A refinement of the Zachtronics formula, EXAPUNKS is somewhere between SHENZHEN I/O and Opus Magnum in terms of difficulty. The premise allows us to go into the field of relatively known algorithms and problems. In particular, it is a question of introducing and making the player discover algorithmic theory by themselves. Thus, ordereing problems and data structures (sequential access, priority queue, spaghetti stack, LIFO) will be explored. Despite the scary names, the title makes sure that those concepts are implied and distilled through tangible and specific puzzles. This is where it is at its best: it's much easier to understand how we to retrieve a DVD box from a pile than explaining the theory behind LIFO. On the other hand, the game loses a bit of its charm in the bonus campaign levels, which are a pile of problems that only aim to make our EXA lines explode. But the initial diversity is more than enough to make up for this final frustration. A warm mention to the lore-building, which, without being exceptional, does its job decently and fosters a certain empathy with the characters and a sense of reward by "seeing" the effect of our programs in the world. Another very good puzzle game.

Reviewed on Sep 10, 2022


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