One of the best puzzle games ever is getting surprise DLC even though its developer kind of closed a while ago

Opus Magnum, a stellar 2017 puzzle game about building alchemical devices, is getting a surprise new DLC campaign.

It's a little weird to be citing Zachtronics, never mind talking about a new DLC release from the studio, because it sort of isn't around anymore. But it also sort of is, clearly.

Zachtronics is one of the puzzle game greats—aside from Opus Magnum, which we awarded a 91% in our review, it's known for TIS-100, Infinifactory, SpaceChem, and a bunch of other excellent puzzle and strategy games. A few years ago, however, studio founder Zach Barth declared in a PC Gamer interview that "Zachtronics is over."

Even then it was only kind of over, though, because Barth and others then formed Coincidence, a new studio that has carried on making games, most notably Kaizen: A Factory Story. I suspect that the new entity had something to do with the 2016 acquisition of Zachtronics by Alliance Media Holdings, but whatever the case, the label has been revived for the moment and Opus Magnum: De Re Metallica will be released by Barth and co under the Zachtronics name.

A PR representative for the studio said that "the future of Zachtronics and revisiting and expanding on other titles is unknown at this time."

As for De Re Metallica, it's a prequel that "follows a maverick alchemical researcher named Saverio Daas, who believes he can unlock metallurgical secrets that even the Imperial Academy has not uncovered," says the studio. A price for the DLC hasn't been announced.

If you haven't played it, I heartily recommend Opus Magnum itself. It scratches the same problem-solving itch as bigger factory automation games, but in tightly designed scenarios which have multiple solutions. The goal is not just to solve its mechanical programming challenges, but to solve them more efficiently than your friends, whose results you can see on a leaderboard.

There's more info about Opus Magnum: De Re Metallica on its Steam page.

Tyler grew up in Silicon Valley during the '80s and '90s, playing games like Zork and Arkanoid on early PCs. He was later captivated by Myst, SimCity, Civilization, Command & Conquer, all the shooters they call "boomer shooters" now, and PS1 classic Bushido Blade (that's right: he had Bleem!). Tyler joined PC Gamer in 2011, and today he's focused on the site's news coverage. His hobbies include amateur boxing and adding to his 1,200-plus hours in Rocket League.

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