Up there with the best Zachtronics has to offer. Although superficially similar to TIS-100 or Shenzhen I/O, I’m impressed with how different its constraint challenges are, and the unique and colorful ways it reframes classic programming problems.
Separate from the great puzzle design, this game really reinforces that it’s the writing/music/sound from Matthew S. Burns and the Art/Graphic Design from Kyle Steed that elevates Zachtronics games over similar releases that focus more purely on their logic/puzzle design.
All the subtle world-building and the diegetic ways it’s strewn across this game make me smile so much. I bought a print-on-demand copy of the two zines well before playing this, and they really add so much flavor; I loved seeing a letter I hacked in an earlier level show up in the second issue, and it took me a minute to realize the other letters had all been present in the level too. I also love the numerous small ways the home screen updates to reflect campaign progress (I didn’t notice a few of them until I compared to an older screenshot from the beginning of the game). The chatroom filled with other hackers is also a delight, and pleasantly recalled the similarly characterful email threads from Shenzhen I/O.
It’s worth noting that the last level or so in the normal campaign (and pretty much every level in the bonus campaign) passed my personal limit for “this is meticulous but fun” into “this is painstaking and feels like I should be getting paid” territory. I’m glad they’re there for the most diligently hardcore to bang their head against, but it’s still an odd experience to see official levels that feel like they’re asking the equivalent of zero hit Dark Souls runs.
Separate from the great puzzle design, this game really reinforces that it’s the writing/music/sound from Matthew S. Burns and the Art/Graphic Design from Kyle Steed that elevates Zachtronics games over similar releases that focus more purely on their logic/puzzle design.
All the subtle world-building and the diegetic ways it’s strewn across this game make me smile so much. I bought a print-on-demand copy of the two zines well before playing this, and they really add so much flavor; I loved seeing a letter I hacked in an earlier level show up in the second issue, and it took me a minute to realize the other letters had all been present in the level too. I also love the numerous small ways the home screen updates to reflect campaign progress (I didn’t notice a few of them until I compared to an older screenshot from the beginning of the game). The chatroom filled with other hackers is also a delight, and pleasantly recalled the similarly characterful email threads from Shenzhen I/O.
It’s worth noting that the last level or so in the normal campaign (and pretty much every level in the bonus campaign) passed my personal limit for “this is meticulous but fun” into “this is painstaking and feels like I should be getting paid” territory. I’m glad they’re there for the most diligently hardcore to bang their head against, but it’s still an odd experience to see official levels that feel like they’re asking the equivalent of zero hit Dark Souls runs.