SpaceChem

1. JonesR

   May 18, 2011

   10

   The level of difficulty on this game is sick! It starts out fairly easy, but it gets hard fast. Seriously, your brain will start to hurt withThe level of difficulty on this game is sick! It starts out fairly easy, but it gets hard fast. Seriously, your brain will start to hurt with infinite ways to solve each puzzle as you ponder how to design a more efficient solution. One-click YouTube upload for easy solution sharing. Such a simple concept, yet so much innovation in this absolute must-have indie gem--so addicting.… Expand

   • 11 of 13 users found this helpful
2. ludd_gang

   Jun 2, 2011

   10

   Amazing puzzler. Discover your own solution. Completing a level is a challenge, perfecting your designs for speed and efficiency addsAmazing puzzler. Discover your own solution. Completing a level is a challenge, perfecting your designs for speed and efficiency adds replay.The tutorial instructions are a bear, but with a bit of experimentation and rereading, it makes sense. Stick with it and you will love it. I haven't read a wink of the story. NOTE: You can delete entire areas if you click drag a selection box and press delete. (Since Mortlach mentioned this as a flaw, I wanted to clarify you can erase entire boards easily.)… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
4. iteration2

   Apr 12, 2012

   10

   SpaceChem is a game that will make you feel either really dumb or really smart, largely depending on whether you're just starting out or justSpaceChem is a game that will make you feel either really dumb or really smart, largely depending on whether you're just starting out or just completing any given level (also, it helps to actually be smart). Unlike many puzzle games, there are no pre-determined solutions, which I find appealing, but many others may find bewildering. Also unlike many games, there is virtually no timing or reflex actions required, so you can take your time (and you'll need it) engineering clever solutions to the problems presented.
   
   Graphics/story: Nothing special, but they get the job done. The storyline is depicted through periodic illustrations, and while it adds some subtext to the game, it's largely irrelevant to the actual gameplay.
   
   Interface: Very clean. There isn't really anything on the screen that doesn't need to be there. Much of the game revolves around placing symbols on a grid, which can be done via drag/drop or by holding hotkeys while clicking. Every action you take has a satisfying click, and every level has infinite undoes/redoes (which remain even after quitting/restarting).
   
   Music: This is a game in which you can spend hours staring in consternation at a grid full of symbols and little circles following a spaghetti-like tangle of lines in order to re-arrange atoms to form different molecules. The soundtrack actually makes this activity feel heroic and exciting. It is so successful, IMO, that I often found that an elusive solution would come to me only when the background music changed and I was inspired to consider a previously untried approach.
   
   Re-playability: Most will never need to replay this game, because only about 2% are able to finish it. And only 6 people (last I checked) have finished every one of the user submitted levels. However, after solving a level, you're shown a graph which compares your solution (based on a few parameters) to all the other solutions that came before yours. For some, just completing a level may be good enough, but many will see how they compare to others and be motivated to revisit and optimize their solutions.
   
   SpaceChem certainly is not for everyone. If you are easily frustrated, not interested in deliberative problem solving, or just not the sharpest knife in the drawer, avoid this game. If you have ever enjoyed programming a computer, this is the game for you.… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
5. Jar_On

   Aug 28, 2011

   10

   SpaceChem is a puzzle game of engineering and mock molecular chemistry (and frustration). There are no graphics to speak of, only a functionalSpaceChem is a puzzle game of engineering and mock molecular chemistry (and frustration). There are no graphics to speak of, only a functional display of your "program" (the same level of clarity and, at the same time, lack of transparency as achieved by the roguelike games via the use of ASCII). There is no time limit, the only enemy is your brain... there is only the need to take two (or more) molecules and transmognify them into something else that is needed. While there are no "correct" answers, your alchemical Rube Goldberg machine will be compared to all the other solutions to a given level (the game even gives possibility of uploading solutions to youtube to boost your internet ego).
   The learning curve is wonderfully crafted although the caveat is that it apparently does not end and will drive you, eventually, bonkers.
   The core gameplay is brilliant and accompanied by truly fantastic music.
   At higher levels it becomes devilishly difficult.
   I love it.
   Sidenote: Due to its open nature SpaceChem has quite an absurd replay value. Revisiting old designs to make them a few 'cycles' faster or even spending time on youtube looking at crazy things that people have devised refuses to get old. The best game in years.… Expand

   • 2 of 3 users found this helpful
6. elpitaya

   Jul 3, 2011

   9

   Amazing indie game, chemistry have never been this fun! Make reactions, bond and unbond atoms, this game is a challenge, It has puzzles thatAmazing indie game, chemistry have never been this fun! Make reactions, bond and unbond atoms, this game is a challenge, It has puzzles that may take over hours to solve but they are worth them!
   This game is awesome, also it has a nice soundtrack!… Expand

   • 0 of 0 users found this helpful
7. comedon

   Jul 21, 2011

   9

   Sure, graphics won't charms the eye. It's not an artistic achievement. Let's say : functional. But graphics are so often pure excipient.Sure, graphics won't charms the eye. It's not an artistic achievement. Let's say : functional. But graphics are so often pure excipient. Gameplay might be slightly improve too (to get ride of some shortcuts or useless clicks) . But.
   Pure pleasure. Less is more. A basic concept that offers the player a wide and joyful illusion of freedom. To build a personal solution and improve it vs to find the only and only hidden one which often leads to some frustrations (the case of so many puzzle games). Rules are fairly stricts : you won't be blessed by a pixel approximation or a miraculous milli-second.
   The pleasure to build a clock steps by steps, to test it. To refine it. And finally to watch it achieves its task beautifully. The pleasure to build and and the pleasure to contemplate your achievement.
   It's been a long time a game hadn't give me so much.
   There so many indi games that go as quick as they come. The word is "casual" : help time to flow away. If you hadn't time to "loose", don't buy this one. A game you play hours after you have shut it down.
   Some shadows : the need to instal complementary element (mono framework for OS X) and some tips that won't help because they mask a part of the game area (OS X version).… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
8. x2495iiii

   Dec 31, 2011

   0

   From the start, this game disappointed. Entering a DRM key with extremely tiny letters into a text field with no arrow key support (you can'tFrom the start, this game disappointed. Entering a DRM key with extremely tiny letters into a text field with no arrow key support (you can't go back and change a letter if you get one wrong, you have to delete everything and start over) is not a good way to start a fun game. Eventually I got it working, and I soon wished I hadn't. In a nutshell, this game is too simple in the action department, and too complex in the how-to-play department. I'll admit, I enjoy a good action game, but if a puzzler is done right, I can waste plenty of hours on it. This game, however, was just too boring. I didn't care who the hero was, I didn't care why he needed to move circles (molecules) around, the game just did not motivate me to move past the first few levels. Basically, if you like dragging and dropping shapes onto other shapes, you'll like this game. And if that's the case, there's a little game with differently shaped pegs that you have to put into similarly shaped holes that you might like too.… Expand

   • 0 of 23 users found this helpful

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