Indie · December 7, 2017
Opus Magnum (2017)
“It is not an exaggeration to say that without alchemical engineering, civilization would not exist.” Hailed as the most promising alchemist of his generation, Anataeus Vaya has just accepted a position as Head Alchemist of House Van Tassen, the oldest and richest of the city’s ancient Houses. But dangers lurk behind the family’s opulent facade, and alchemy alone may not solve every problem. Opus Magnum is the latest open-ended puzzle game from Zachtronics, the creators of SpaceChem, Infinifactory, TIS-100, and SHENZHEN I/O. Master the intricate, physical machinery of the transmutation engine— the alchemical engineer’s most advanced tool— and use it to create vital remedies, precious gemstones, deadly weapons, and more. Design Machines - Design and build machines that carry out alchemical processes using a variety of components including programmable arms, customizable tracks, and more esoteric devices like Van Berlo’s wheel and the Glyph of Animismus. Open-Ended Puzzles - Compete against your friends and the world to build the simplest, fastest, and most compact solutions to the game’s challenges. Export animated GIFs of your elegant designs to show them off. Steam Workshop - Make and share your own puzzles with full Steam Workshop integration and an easy-to-use puzzle editor. Play the top user-submitted puzzles in the prestigious Journal of Alchemical Engineering , curated by Zachtronics! Rich Story - Intrigues and dark plots swirl around the city’s ancient Houses. Alchemists, who hold the power to create almost anything known to science, are highly sought— and highly dangerous. Solitaire Minigame - Alchemical engineering takes focus and concentration. Take a break with Sigmar’s Garden , an original alchemy-based solitaire game. Every game is winnable, but not every game will be won…
Peer Indie titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Indie releases from 2017
20 Indie titles launched in 2017 — top 6 by review volume.
Position in Indie
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 6.0k Steam reviews | Top 42% in Indie |
| Positive rating | 97% positive | Genre average: 87% — this title sits in top 9% |
| Metacritic | 90/100 | Genre average 77 — top 7% of Indie titles |
| Concurrent peak | 139 players | Top 29% in Indie by live player count |
| Engagement hours | 16 h average | Top 39% for session depth among Indie |
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Puzzle · 184
- Programming · 142
- Automation · 128
- Indie · 127
- Simulation · 104
- Logic · 81
- Singleplayer · 51
- Great Soundtrack · 33
- Steampunk · 32
- Building · 29
- Difficult · 28
- Sandbox · 27
- 2D · 26
- Hex Grid · 12
- Casual · 7
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (12)
- English
- French
- German
- Japanese
- Russian
- Simplified Chinese
- Spanish - Latin America
- Korean
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Portuguese - Portugal
- Czech
Reception Metrics
Steam community
97%Overwhelmingly Positive · 6.0k reviews
5.8k positive · 180 negative
Metacritic
90/100 critic aggregate
Curator recommendations
5.1k
Peak concurrent players
139
Press Quotes
“Without a doubt one of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played.” 9.5/10 – IGN “One of the very best puzzle games of the year, if not the decade.” 91/100 – PC Gamer
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
16h
moderate (15–40 hours)
Median
9h
Typical completion time
2-week avg
1h
Current engagement
Achievements
5
Steam unlocks available
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Workshop
- Steam Cloud
- Steam Leaderboards
Other
- Single-player
- Includes level editor
- Family Sharing
Release & Availability
| Release date | Dec 7, 2017 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Zachtronics |
| Base price | $9.99 |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| Estimated owners | 100k–1M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
More from Zachtronics
Zachtronics has 5 titles indexed — all listed below.
Editions & Packages
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