Human Resource Machine

 PC
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 46 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 46
  3. Negative: 3 out of 46

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  1. xioustic
    Oct 23, 2015
    9
    This is a non-trivial puzzle game that behind the scenes is teaching you the lowest level programming language out there: Assembly. I love it. I think people who are not into programming or logic puzzles may get tired of it fast. Love the art style too. I found out about it through John Carmack's praise of the game on Twitter; he was the lead programmer on Doom, Quake, etc.
  2. GettysTube
    Nov 8, 2015
    9
    A fun assembly-like programming puzzle game made using the same art from World of Goo and Little Inferno that has optimization challenges and achievements for hard core fans.
    I hope they add a little more story in their next game.
  3. Alturis
    Oct 23, 2015
    8
    While not nearly as challenging as other titles in this genre like TIS-100, this one is overflowing with a cynical cuteness and a clear design goal. Whether you are a programmer or not you will find it both rewarding and educational at the same time. I love the fact that they set out to make a programming puzzle game that allows for no typing whatsoever. Poetic and fun.
  4. iseeall
    Feb 21, 2018
    8
    A funny puzzle game, essentially about programming in Assembler. You put together short programs from basic machine commands, take values from the incoming conveyer, apply some basic operators on them, probably store them on "floor tiles" (processor registers) and then output them to the outgoing conveyer.

    Good: - I loved the humor. It's pretty close to Dilbert comics. Some of the    A funny puzzle game, essentially about programming in Assembler. You put together short programs from basic machine commands, take values from the incoming conveyer, apply some basic operators on them, probably store them on "floor tiles" (processor registers) and then output them to the outgoing conveyer.

    Good:
    - I loved the humor. It's pretty close to Dilbert comics. Some of the phrases could be memes.
    - stylish graphics (models, animations). If you ever worked in an office for a Western company, you'd instantly recognize the types. At the very least, you've seen them all in American movies :)
    - excellent music
    - the first 1/3 of the game is probably great to teach kids or other family members some basics of programming, or at least the general understanding how machines work. Just don't expect them to enjoy the more complex levels where they'd probably just say it's too difficult for them and "is only for programmers" (in fact, my wife said that right when I showed her the 1st level).

    So-so:
    - the commands are similar to those you'd find in some Assember language. And in the first 10-15 levels it's fun to write those small programs, also taking on the challenges (a program with the minimal possible number of lines or the fastest execution). However, as tasks get harder and programs longer, you start to understand why the JUMP/GOTO operator was largely abandoned since 1970s. These programs look like spagetti, and the tedium of working with them outweighs the fun. So, at least to me, this game was largely not fun anymore after the first 15 levels. Even the ability to insert comments barely helps (btw those comments you have to write awkwardly with your mouse - why not just allow to type them on a keyboard?)
    - in addition to the tedium of writing in Assembler, the game generally gets much less fun later on, because it starts to go from small fun challenges to semi-real programming tasks. And that's more like work, and with less freedom and fewer tools.

    Bad:
    - no "Redo" button. Just "undo".
    - the "number of steps the program takes to complete" (Speed Challenge) is said to be the avg number when the program is applied to some "deterministically generated input sets" - it's unclear what it is. And in most cases, you just have a basic idea that the program should execute fewer commands (e.g. you can remove half of the jumps in the outer loop by just duplicating the whole program), but other than that it's just random guessing.

    Grab it (maybe on a sale) if you're interested in math, sciences, computers or tech.    … Expand
  5. gianccm
    Dec 4, 2015
    9
    It's a fun programming-based game for both pros and those new to programming. Levels are well-arranged, although there was an instance wherein I got to search online for the right answer, and I wasn't even at the 20th level. I'd give this a 10 if it wasn't for that--I think they gotta fix that.
  6. mg96
    Oct 18, 2015
    9
    if you like programming then you're gonna love human resource machine and if you don't, you're gonna love programming after playing this game! don't miss it.
  7. Amac1990
    Nov 5, 2015
    10
    Whoever puts a zero rating for a game like this could simply not figure out the puzzles. You need a calculator to play this game people. This game was made for computer nerds. It is simply awesome for computer science majors who are looking for a fun way of learning. Giving a low rating on something that provides you great education, challenge, and fun is just offensive to me. Games likeWhoever puts a zero rating for a game like this could simply not figure out the puzzles. You need a calculator to play this game people. This game was made for computer nerds. It is simply awesome for computer science majors who are looking for a fun way of learning. Giving a low rating on something that provides you great education, challenge, and fun is just offensive to me. Games like this should see more of the spotlight than what the gaming community prefers. I personally prefer this over a call of duty game any day.… Expand
  8. Game4er
    Oct 22, 2015
    0
    This is not a game you would expect from Tomorrow Corporation who set out to make innovative, unique, experimental games like Little Inferno and World Of Goo(well, 2DBoy actually did WoG, but all have the same designer).
    While I'm a big fan of their little games that ooze with creativity and excellence in design, gameplay and have great adorable art style and heart touching melodies, this    This is not a game you would expect from Tomorrow Corporation who set out to make innovative, unique, experimental games like Little Inferno and World Of Goo(well, 2DBoy actually did WoG, but all have the same designer).
    While I'm a big fan of their little games that ooze with creativity and excellence in design, gameplay and have great adorable art style and heart touching melodies, this game only has the art part..kind of.
    It doesn't add any new experience; Just a collection of assembly puzzles that you fiddle with and try to optimize.
    The corporate settings and the little "story" doesn't add much; They seem just slapped on top and separated from the core of the game which is the simple, yet challenging, act of dragging and dropping boxes of commands to compose a program to do something with input and produce an output.
    As you play, you will begin to feel it's a chore.Maybe that's the hidden message of the game: you are programmed to solve the homework-like problems of the "game" (read machine).    … Expand
  9. lttlgamer
    Oct 30, 2015
    5
    I will say first that I am a huge fan of Kyle Gabler's World of Goo and Little Inferno. Simply, this game does not deserve to sit on the same shelf as those two masterpieces. The game is a novelty, but quickly becomes repetitive and tedious. I will admit I completed the game, but I was not really thrilled about it. What kept me going was the hope that there would be some cool "endI will say first that I am a huge fan of Kyle Gabler's World of Goo and Little Inferno. Simply, this game does not deserve to sit on the same shelf as those two masterpieces. The game is a novelty, but quickly becomes repetitive and tedious. I will admit I completed the game, but I was not really thrilled about it. What kept me going was the hope that there would be some cool "end game" like Little Inferno, but there wasn't. I am a programmer and I thought it was a little too technical and restricting to be fun. The game is not dynamic at all, you literally do the same thing but just harder once you have reached like level 8. This would be like World of Goo having each level be to build a taller and taller tower. It's ludicrous. The music is awesome as always. The story was horrid and insulting. It was completely slapped on to the game. Sigh. I hope Kyle still has some good games up his sleeve, because dude is a genius. Not sure what happened with this game.… Expand
  10. TitaniumDragon
    May 8, 2016
    5
    Human Resource Machine
    For the PC
    Played using Mouse Overall Rating: C Human Resource Machine is a puzzle game – or more accurately, a programming game. You are given a very limited set of coding instructions which expand over the course of the game, and your goal is to solve all of the puzzles within a certain number of instructions or a certain number of lines executed. You have    Human Resource Machine
    For the PC
    Played using Mouse
    Overall Rating: C

    Human Resource Machine is a puzzle game – or more accurately, a programming game. You are given a very limited set of coding instructions which expand over the course of the game, and your goal is to solve all of the puzzles within a certain number of instructions or a certain number of lines executed. You have some basic looping commands (basically, GOTO and GOTO IF 0 and GOTO IF < 0), addition and subtraction, variables, pointers, and comments.

    The goal is basically to take inputs and output according to the instructions. There are 41 levels in all.

    There… honestly is little to be said about this game. It is pretty much a pure programming game, and while it might be an interesting puzzle for a lot of folks to solve, on the other hand, I feel like if you didn’t understand programming, a lot of this game would be very inaccessible, despite its supposedly easy interface. Writing programs in it is a process of click and drag, there’s no real ability to create subroutines, and sometimes it can feel a bit tedious when you realize you’ve barely exceeded the necessary parameters and are going to have to take an entirely new approach.

    Honestly, if you’re going to spend six hours messing around with programming, you might as well spend that time messing around with a real programming language. The story here is at best vague and at worst obtuse and self-contradictory; are you working for robots? Are you a robot yourself? Who knows, and who cares? The whole thing ends up feeling rather pointless in the end.    … Expand
  11. auditbadger
    Aug 29, 2019
    7
    I think that this is truly a unique game and I would recommend that if you are a fan of this type of genre then I think you should give this game a try.
  12. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    8
    Really great game if you like optimization problems! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Awards & Rankings

84
#84 Best PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 3, 2016
    77
    Human Resource Machine Does what a good puzzle game should: gives you a limited set of tools and tasks you with doing the seemingly impossible. However, the challenge may eventually prove too much for non-coders. The lack of a deeper story is disappointing as well, at least when compared to the wonderful Little Inferno. Still, if you enjoy programming puzzles, it's hard to go wrong with this game. [Jan 2016]
  2. Riot Pixels
    Feb 26, 2016
    75
    In contrast to Hack ‘n’ Slash and The Magic Circle where you can only break or corrupt the system, Human Resource Machine allows you to create your own algorithms which is much closer to actual programming.
    Read full review
  3. Eurogamer Italy
    Dec 22, 2015
    90
    The developers of Little Inferno reappear with the new Human Resource Machine: a great puzzle game that engage the player between mathematical logic and disquieting irony.
    Read full review
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