Before you ask: No, this is not going to be a post about how the media and video games bring us all together. Far from it, actually.

Lately, I’ve been taking it easy on my downtime after work, playing games, practicing my raids in Final Fantasy XIV, and having fun, in general. However, a recent purchase I made on the Humble Store opened my eyes to a curious thought:

In the past, I’ve shied away from everything that has to do with logical thinking, as well as stuff that jogs the spacial-awareness part of my brain; there’s something about those games that doesn’t quite click with me. Just like with sports games (FIFA, anyone?), I could sit down and play puzzle and logic games (and feel good about myself) for a few minutes before my attention would inevitably start to dwindle and wane. Moreover, I would go back maybe two or three times to these games before deciding that enough was enough, uninstalling them, and going back to whatever RPG or action game I could sink my teeth into.

What can I say? I guess I’m the kind of person that plays games just so I can turn off my brain and partake of the sweet, sweet dopamine rush that comes with an EX or Savage clear, or from killing that tough monster in Monster Hunter. The same goes for shooter games like PUBG, which I haven’t touched in about four months—screw that buggy game. These new Battle Royale titles that have been flooding the market provide a unique sensation every time I win a match; the kind that I’ve seldom experienced with any other game. Heck, you don’t even have to win; coming in top 10 is usually enough to make me feel mass euphoria and mash that “match” button to hop into another round as fast as possible.

But I digress. As I mentioned a moment ago, I recently came across a curious game; a little indie title that goes by the name of Opus Magnum, which might be one of the best puzzle games I’ve played in my entire life; and trust me when I say I’ve played a lot of games.

A Brilliant Mind

Released in late 2017 on Steam, Opus Magnum puts you in the shoes of Anataeus Vaya, one of the most talented minds in the field of Alchemy, and a fellow who has a tongue as sharp as he is intelligent. This young and promising individual has just completed his formal education in Alchemy and has learned how to use the transmutation table to combine all sorts of elements to achieve impressive results. For Anataeus, the struggles of the hopeless alchemists of our past are but child’s play, as he can easily transmute lead into gold, or synthesize complex products from raw elements.

The way he achieves this is through the use of the transmutation table mentioned above, a literal blank grid in which you can set all sorts of instruments and elements that work in tandem to synthesize the required solution. And this, my friends, is where Opus Magnum shines in its entirety.

A Brilliant Solution

You see, the goal of the game is to go through every level and deliver the solutions that are required of you. These solutions correspond to the story of the game and can range from meaningless trifles like purified water or heavy-duty hair gel, to downright amazing creations like rocket fuel to power your missiles. And speaking of story, I was pleasantly surprised by the plot in Opus Magnum. In this sense, you’re not synthesizing solutions and completing puzzles for the sake of doing it; there are actual reasons as to why you are tasked with the production of these substances.

Without diving too much into spoilers—because the story is actually quite entertaining and a significant driving element of the game—you begin your foray into the world of professional alchemy as the head alchemist for House Van Tassen. This is one of the oldest families in the realm and one of significant influence, with many allies, and even more enemies—not that the old geezers that run the place would know anything about that, anyway.

As the head alchemist, it is your sworn duty to produce all sorts of solutions for the old Master Armand, the head of the house, as well as for Lady Van Tassen, the young master Frederick, and even for Captain Gelt, all inhabitants of the estate. However, there is a catch: All your masters are utter idiots who can’t tell left from right—and that’s not an understatement.

Master Armand is continuously shifting in and out of senile naivety, young master Frederick, the heir to the estate, is dumber than a sack of bricks, and old Captain Gelt is too caught up in the old ways to direct the Estate Guard properly. That’s why when conflict breaks out, and House Van Tassen is at risk of being taken over by hostile forces, it comes down to you, Anataeus, to concoct whatever solution is necessary to ensure the safety of your master and employer.

With that being said, the alchemy in this game is so much more than merely combining ingredients to see what you can create. You have to create a working system of arms, pistons, rails, and sometimes even spinners to complete your projects. You have to set down the pieces, give instructions to each part per cycle, and execute them in a way that would allow you to synthesize the solution. This process takes a lot of forward and logical thinking to move the parts in a direction that will enable you to shift, bond, calcify, transmute, and deliver the required product at the end of the chain.

In this sense, Opus Magnum is entirely free-form: the game gives you free reign of the transmutation table from the very beginning so that you may create your solution in whatever way you see fit. Want to be as efficient as possible and complete each solution in as few cycles as you can? Then set a whole bunch of pieces down and configure them in a way that would allow synthesizing the solution quickly. Don’t care much about efficiency and want to save on costs, instead? Set a few pieces and give them a long string of instructions to complete the project. In this game, the final decision will always come down to you.

A Race to the Top

However, despite its free-form nature, the game gives you incentives to improve solutions to their most efficient iterations possible. At the end of each puzzle, you’re presented with a scoreboard where your current system is compared to an average for the current level concerning costs, cycles, and area.

The first factor depends on the number of moving pieces and rails you set down on the board, as each of these come with a price tag. The second factor revolves around the number of instructions or cycles that it takes for your system to output the required solutions. Finally, the third factor considers both the number of tiles that each part of your system occupies, as well as those through which they travel during the production cycle.

The area factor, in particular, is one of the most challenging aspects to optimize as it requires you to create smaller, tight-knit systems instead of having long arms haphazardly sweeping across the entire table, spanning great distances.

Furthermore, once you complete the game’s campaign, you can go to the options menu and activate the “Show Top Percentile” option, which allows you to check the conditions to achieve the top 1% in each level. This feature is perfect for those hardcore efficiency nuts that want to optimize their systems and get the most out of their game.

Recommended For

At its core, Opus Magnum is a puzzle game. However, it’s a particular type of puzzle game that emphasizes the process and not the solution. As such, you’ll find yourself always going back to your old solutions, trying to figure out new ways to optimize an existing system or to scrap entirely in favor of a new and more efficient setup.

With that being said, this game is fantastic for those looking to unwind stressfully, but in a good way. This is because, while the game is very relaxing with its calm music and gameplay, it is also highly-rewarding when you create a small machine that actually outputs the required solution. Suddenly, it’s 5 AM, and you’re still glued to the screen trying to figure out how to optimize your system.

As someone who doesn’t quite enjoy puzzle games myself, I highly recommend this game to anyone looking to try something. And, if you’re already a fan of brain-teasers, heck, then all the better for you!

Not Recommended For

It’s difficult to criticize this game without critiquing the entire genre. The flaws in this game are those that are inherent to puzzle games: some stages are slow and require you to think a lot to come up with a solution. Some might even have you sitting there, blankly staring at your screen for what seems like hours. If you don’t have the patience to solve puzzles, then I’d suggest you avoid this game.

Nevertheless, as I said, if even someone who doesn’t play puzzles games regularly like myself can sit down and enjoy Opus Magnum for hours, then I guess anyone could find some fun in this game. If you’re at least one bit interested about what I said in this guide, and also enjoy looking at moving parts and machinery—even if you don’t enjoy puzzles—then give it a try.

I just realized that I recommended the game even in the “not recommended for” section; that’s how good it is.

I’ll leave it at that.

Written by Juan Lopez
Gamer, Freelance Writer living in Buenos Aires, Argentina.