Publisher: Zachtronic Industries
Developer: Zachtronic Industries
System requirements: Windows XP SP3/Vista/Win 7/Mac OSX 10.5.8 (Leopard), 2.0 GHz CPU, graphics card with frame buffer support, 1 GB RAM, 300 MB hard-drive space
Genre: Puzzle
ESRB rating: Not rated
Release date: Available now

SpaceChem doesn’t seem to have a lot going for it. It’s a simple-looking 2D game about programming machines to build molecules. Yet, under this unassuming surface lies a game of such seething excitement that it’ll have you shouting and yelling more than when you play an FPS. I myself spoke such dark utterances that Khorne himself shivered. How can a science-themed puzzle game go so right?

As the title correctly suggests, SpaceChem does indeed involve chemistry in space. As a Reactor Engineer for a leading chemical synthesizer, it’s your job to take base elements and construct them into usable ones. Your reactor has two mechanisms, lovingly called “waldos,” which you program by dropping clearly-labeled instructions into the reactor. The entire process is demonstrated through a series of tutorial missions that teach you the techniques, step by step.

When you think you’ve got the basics down, the game starts layering upon itself like an insane Escher Sonata. Suddenly you have to manage entire pipelines of factories, some with limited functionality. When you’ve got that down, then you get inputs that provide variable atoms, forcing you to add if-then statements into your machines. Then there’s the occasional timed boss battle, just to make sure you’re still breathing.

Like the enshrined Portal, SpaceChem does a wonderful job of slowly layering mechanics, leading you to complex solutions without explicitly giving away the answer. After completing a level, it shows you where you fit in the bell curve of players. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself replaying missions again and again, trying to find ever more efficient solutions each time.

The soundtrack in particular deserves special praise. There’s something about Evan Le Ny’s soaring orchestral music that adds an element of urgent danger. The fact that it provides something of an immersive atmosphere is nothing short of astonishing.

Space Chem hits that gooey sweet spot in the center of your analytical cortex and explodes into a thousand splinters. Every new puzzle looks more impossible then the last, yet finally clicks with such immense satisfaction your roommates might rat you out to the narcs. Once you’ve finished all 50 levels, gnawed at the expansion pack and its “quantum junction” addition, there’s also a sandbox mode that lets your creative beast free from corporate restraints. SpaceChem is more than just a Gainful Employment Simulator for out-of-work post-grads. It’s the best piece of brain candy for those of an analytical bent to come along in a long time.

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