Opus Magnum

 PC
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 28 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 28
  3. Negative: 0 out of 28

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  1. mirimar
    Feb 27, 2018
    9
    If you love machines and puzzles and crafting, then this game is for you! It satisfies that certain itch for building along with problem-solving. You just are into this kind of thing or you are not. If you liked the other Zachtronic offerings then you will enjoy this one too.
  2. Peaceduke
    Oct 28, 2018
    5
    Although I see where the appeal is, due to poor editing interface puzzles feel more like work, doesn't bring much satisfaction or enjoyment. It's uncomfortable to play on smaller screens, forces you to go back to your desktop with your big monitor and I have plenty of that during my day job.
  3. Brainstrain
    Dec 12, 2019
    5
    Never has a puzzle game felt more like a job. It's incredibly clever, but not fun at all.
  4. Vectis99
    Mar 5, 2019
    7
    A brilliantly engaging puzzle game with a very neat mechanism for preventing frustration. Because the puzzles in of themselves were very simple and easy to solve, I never found myself getting stuck. However, because solutions were "scored" by a variety of metrics, I always felt very motivated and rewarded to try to solve them in ways which minimized time, cost, and space. The game prettyA brilliantly engaging puzzle game with a very neat mechanism for preventing frustration. Because the puzzles in of themselves were very simple and easy to solve, I never found myself getting stuck. However, because solutions were "scored" by a variety of metrics, I always felt very motivated and rewarded to try to solve them in ways which minimized time, cost, and space. The game pretty fairly explores the general style of problem solving, which is pushed in different, unique ways by some of the developer's other titles.
    The story was forgettable and the aesthetic bored me. There was a certain satisfying element to watching solutions, but the game certainly could have borne a prettier, more ergonomic, and more useful user interface.
    I don't feel compelled to come back to this game to improve my scores or explore user generated content; I enjoyed the journey but the whole game seems pretty monotonous to me now.    … Expand
  5. Filipes
    Jan 2, 2020
    10
    Wonderful puzzle/programing game whitch encourages to be creative and try different solutions. It is also beautiful to look at.
  6. crazymurdock
    Oct 4, 2018
    9
    I wasn't quite sure whether to splash out the extra £6 to get this included in my Humble Bundle, or not. Having never heard of Zachtronics Industries, I read the reviews here and decided to go for it. Wow. The puzzles are so open, with what feel like infinite viable solutions. No resource, time or space restrictions, but it tells you how efficient you were on those 3 at the end, so youI wasn't quite sure whether to splash out the extra £6 to get this included in my Humble Bundle, or not. Having never heard of Zachtronics Industries, I read the reviews here and decided to go for it. Wow. The puzzles are so open, with what feel like infinite viable solutions. No resource, time or space restrictions, but it tells you how efficient you were on those 3 at the end, so you can try and do it better. I love it.… Expand
  7. Hurrikhan
    Jun 14, 2021
    10
    Often suggested to me by Steam, I did not realize Opus Magnum is a programming game.

    The goal is to build some kind of molecules using all sorts of programmable mechanical arms as well as rails and various some state-changing devices. Every problem can be done trying to minimize price, time (speed) or used space. You can literally go nuts with how you want to approach the task at hand.    Often suggested to me by Steam, I did not realize Opus Magnum is a programming game.

    The goal is to build some kind of molecules using all sorts of programmable mechanical arms as well as rails and various some state-changing devices.
    Every problem can be done trying to minimize price, time (speed) or used space. You can literally go nuts with how you want to approach the task at hand.
    Once submitted, your solutions are compared to the ones of your friends and you also see how you fare compared to all the other players.
    The game has also an hypnotic quality : I could spend minutes watching the solution move and assemble piece after piece after piece.

    As a sort of bonus the game also contains a kind of puzzle game but I've not tried it.

    Warmly recommended.    … Expand
  8. Did-
    Mar 22, 2019
    9
    I always loved watching machines work, it has a mesmerizing effect on me to see all these arms, presses, conveyor belts, all doing a very simple task and working together asynchronously to create a product.

    Opus Magnum is about that. Creating a machine with many parts to create “molecules”. And when my machine is complete, I always take some time just watching my creation do the same    I always loved watching machines work, it has a mesmerizing effect on me to see all these arms, presses, conveyor belts, all doing a very simple task and working together asynchronously to create a product.

    Opus Magnum is about that. Creating a machine with many parts to create “molecules”. And when my machine is complete, I always take some time just watching my creation do the same thing over and over, satisfied.

    In a way, Opus Magnum is very similar to other Zachtronics game, you are presented a problem you can solve in many different ways, you find a solution and you can optimize it. But is also really different, because compared to games like Spacechem or TIS-100, something has changed: there is no space or component constraint. At first, it can seem to be nothing, but it changes everything. In Opus Magnum, you can solve all the problems without worrying about space or money, so virtually anyone can finish the game without difficulty.

    Then, if you need challenge, you can push yourself and try to climb the histogram leaderboard, by either optimizing space, cost or cycles. I personally go for cycles and tried for all the puzzles to be at least better than average, trying to go as close as possible to the world record. And this was sometimes really difficult.

    Oh, and there are some bonus levels which have space limitation. I liked the fact that these levels are accessible after you finished the game, so you really have a mastery of the game components, and you are ready to face this challenge. At first, it looks really hard (and it is), but it was interesting for me to then try to optimize space and cost instead of cycles for these puzzles.

    If I had to find things I don’t like in this game, I’d say the story didn’t interest me. I read at first, then I was bored of it. The writing seems good, but I had no interest in it.

    Also, I would have loved to see interesting achievements like in TIS-100, in which you had to solve some problems with hard constraints, forcing you to explore new areas and think about another solution. And it was awesome. But Opus Magnum didn’t do that, even though everything was there. Something like “Complete puzzle X with only 2 arms” or “in less than Y instructions” or even “using only 1 input regent”.

    A missed opportunity, but anyway, this game didn’t need to fix that to be good, and I still love coming back to my old machines and trying to optimize them even more.    … Expand
  9. apokalipto
    Aug 13, 2023
    9
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.
  10. K1jyu
    Jun 19, 2023
    9
    This is one of those games that is very mind-intensive and requires you to think about and practice what you are going to weight your production line to.

    Repeating the process of trial and error is similar to programming, and requires a logical mindset to actually build the product in your head. The mini-games in between the games are rather relaxing. In the Steam community, you    This is one of those games that is very mind-intensive and requires you to think about and practice what you are going to weight your production line to.

    Repeating the process of trial and error is similar to programming, and requires a logical mindset to actually build the product in your head.
    The mini-games in between the games are rather relaxing.

    In the Steam community, you will see production lines that are much better than yours, and you will even be intimidated by their content!    … Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. CD-Action
    Apr 3, 2018
    80
    Great puzzle game with a distinct aftertaste of Zachtronics’ first hit – SpaceChem. [03/2018, p.56]
  2. PC Gamer
    Dec 22, 2017
    91
    A beautiful exercise in freeform solutions, Zachtronics has created one of the most satisfying puzzle games ever made.
    Read full review
  3. 4P.de
    Dec 15, 2017
    86
    Quotation forthcoming.
    Read full review
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