucking cool mechanics and puzzles with solutions that can be as batshit crazy as you can think of. If you can think of it, you can do it. World's your oyster and whatnot.

While it can be challenging, it never feels unsolvable. Somehow still easier then trying to understand my emotional state.

Genuinely a 10/10 game. Probably the most intuitive zachtronics game out there. Please try it, you won't regret it (and if you do, you can always just blame me).

CyberV0LT
CyberV0LT

Addicting puzzle/factory/programming game

Anonymous
Anonymous

Perhaps the most fiendish time-sink ever devised— clever, expressive, and *deeply* satisfying puzzle mechanics married to utterly entrancing clockwork aesthetics. I've very happily just sat and watched puzzle solutions run for the sheer pleasure of seeing them tick over. What a delightful game.

The King Of Comedy
The King Of Comedy

Completely brilliant puzzle game. I have spent hours just watching my solutions loop over completely hypnotised.

Ben
Ben

I'm not good at this, but I enjoy this

Anonymous
Anonymous

Buen juego, la campaña principal breve, pero bien diseñada. Los retos manejables y variados.

El único problema es el proceso de depuración de la solución, que se hace lento y no se puede regresar una cantidad de pasos.

Julius Awen
Julius Awen

Lovely programming puzzle game for everybody who likes overengineering and optimiziation

GODFLESH
GODFLESH

So satisfying to watch the machine work

Jekkil
Jekkil

I give you a red ball and a blue ball and I want you to create a hexagon of green balls. Yep, that looks like something the game could challenge you at.

Really nice mechanics and easy to understand coding ; process engineers would love the game (should even be a recruiting test). Even though you have no limit in efficiency, cost or area, once you solve the puzzle, you can see the global statistics and... challenge yourself in improving one or the other criteria based on other players achievements.

The alchemist universe is nice but I found the backstory annoying.

The graphics is beautiful and watching your mechanics at work is hypnotyzing.

Sigmar's garden minigame is also a quick and nice way to enjoy the game. Another challenge is your winning rate !

AKheon
AKheon

Opus Magnum is an open-ended puzzle game where your task is to build an automated, looping process for creating various types of alchemy products. To this end, you place machine arms, magic glyphs and similar apparati on a hexagonal grid, give the process some instructions and then see what happens.

This is the sort of a game that I would say is easy to learn but hard to master. The player is eased into the gameplay quite well by an in-game tutorial at the beginning. The first few stages are easy to tackle, but of course, the difficulty will ramp up in short order as you are tasked with creating more and more complex products.

The game's mechanics are fundamentally pretty simple. You have a few different types of arms that respond to a few different types of instructions, such as "grab", "rotate" and "release". The real challenge is typically getting around the limitations of the system, such as space, since ingredients cannot hit other ingredients or arm bases or else the process will interrupt. Although the core mechanics are forgiving enough that it's usually not too challenging to complete a level, doing it in an efficient and stylish manner is a whole meta-puzzle of its own. The game even ranks your success on a few different metrics such as cost, used area and cycles (i.e. the overall speed of your machine), encouraging the player to go back and keep finding new and better solutions to the problems they're faced with.

The deceptively simple mechanics hold a lot of potential for creativity. Solutions created by different players who are going for different optimization metrics will look vastly different. I had a lot of fun checking out the community leaderboards after I was done with the main campaign to see what type of "world record" solutions exist for the puzzles.

The game's presentation is neat and steampunk-like. The art and music work well together, creating a sense of mystery, melancholia and introspection that fits the idea of performing alchemy in a distant fantasy world quite well. The main campaign has a storyline that gives a bit more context to the progression of puzzles, even if it never really steals the spotlight in any respect. There's also a matching mini-game "Sigmar's Garden" that gives a nice respite from the more intensive regular gameplay.

The game has a lot of content. Doing the campaign while taking my time with optimization took me over 30 hours, and there's still plenty of post-game content offering some new constraints and mechanics to work with.

As for drawbacks? Opus Magnum has some quirks that sometimes serve to frustrate. For instance, it's not possible to zoom any of the views in or out, which makes it harder to work with larger machines. It can be hard targeting objects that occupy the same hex on the grid. Sometimes it looks like my machines lose a few cycles for seemingly no reason at the end of a loop. Perhaps most importantly, the game is fundamentally quite repetitive, as you'd expect for a game that is about creating an automated process using the same basic building blocks again and again and again. Despite the above, I personally found it satisfying to play, but I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't hold the same appeal for everyone.

Overall... I'd say it's around 7.5/10. Worth a recommendation (with some small caveats).

Doom
Doom

It is a good game.

You're assembling molecules from alchemical components on a hex grid. You can grab, move, rotate things using lever/arms (which you place), rails on which t hose arms can move, etc. All this automation is sort of reminds factorio somewhat, but you aren't building any bases here, instead you're building some sort of Rude Golberg machine that constructs things. The game provides decent/good challenge, and you do feel t he "buzz in your brain", as some of the people called it on the forums.

There's a storyline, and artworks/characters related to it, so the puzzles are sort of following a theme. The storyline is okay, although it could be better.

I recommend this game, as it provided enough entertainment for the money (12.6 hours at the time of writing, although that's without beating challenge mode) and gave me some new ideas as well.

7amorabi
7amorabi

Fantastic little puzzle game, with a fairly good story as well!

James_Jo
James_Jo

Very good puzzle game. The size puzzles after the main campaign were more fun than I thought it would be, and I enjoyed the story. I only wish that they didn't have an achievement for playing the mini-game 100 times, it's not fun enough to play it that many times but i want all of the achievements :(

Lotus Moonveil
Lotus Moonveil

This game can be irritating at times but I can't deny it is one of the best games I've played in a while. I would love to see another chapter or some dlc for this game.

:)
:)

Pretty good game. Weird factory logic coding thing that can look very satisfying.

Babiesgordy 2.0
Babiesgordy 2.0

How to reset game progress and start new game (with steam cloud save):
1 - start game through steam
2 - open C:\Users\yourUsername\Documents\My Games\Opus Magnum\randomStringOfNumbers
3 - while the game is running, delete the randomStringOfNumbers folder
4 - exit out of the game properly so that steam cloud save saves the "progress" which you just deleted
5 - restart the game and enjoy a fresh new playthrough

This is for Windows users. For Mac, find the directory where your .dat and .solution files are and delete that folder while the game is running in steam cloud so that it saves all the deleted files and lets you start fresh.

pnott
pnott

Two addicting puzzle games for the price of one. One of them is a lot more complex and in-depth, and when I'm in the mood for getting an optimized solution I can easily spend an hour on each. Though, in the late game, the puzzles get devilishly difficult to complete, let alone optimize. The other is a lot more simple, calming, and fast, while still requiring problem solving and thinking ahead. There's an achievement for completing 100 of them (they are randomly generated), and IMO that is the perfect amount to play. The dialogue is a little fun to read, there's definitely a few rather funny lines. There's also a story, I guess.

ishKiia
ishKiia

Absolutely love this game! And with the updates I love the graphics. I got this way back when it first came out but only now being able to start playing games like this again. Thank you for the great graphics upgrade. I love the story line and the ability to measure myself and solutions.

ChunkChokChip
ChunkChokChip

Really neat simple-to-learn, hard-to-master puzzle game.

Incredibly difficult but very open-ended in its solutions by allowing no limitations to the player.

DomesticAvocado
DomesticAvocado

Puzzle game focused on building machines to solve problems. After you beat a level you can optimize it for speed, area, and/or cost. Overall a very well made and consistent game with many levels in the workshop to try after you've done everything.

[FOR]mica
[FOR]mica

A good challenging puzzle game with a sprinkling of story. If you get stuck, there's guides.

56skt26
56skt26

This is for normies. Doesn't even come with a printable pdf manual.

Handsome Squidward
Handsome Squidward

One of the best puzzle games I've played. Super fun, satisfying, and not frustrating at all (seriously). Even the story line is pretty cool. You can progress the campaign even if you're not great at the game. The dumbest, most bloated solution ever will still count as success so long as you create the right outputs. But there is a lot of fun in going back and trying to make more optimized solutions for the levels you've already beaten.

In some ways this is harder than actual programming since you have to rely a lot on copy/pasting. I wish the coding tools inside the game had more features like a way to name functions, group certain objects on the board into a named group, create breakpoints, etc.

Squaduck
Squaduck

Absolutely fantastic puzzle game. A+ visual design, A+ puzzle design, A+ mechanics, A+ mini game, A+ everything

SUPER
SUPER

Good engineering problem solver

SteveArchie
SteveArchie

Fun puzzle-like game. I like that it's fairly unique - I'm not sure I know of a game quite like it. I also like that their is some flexibility in playing how you would like. The game gives you the flexibility to focus on improving speed, cost, compactness of particular challenges. Or you could simply play to solve the challenge, or play to make a cool looking solve. The player can really do whatever they would like.

Plagiatus
Plagiatus

I love this game.

It's all a puzzle game needs to be for me to get into it: easy to understand mechanics, good difficulty curve, medium to hard to execute, no "intended" solutions, different solutions based on playstyle / wants... Zachtronic, you've outdone yourself on this one.

Jur
Jur

Incredibly fun engineering puzzle game. The most addicting part is being to able choose one aspect and design, iterate and optimize your machine without having to make compromises. That's the engineers dream.

bonefish
bonefish

Haven't cared this much about the story in a puzzle game since Portal (not nearly as much, but it shouldn't be shoved aside!). Really engaging puzzles that make you feel like a genius on completion, a great mini-game rivaling that of solitaire in every other Zachtronics game, and kick ass music. Definitely the easiest Zachtronics game, which is not a bad thing! In fact, I'm pretty dumb and I beat it pretty quickly; most of my playtime is in the garden. Would recommend!!!!!!!!!

Nyakuza
Nyakuza

The main character is excellent, calling to mind Artemis Fowl. The puzzle gameplay is great too.

vidumenati
vidumenati

Now it is a good game, but i just can't seem to figure it out. If you are into hard puzzles then go ahead, it just ain't for me

Maha
Maha

You can play this game with one hand

TheEggfather
TheEggfather

Thanks for all you have done for the genre. Best of luck in your future endeavours.

Sarcastic Fringehead
Sarcastic Fringehead

clockwise or counterclockwise?

RippeR
RippeR

Amazing puzzles. A well crafted and clever Spacechem successor.

minerharry
minerharry

very satisfying game, excellent puzzles

Catovitch
Catovitch

I loved Infinifactory but never got into SpaceChem for one reason or another. Wasn't sure if I'd like this because part of what I loved about Infinifactory was making things fit in 3D and actually getting inside the stuff I was building. Would it be as good in 2D? Yes, it turns out. I decided to finally give this a try and was instantly hooked. Played it the entire weekend.

It's a lot more like IF than I expected, what with having to fit things together and ensure there's space to swing parts out without them hitting machinery, or just space for machinery between all the other bits you need. The puzzles are up to the usual high standard you'd expect from this developer.

There are some issues with text and UI scaling but you can solve them by simply running the game at a different resolution, and it scales well (and doesn't cause any delay; it still technically runs at the native res and upscales things if you set it to lower). This is actually kinda good as it lets you choose how big you want things, although being able to do that separately while keeping dialog etc. readable would've been better. It's fine, though.

As with IF, the first puzzle you solve is how to get something to work and produce the right output at all. Then you see histograms of how well other people did (such a great idea) in different categories and can then spend just as long optimizing things and trying different solutions to make yours even better. It's up to you how much you care about that kind of thing, but I really like trying to maximize throughput.

A big diff from Inifinifactory is you script when each machine element does each action in this, rather than using sensors and other triggers in IF. At least so far. Although the end result is fairly similar, it's a bit more direct, and is a good thing because you don't have a third dimension to place sensors in. The scripting is entirely visual, and uses a parallel timeline UI similar to most video editors. There are a few things I wish it had (like the ability to have different periods for different parts, instead of one global period) but it does the job fine and is a lot better than what you get in most games, with support for multi-select, drag & drop, copy and paste, etc.

You also don't need to read a manual or anything to play this. It's all self-contained and the puzzles are built from fairly simple parts that combine in complex ways. Some of Zachtronics' more "programmer" games like (TIS-100, Shenzen I/O and Exapunks) need you to learn a language and a fake hardware spec (which is cool if that's what you want), but this is a lot more accessible (which is also cool when you've been doing that kind of thing all week for work and just want to mess around with puzzles at the weekend!)

Sol
Sol

looks pretty. fun puzzles. praise be the efficient little element orbs

idle_Lullaby
idle_Lullaby

Love the game! Interesting puzzles with multiple solutions.

Nightmare3711
Nightmare3711

Just look at some of the gifs people have posted in the community and you'll get an idea for why this game is so good. 9/10

Sarvashaktimaan
Sarvashaktimaan

Imagine being such an antisocial nerd that when you need some booze, instead of just fucking buying it you construct a complex and expensive alchemical device to manufacture your own alcohol from base elements.

That is the kind of person the main character is.

Cthethan
Cthethan

This game is exactly what you're looking for if you 1) find finely-tuned mechanical machines satisfying or 2) enjoy basic programming to some extent. This game lights up *all* the endorphins in my brain.

Chicky_The_First
Chicky_The_First

It reminds me of my old engineering career. It brings back those feelings of why I wanted to be on. I'm no longer an engineer because I learned very quickly engineering is not like this.....it a great game

Dalin@r
Dalin@r

Without being biased towards my love for Zachtronics, here's what i have to:

Opus Magnum is one of the greatest games i have ever played

SciFiGuy
SciFiGuy

Beautiful game ruined by the fact that you can't edit your machine unless from a completely reset state.

It's possible for a single mechanical piece to have more variables than a human has short term memory. Editing even simple machines because a micro managing chore of playing your machine though>resetting>adding>playing again. You can't just add a part without restarting the entire thing.

Imagine playing factorio and having to reset literally anything before you added a belt or changed the rotation of a machine.

It's honestly a silly restriction. The argument I've heard for why this is a thing -- is that you could break your machine. That is completely moot as you can break your machine in any number of ways -- and quite easily too (fixing and refactoring is the fun part!) That's what the reset feature SHOULD be for.

( °□°) ︵
( °□°) ︵

This is a great game. Fantastic in fact.

Sadly, I can't recommend it because IT'S TOO SMALL! If you have a modern resolution, it's just not playable. If the dev ever remembers that they made this game, and updates it with a scalable UI, it's worth picking up.

Dark Virus
Dark Virus

I am too much of an idiot to play this game

Lachrymosa
Lachrymosa

Came for the steampunk/alchemy vibes, stayed for the rich story and simple yet deep mechanics. If you like builder/puzzle games and a moderate challenge, this is the game for you.

swith
swith

Brilliant game; fantastic and challenging mechanics and an engaging story ticking along set in an immersive world that stops it from being too dry.

Some of Zachtronics' other games didn't click with me but this one is top notch.

If you like puzzle/programming games (and the setting appeals) then I'm sure you'll love it.

Cosmic
Cosmic

Honestly, this is a really good game and if you like your innovative puzzle games then this is absolutely going to be your thing. It's wacky, it's cool and it's certainly unique. However for me it was a bit too difficult. While the first few levels are fine, it quickly ramps up to a point that's way beyond me.

Not gonna lie, there's so much potential here for crazy contraptions and puzzles, and I can absolutely see the appeal. But it's just too tricky and I ended up getting frustrated, so I'll probably leave it at the 3.5 hours I've played.

I think everyone should certainly give it a try, but unless you're really into your puzzle games, I'd give it a miss at full price.

Geekz
Geekz

No, seriously devs. Who is Sigmar and why am I clearing his garden?

RoflCopterPilotX
RoflCopterPilotX

So far, I've played through the introduction and the first two chapters of the game. Would highly recommend to anyone looking for a challenging, visually-focused assembly puzzle. The low-level programming aspect core to this game is common to some other offerings by the developer; but unlike those games, the output of player-input code is more visual and "mechanical" rather than numerical, making concrete the progress the player is making toward a solution.

KevinInc
KevinInc

Cool puzzle game. I wish I could skip the story I don't care about though.

NikkSazz
NikkSazz

Fun ASF ngl, very interesting and rewarding once you get it to work

jrr1
jrr1

Great fun . I started new a few times to do it again . Had to delete files for the reset of game.

Torrin
Torrin

The perfect zachtronics game for the ability to choose your difficulty. You are given essentially infinite resources and space to solve each puzzle, so feel free to make the most sprawling spaghetti-code equivalent alchemy device, or hunker down and make the most efficient 3 module device that takes 10000 cycles to produce the output. I love all the zachtronics games but this is the zachtronics game everyone can love.

Zdenek
Zdenek

Excellent puzzle - original idea - lot of opportunities to optimize your designs. Great game.

Planx
Planx

Gotta spend 20 minutes shaving 5 cycles off this machine or I'll feel a deep emptiness

DaKawaiiAli
DaKawaiiAli

If you're a big fan of coding, I feel like this game would give you a good bit of interest considering it's all about trying to get a specific outcomes but it has many ways of getting there up for you to decide :)
10/10

BOJACK
BOJACK

Incredibly aesthetically pleasing and satisfying to play. Would highly recommend if you like automation/puzzle solving, and a steampunk art style. On top of that, the ability to play user-created puzzles means it is statistically unlikely that you will EVER run out of cool and interesting puzzles to do. 10/10.

Huginn
Huginn

At the time of this review I have beaten the first act, and the entirety of Sigmars Garden (beating it 100 times). Sigmars Garden alone is worth getting this game it is addicting as hell and the puzzles are just as fun. If you like logic puzzles you will love Opus Magnum.

scusselbutters
scusselbutters

Very nice "thinking game" that tells a story. Wish the UI would be a bit better. But thats complaining on a high level.

SeraphimFoA
SeraphimFoA

Really enjoyable for whoever love a good puzzle game that can also be challenging. I like the lore in it, the game design is fabulous and it's great that there is a mini-game inside.

Xenu
Xenu

Pirated it,
Was so cool i bought it.

Iron_Gears
Iron_Gears

Who is Sigmar and why are there no plants in his garden?

Thad Jarvis
Thad Jarvis

Great puzzle game, fun to compete against those in your friends list

vizardxos33
vizardxos33

10/10 would have my brain broken then reconstructed with alchemy again

OCEC0101
OCEC0101

If you're a programmer, addicted to Factorio, or a general effciency nut, this game is for you.

Uncomprehending Gale
Uncomprehending Gale

Great programming game where you do alchemy. Fun to find solutions and find to optimize them later. The histograms of how other players did really help with knowing how far you can go.

Jukebox
Jukebox

Love everything about this game.
I really enjoyed the open ended puzzle solving through designing mechanisms and processes.
Once you do solve it, there is still endless fun optimizing!
Highly recommended to have it in your collection if you like this type of game.

cgardner65536
cgardner65536

Surprisingly good story for a puzzle game. The game does a good job of encouraging optimization beyond basic solutions.

Eulathus
Eulathus

If you're a tinkering soul with a desire to solve problems this game is for you! Not only is the gameplay fun and refreshing and at times mind boggling and frustrating, it is so much fun. The music and sound effects are amazing and the dopamine is great when you finally put the finishing touches on your machine and watch it complete. Completing a puzzle will most likely see you immediately jump back into it to ensure a better solution as the game shows you your overall score against others. It's a great game and one I plan on spending a lot more time in.

Thank you

Dezalk
Dezalk

an essential title for any fan of programming games;
arrangement of alchemist's atoms in pursuit of a great work with spot-on aesthetics throughout;
only gripe is inability to vary the behavior of the repeat instruction, which can be worked around

Slash by Zero
Slash by Zero

Play it once if youre into puzzle games.
Play it forever if youre into optimizing solutions

thegreatdukado
thegreatdukado

I'm too dumb for this game and find it very frustrating to figure out the more complex puzzles, but I love it anyway. I keep coming back, thinking maybe today I'll be good enough.
Oh, and it's absolutely oozing with atmosphere!
And sometimes I just play the jewel matching mini game inside.

WeaponsGradeHumanity
WeaponsGradeHumanity

Opus Magnum is a neat little steampunk puzzler with a computational bent and great Steam support. You play the role of an alchemist, turning lead into gold and ingenuity into conspiracy. Complete puzzles to advance through the storyline and compete directly with your friends as you strive to optimise your machines for size, speed and cost. The problems in the campaign range from easy to moderately difficult but completing the campaign opens access to a much more challenging series of puzzles, some with new constraints. What's more, you can browse the Steam workshop for puzzles built by other players or use the built in puzzle editor to create problems of your own. If you're an avid puzzler or you're looking for a relaxed way to brush up on your programming skills, Opus Magnum is definitely worth a look.

Stun Zeed
Stun Zeed

I like it a lot. It's really flexible. Original. Simple yet complex.

Seaish
Seaish

This is the best Zachtronics "molecule-builder" game (as opposed to the assembly games). It's another example of immaculate puzzle design.

revjimbo
revjimbo

Loved, loved, loved this. The puzzles are great and they tickled the brain just the right amount.

Sunny
Sunny

2021 M1 Macbook user here, the visual of the cursor is not aligned with the actual cursor. It's super frustrating to play and enjoy this game.

LukeBarretta
LukeBarretta

feelin like magnum in this opus

Denny Crane - TPF -
Denny Crane - TPF -

Gets way too complicated way too quickly

NyanCart
NyanCart

the arm do a grabby and thing go weee

xyzzy
xyzzy

A great game. Probably the best of the Zachtronics games to get started with with a simpler "programming" then the more directly code based ones.

Shabazza
Shabazza

Cerebral puzzle game for optimization addicts.
You basically have 2 contradicting goals:
- Make the machine work as fast as possible
- Make the machine as cheap and small as possible

So you will want to create a contraption that satifies the first and another one that satisfies the second.
Both require vastly different designs, giving you a lot to fiddle with.
The game loop is: Think -> Try -> Repeat

There is usually no "optimal" solution. There are many.
So if you like puzzle games with a lot of frteedom and like to optimize your design further after it has reached the goal "somehow", this is for you.

Tea Market
Tea Market

This is a masterpiece of a game.

joukea
joukea

I really like both, game mechanics and strange story of the game. I hope there will be squeal some day.

Bubbie
Bubbie

Extremely nice looking and stimulating puzzle game

Assa_Get_it?
Assa_Get_it?

So addictive that even though it had some annoying 'do this same type of challenge 50 times' achievements, i still 100% the game. Its very challenging and super fun when you have a friend to compare your creations with (sadly your playing a Zachtronics game so you dont have friends)

SeowDeus
SeowDeus

Satisfying to watch and optimize your contraptions.

Dirty Starling
Dirty Starling

TL;DR - 8/10 - Well made logic/coding/machine building puzzle game with a decent story, and decent worldbuilding. Strongly recommended.

And now for some more details...

STORY
Yes indeedy, this game does have a story. And you know what? It's actually not bad. Good worldbuilding too. Told through text screens.

PUZZLES
Two types of puzzles in this game... build and code the machine, and the mahjong-esque side game: Sigmar's Garden. Highly recommend that if you get bored or frustrated with one, you switch off and do the other. That said, it is just the two types of games. I enjoyed it, but your mileage will vary if you want variety.

REPLAYABILITY
Replayable if you want to challenge yourself to build the machines differently. Community content is available as well with a near endless variety of puzzles to solve, as are challenge maps once you complete the main game.

GIF MAKER
This game has a built in gif maker for your machines, and I absolutely love it. Lets you share the machine you spent so long coding and then have everyone on Reddit tell you how much better they did it. 10/10 for this feature.

INTERFACE
Mostly works fine. Would love to have a zoom out/zoom in function. Would also love to have a copy/paste function so you don't have to keep inputting the same commands.

OVERALL
I will definitely come back to this from time to time. Found it very relaxing and intellectually satisfying.

Salt Dealer
Salt Dealer

Factory automation in a game. If you love to optimize and compete at optimizing you will like this game.

Eisen
Eisen

An incredibly well made puzzle game that is incredibly easy to pick up, while still maintaining it's own challenge. In my opinion, Zachtronics' best work.

Xithricite
Xithricite

I love how Opus Magnum slowly introduces new mechanics to the game which make it more complex and difficult. Each level relies on your prior knowledge while also adding to it! Even though some of the levels are tedious, they still are immensely satisfying to pull off. I had a great time competing with a friend to get the most efficient machine, and often found myself replaying levels to create a better solution. I would highly recommend it if you're a fan of advanced puzzle games.

presbygoose
presbygoose

you will never be satisfied with your creation. 10/10 recommended

Raiden
Raiden

one of the best puzzle games out there.

Garedicus
Garedicus

If you enjoy games that constantly change their behavior while you're stepping through self-assigned programming instructions, this game will be excellent for you. If you want a game that plays consistently and smoothly, try anything else.

MightyMarlin
MightyMarlin

Very fun puzzle game that can be challenging at times but makes you want to try and perfect or make alternate solutions. Definitely worth the price

Arkell
Arkell

I approve.

Finding creative and unique solutions to puzzles is pretty cool.

jlf1203
jlf1203

Incredibly good puzzle game with an engaging story for those who are interested in it (and easily skippable dialogue for those who aren't). The puzzles are very unique compared to any other game I've played, and the vast array of mechanics and combinations mean every single level stands out from the rest. Highly recommended if you enjoy difficult and interesting puzzles!

troysfacebook
troysfacebook

Great game and a good thinker! I love the whole alchemy theme and it really makes the game fun. Each 'level' is an alchemy puzzle to solve as you try to develop solutions. The puzzles have three facets that you try to solve/arrange: price, size, and efficiency. You are virtually free to do anything you want and unlock your creativity. I also like the background story/art that goes along with the puzzles that helps create a cool steampunkish, fantasy vibe.

The whole thing is reminiscent of Jack Vance's collection of stories, Tales of the Dying Earth, and another favorite video game of mine, Torment: Tides of Numenera. I would STRONGLY recommend this game if this genre is for you!

PHISH
PHISH

oppus magom? mores rlike COPUS M... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA THGS SAT WASSG SAFUNY BEUCAE TH WORDF OPUS MGNUS M SOU LIK E COPUS HAH!!

Absinthe
Absinthe

Neat, impressive artistic style with immersive storyline & vibes. Great game!

Endutui
Endutui

I am now an alchemist thanks to this game. good game

Cathulhu
Cathulhu

It's very well polished and it's really satisfying both figuring out a solution and refining it further.

Léonithras
Léonithras

Without a doubt one of the best puzzle games I've ever played.

- Challenging puzzles where you are free to build and program your own alchemy engines/machines to solve featured products. There is also a nice leaderboard system which compares your outcome score to other people that have achieved the same puzzle. You can try to improve your score by reducing the costs, cycles or space(area).
- Make your own puzzles with the in-game editor and share them or download from other users (workshop).
- The game has great visual aesthetics, sound design and a suiting soundtrack.
- I didn't care much for the story though, but it's an extra addition to the game.
- Opus Magnum will feel very familiar if you've played any other Zachtronics games. It was also a no-brainer for me to get this game sinds i've played Spacechem and Infinifactory with a lot of pleasure.

Just get the game already!!!

Absolutely Not David
Absolutely Not David

if you buy a zachtronics game, expect to spend more time on minigames rather than main puzzles

tommy_bomby
tommy_bomby

DO NOT PLAY THIS GAME FOR MORE THAN 2 HOURS BEFORE GOING TO SLEEP

I could not stay asleep for longer than an hour last night because i could not shake from my brain the mental image of pushing around atoms on a hexagonal grid. i drifted in and out of consciousness as the atoms of made-up elements drifted around the board. I sat up thinking "I've got the solution!" more times than i could count. every time i was awakened to the sign of my bedroom and the realization that I'm dumb. It was 4 AM before i took a melatonin pill to end the madness.

Slick Delicious
Slick Delicious

What a great game. Just a great idea for a puzzle game. You like puzzles and cool colors and alchemy and orbs? Boom, OM has you covered yo.

Lord InsidiousTroll
Lord InsidiousTroll

Lots of puzzles you can return to many times to try new solutions and optimizations. Workshop also has a lot of content after working through the story puzzles.

Easy to understand mechanics and many techniques for building molecules to learn and use.

Good game, would recommend.

griby
griby

Opus Magnum is without a doubt Zachtronics' magnum opus. Amazing puzzle game with great visual and audio designs. 10/10

Platibyte
Platibyte

all the chores, with none of the fun!