The open-ended alchemy puzzle game Opus Magnum arrived on Steam back in 2017, and it has since gone on to rack up over 3,000 'Overwhelmingly Positive' reviews. IGN's Tom Marks hailed it as "one of the best puzzle games I’ve ever played", while PC Gamer described it as "one of the very best puzzle games of the year, if not the decade". In short, it was rather popular.
Well, surprise! This beloved little machine builder is now available on the Switch eShop in an all-new 'Complete Edition'.
For those who missed this one at launch, Opus Magnum comes from SpaceChem developer Zachtronics, and tasks you with building various alchemy machines via the Transmutation Engine. You have to juggle moving parts, chemical combinations, and a machine that just keeps on moving, as you fulfil requests for everything from medicine to weapons.
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The Switch version bundles the De Re Metallica prequel DLC in with the base game, giving us another 17 puzzles and three new glyphs to play with.
Here's a rundown of the game's key features and a handful of screenshots:
Design Machines - Design and build machines that carry out alchemical processes using a variety of components including programmable arms, customizable tracks, and more esoteric devices like Van Berlo’s wheel and the Glyph of Animismus.
Open-Ended Puzzles - Compete against your friends and the world to build the simplest, fastest, and most compact solutions to the game’s challenges.
Rich Story - Intrigues and dark plots swirl around the city’s ancient Houses. Alchemists, who hold the power to create almost anything known to science, are highly sought— and highly dangerous.
Solitaire Minigame - Alchemical engineering takes focus and concentration. Take a break with Sigmar’s Garden, an original alchemy-based solitaire game. Every game is winnable, but not every game will be won…
De Re Metallica – An expansive prequel to Opus Magnum that includes 3 new glyphs, 17 new puzzles, and a new solitaire variant called “House Colvan.”
Opus Magnum: Complete Edition is now available on the Switch eShop for £22.50 / $29.99, and there's even a 20% launch discount until 19th March, bringing it down to £18.00 / $23.99.
Will you be checking this one out on Switch? Build your thoughts in the comments.





Comments 18
I remember enjoying SpaceChem when it came out 150 years ago. Made me feel a bit dumb, though. I refuse to Google solutions to puzzles in games, so I just had to abandon it.
Oh I'm going to be so bad at this but it looks awesome!
Great to see this coming also to Switch, happy for those interested in it (me included, but I doubt I'll get it anytime soon - nice that there's a launch discount for those who will)!
@dystome 150 years ago we were still using AltaVista and AskJeeves. Google wouldn't be invented for decades.
I wish there was a demo for this, because I really do not see the awesomeness in the trailer.
Already bought it on Steam just a few hours ago, funnily enough. Haven't played it yet but it looks like an interesting game and seems to be pretty highly regarded.
Cautiously want, but waiting for a review.
Not quite sure how the K+M control scheme of the original translates to a controller. (The keyboard shortcuts are there for a damn good reason...)
Zachtronics' games seem like they'd basically be impossible for anyone who isn't already extremely good at math and programming.
Like "Baba is you" before it, I fear that playing that game highlights my "stupidita magna" : (
I have this on the Switch2 and the words are very small and I cannot read them to play the game. When are developers going to realize we need to be able to read the text to play a game.
Seems like a demo would be good for this one.
@Broch83 Oh I loooved this game. If you are into open ended puzzles.about creating elaborate machines to do stuff, this game is for you. If not... well, there are a lot of other games!
@dystome Opus Magnum is a fair bit easier from what I've heard (haven't played SpaceChem myself)
This is an amazing game if you like trying to find the best solution to a puzzle. I would definitely recommend getting it on PC if you can, as this works best with mouse controls. But I'm sure it's fine on Switch as well if you can't get it on PC or you want to play it handheld.
Text is so ridiculous small on oG switch screen. What are they thinking? Why? So often in so many games.... Is it Laziness or do they just don't give a crap? It stinks, I paid for this. Shame on the developers. Sorry: I'm just sooo frustrated. Please make this always a point in your review / preview / Heads-Up, NL.
I bought it due to this article and it is unplayable. Thanks.
And don't give me the zoom-in-ability crap. This game is DOA
@sportvater Thank you for highlighting the tiny text size. I was wondering if this was an issue for the Switch version so I will give it a miss.
I agree that NL should mention the handheld text size - and any scaling options - in their reviews.
I don't find the text impossible to read, I'm 38 and my eyes are not the best anymore and I still manage. But it is quite small on the Switch 2 screen and I do find it frustrating, just not impossible. I do find it to be a bit glitchy though. A few times I've had to save an exit and come back just to get my machine to play. Another time it wouldn't let me alter the code without saving and quitting.
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