Opus Magnum

Opus Magnum is a PC-only puzzle game created by independent developer Zach Barth and his studio Zachtronics Industries. Brath is known for designing these types of productions. He has designed such titles as Infinifactory, Shenzhen I/O and Ironclad Tactics. Opus Magnum strongly refers to the first games of the American, The Codex of Alchemical Engineering and The Magnum Opus Challenge.

Storyline

The main protagonist of Opus Magnum is Anataeus Vaya, an exceptionally skilled alchemist, a man who brews various potions, produces metals and even constructs deadly weapons. He accepts the position of Chief Alchemist of the Van Tassen family, one of the most respected, oldest and wealthiest families in the city. As Vaya completes his consecutive assignments, he uncovers the dark secrets of his employers. In doing so, he gets into trouble, which alchemy alone may not solve.

The game is divided into a tutorial prologue and five chapters. In each there are several puzzles to solve.

Mechanics

The game in Opus Magnum takes place on a board composed of hexagonal fields. Players are given a number of devices at their disposal, such as automatic tongs or feeders. The task is simple - with these elements and the basic elements and alchemical ingredients (such as salt, lead, iron or copper) made available on the board, the player has to build and program the simplest and most compact machine, which would be able to produce a specific product in as few moves as possible. While constructing it, you have to take into account not only the amount of space occupied by the mechanism, but also funds. The more we spend on the created apparatus, the worse our result will be.

You can show off your best achievements in front of your friends, not only in the form of statistics (including the cost of a given device, the number of moves it took to create the required number of commissioned products and the space occupied by them on the board), but also short animations in .GIF format, showing the constructed constructs in action.

Opus Magnum also has another mode of play, based on the rules of the popular mahjong game Sigmar's Garden. It is based on matching two highlighted symbols of elements and alchemical ingredients. When we do it properly, the symbols disappear and the next ones, directly adjacent to them, are highlighted. The main goal is to get rid of all the symbols from the board.

Technical issues

The graphics in Opus Magnum are two-dimensional and crude, but at the same time they are clear, smooth and well reflect the atmosphere of the game. Particularly noteworthy are the aesthetically executed character portraits and background images, presenting the locations of the title's action.

Other

Opus Magnum has an editor and full support for Steam Workshop. This allows players to freely create and make available for download new puzzles and challenges. The highest rated puzzles are featured in the prestigious Journal of Alchemical Engineering, overseen by the Zachtronics studio.