Spacechem

I recently replayed this, this is much more than a great puzzle game. The puzzles are fantasy-chemistry based. You have an input and are given a desired output, which you reach by leading molecules through a track, that you build, along which the molecule can be altered in different ways. You do this in a grid, with building blocks that have simple functions but can be combined to reach fairly complex actions. This all leads to very fluid and satisfying chains of events when you complete your solution. To me it reaches far beyond the game by teaching you to chop up problems in smaller ones. You need to constantly switch between the problem and the bigger picture. This teaches you the value of a plan. The largest part of the challenge is knowing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and where it needs to be done. And another valuable insight is that small alterations can have disastrous effects further down the line. This often happens when you either misjudged a problem or become over-ambitious and try to solve more as what you planned to do. All of these are things you can recognize and use all the time in day to day life. The music is fantastic; it never distracts but is still very noticeable and doesn’t get old, even after many hours in a level. The graphics are functional, go hand in hand with the gameplay, it’s really good in telling you what goes on. The learning curve felt very natural, gradually you learn more and are presented with steeper challenges. In the end you realize that you learned many things that make earlier challenges a lot more fun, so you will most likely be going back to optimize solutions. The only thing I enjoyed a little less as the rest of the game were the “end of level bosses”. These introduce an action-game element to the puzzles where you use real time commands to align your output with an enemy on screen. But, still okay, it did provide a change of pace and a sense of a conclusion to the level. 100% recommended

Such chemistry Many wow Puzzle me for days

What I like most about this game is the simplicity of rules that gives so many possibilities. I can definitely recommend this to anyone who likes puzzle games and analytical thinking.

2011 was a great year for games with an abundance of quality titles, what with huge titles like Arkham City, Battlefield 3, Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Portal 2, etc., and slightly less marketed, but still amazing games such as Dark Souls, Bastion, Orcs Must Die, etc. The game that, to my own bewilderment, managed to steal almost all the thunder from any other title, was an indie developed puzzle game named SpaceChem. It offered something few other games do, and in unprecedented quantities; Freedom to explore and solve problems your own way. The premise is fairly simple; Program reactors using simple iconography to synthesise chemicals on a molecular level. The ingenuity lies in how each challenge is presented; You're tasked to create the sollution from scratch, building on everything you've learned up to that point. It's challenging, frustrating, taxing and oh god your brain will hate you. But, once you solve a specific problem and finally manage to pull your assembly line together, you feel like the smartest goddamn person in the world, and not because you've figured out the puzzle designer's abstract sollution to their puzzle. No, because you've just used your own skills and brains to create your own sollution, and this is the most key thing of the entire experience; Player agency over their approach to any given puzzle. And it's done more deftly than most other games I've ever played. If you like puzzles, exploring, programming and/or creating your own sollutions, then you owe yourself a copy of this game.

This game is quite possibly the best puzzle game ever. It is Interesting, rewarding, challenging and FUN. I cannot recommend this game highly enough.