DLCOpus Magnum: De Re MetallicaLoading store offers
Opus Magnum
Opus Magnum is chiefly a solo construction puzzle: design alchemical machines and refine solutions for speed, simplicity, or space. It costs ≈ $7.07 from 
Kinguin. With 97%% positive from 6,100 reviews, there is plenty of player feedback to consider, but the key question is whether open-ended tinkering appeals to you. Sigmar’s Garden adds a solitaire option to the single-player experience. At $9.99 on Steam, the offer from Kinguin costs ≈ $2.92 less; Steam is the comparison price.
All-time low ~ $6.79across Steam & third-party stores
Loading store offers
Wishlist price
Set a target to receive an email when an eligible offer in your selected region is at or below that amount.
Price History
Past 36 months · Updated dailyHistorical Low~ $9.992023-08Current Low Across Stores~ $19.99Fanaticalvs. Historical Low+100%
Prices cover Steam and 39 authorized stores; only legitimate offers are counted. The chart shows weekly market-wide lows and Steam's official price across the past 36 months.
DLC
01About Opus Magnum
Opus Magnum is an open-ended construction puzzle about designing machines for alchemical processes. Programmable arms, customizable tracks, and other devices move materials through a transmutation engine to produce remedies, gemstones, weapons, and more. Steam players rate the game 97%% positive across 6,100 reviews. The Steam PC version features single-player and Steam Workshop.
Credits
Developer
Zachtronics
Publisher
Zachtronics
Lowest recorded in 36 months
$9.992023-08-12 · FanaticalBase game · same records as the chart above; USD history, not a regional Steam low.Language support
| Language | Interface | Subtitles | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | Yes | — | — |
| English | Yes | — | — |
| French | Yes | — | — |
Show 10 more languages
| Language | Interface | Subtitles | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|
| German | Yes | — | — |
| Japanese | Yes | — | — |
| Russian | Yes | — | — |
| Spanish-Latin America | Yes | — | — |
| Korean | Yes | — | — |
| Turkish | Yes | — | — |
| Ukrainian | Yes | — | — |
| Portuguese | Yes | — | — |
| Czech | Yes | — | — |
| Polish | Yes | — | — |
Steam PC edition data · 2026-11-07
02Before you buy
Open-ended machine puzzles
Design machines with programmable arms and tracks to carry out alchemical processes. Puzzles allow different solutions, which you can compare and export as GIFs.
Solo play and extra puzzles
The Steam PC single-player game also includes Sigmar’s Garden, an original alchemy-based solitaire game. Steam Workshop supports a puzzle editor and user-created challenges.
Language
The Steam PC version lists English and other interface languages. Full audio and subtitles are not listed for these languages.
03Frequently asked questions
What is the story about?
You play Anataeus Vaya, an alchemist who takes a position as Head Alchemist of House Van Tassen. Dangers and intrigue lie behind the family’s opulent facade.
What do you do in the puzzles?
Build machines to create remedies, gemstones, weapons, and other products. Puzzles let you optimize solutions for simplicity, speed, or compactness.
Is there a card game?
Yes. Sigmar’s Garden is an original alchemy-based solitaire minigame.
Can I play user-made puzzles?
Yes. Steam Workshop supports creating and sharing puzzles, and the game features user-submitted challenges curated by Zachtronics.
Popular Steam reviews
Native-language selection · 10 reviewsSelected helpful reviews in this language show both recommendations and criticisms. This selection does not represent the overall positive rating; opinions reflect the version reviewed.
RecommendedSteam player
Apparently the youtube doomscroll algorithm knows its stuff. Thank you Goodbye Galaxy.Show moreShow less
5.7 hours at review456 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
Be warned, there are some big issues with UI/Scaling/Resolution on this game that Zachtronics have confirmed on a recent Gamasutra podcast/stream (broadcast Nov 1st, 3pm Eastern Time - go to 15:34 of the video on youtube, search 'gamasutra opus magnum') that they have NO intention of fixing at any point during this game. It is an issue they don't hope to tackle until their NEXT game! This has never been an issue on any other Zachtronics game .... but it is a big issue now. It goes like this, it appears they designed this aesthetically simple 2d puzzle game with 1080 resolution in mind, and nothing else. I am running 1366x768 ... and at this resolution, the game elements are HUGE ... the UI panels are HUGE ... and the gaming area you can see at any one time is TINY, likewise for the instruction lane that you need to input instructions is SHORT. You can only see 24 instructions at any one time, and this issue is compounded by the fact your view of the instruction pane won't scroll when you are trying to select a larger sequence of instructions, or when you're trying to paste a sequence you just selected (fingers crossed super firmly that at the very least that can be solved, otherwise consider this game a total write off if you want to play anything but the simplest of levels). this is a big problem for more than just one reason .... 1st of all, the later puzzles of the game you will be asked to produce products that take up the entire visible gaming area (if you're on less than 1080) .... just imagine all the scrolling around you're going to have to do to manufacture the product, you will never have an over-view of the entire solution you are working on, and furthermore you will never completely see your solution in action unless you render it to gif and view it in a gif viewer .... what the actual feck. the 2nd reason this is a significant problem, as if that really wasn't bad enough, is that the game is the most 'accessible' (i.e easiest, and I include optimisations in that summation) zachtronics game yet .... so to get a decent challenge going, you're going to be relying on those levels with larger products ... and if you're using a monitor that is less than 1080 the biggest challenge won't be in solving the puzzles, it will be in enduring the tedium of mousing around the gaming area of a 2d puzzler that absolutely should not be having this scaling problem. people with 4k monitors seem to be having an inverse issue to this. But between people on the lower end of the resolution spectrum and the higher end of the resolution spectrum, this has been a frequently made feature request - to FIX this issue. So, while I have not seen the issue addressed directly on Opus Magnum's Steam discussion area (where it should be addressed, I would have thought), I instead learn that Zachtronics have absolutely NO intention of fixing it via a Gamasutra podcast ... wtf ? .... Not only that, there is a brazen streak of arrogance in their manner of addressing the problem on that podcast .... basically anyone suffering with this problem has a 'terrible, dank, old laptop that's 5 years old' .... This laptop isn't 5 years old, it is a midrange toshiba 2.5+ years ago. Their attitude to 4k users isn't so toxic, but it is no more considerate. Basically if you're monitor isn't 1080, either larger or smaller, you're the problem .... Well, I put it to you that if a developer working on an aesthetically simple 2d puzzler is having these issues, to such degree that he can't solve it without 'rewriting the game' ... it is the visual programmer, or the game designer, who is the problem ... I am honestly not sure where the buck stops on that one, but I am really shocked that this is an issue. and an issue that won't be resolved. to add insult to injury, not only have they not addressed this on steam, but they haven't even made a note of it in the minimum tech requirements to play the game on the store page .... how can they in good conscious speak about this problem as brazenly and dismissively as they do on gaming podcasts, acknowledging that it won't be fixed, but still refuse to alert potential customers of this problem ? that seems to be bordering on willfull deceit, imo. this game is good in other ways ... but just past the midway point and the UI/scaling problem is already causing serious interface issues where enjoyment is taking a hit, and more time is being spent trying to compensate for the programmer's failings. this will only get worse as the products you are asked to produce get bigger, and the instruction sequences get longer. So if your monitor is not 1080 ... beware. I can not reccommend this game for anyone playing at monitor resolutions other than that .... even if it would be at a 50% discount, I would say be prepared for a very awkward gaming experience if you're running a 'terrible computer' with a 'dank' 1366 x768 resolution monitor ... like, get real man, don't expect the developer to do something crazy like make his 2d puzzler scalable or develop it in such a way that it wouldn't need to be scaled. links: youtube link where this issue is covered by the dev (should link directly to minute 15:34): https://youtu.be/-vvuBPBn4Fk?t=934 example of what a campaign level, unsolved, can look like on 1366x768: https://s1.postimg.org/2qq1yig0pr/opus-magnum-monitor-sux2.jpg example of what a steamworkshop level, unsolved, can look like on 1366x768 https://s1.postimg.org/1gzw6cv467/opus-magnum-monitor-sux3-workshop.jpgShow moreShow less
24.2 hours at review162 people found this helpful
Written during Early Access
RecommendedSteam player
Zachtronics making me feel stupid again. Gameflow in a nutshell Step one: Find solution. Step two: Spend hours/days looking for a more efficient solution. Step three: Look at other players solutions compared to yours. Step four: Move on to next puzzle in disgust. 10/10.Show moreShow less
14.4 hours at review318 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
Beat the game, stopped at post-game content. With infinite playing space and pieces, solutions feel inevitable, not rewarding. Past the first half of the game, puzzles get longer, not more interesting. My reaction to seeing anything in chapter 4-5 was "ugh." Like, I can do it, but it'll take a while. When the puzzles are small and unique the game is at its most fun (like in the first 2 chapters), but unfortatunely that's not where the game stays.Show moreShow less
33.2 hours at review68 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
Love puzzle games like this and Infinifactory. I'm turning 77 years old in a few weeks and these games stretch my capacity to still solve problems like in my previous life as an engineer. This is a wonderful game with a nice story line as well. Since I can no longer play first person shooters, these are my goto games! Thanks Zachtronics!!Show moreShow less
276.8 hours at review188 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
Of all the Zachtronics puzzle games, this one feels the least like a game. The gameplay is well designed for optimization, but I don't personally get much enjoyment out of optimizing the cost, size and time of a device with a completely abstract size, cost and run time. To expand: SpaceChem, Infinifactory and Shenzhen I/O deal with real engineering concepts. Reactors are expensive so as an employee we would try to build fewer of them. A factory exists to produce a product so we would want to reduce the time it takes for a run cycle to maximize factory output. Smaller circuit boards can fit into smaller devices. Etc. These all fit the role that you play as an engineer. The alchemy machine is not physically represented in the game world (or reality) and is therefore a departure from past titles. It has no equivalent in our world apart from magic. Measuring the cost of a machine that can turn lead into gold is irrelavent in an economic sense, whereas real world chemicals have a known value. We have no idea how long alchemy takes since it has no bearing on gameplay or story and has no real world equivalent; the process could be effectively instantaneous for all we know. SpaceChem reactors could arguably be the same way, but sending chemicals through a pipe to a tanker does give us some kind of time frame. The alchemy machine is not represented physically and has apparently infinite internal space, and there is no need to optimize an infinte resource from an engineering point of view. I should specify that none of these issues I have relate to the puzzle component of the game. If your motivation is to puzzle for the sake of puzzling then yes, this game works very well. If, however, you are role-playing an engineer within the game world, which I derive enjoyment from, then the sudden lack of these underlying principles is a disappointing departure. Evidentally I am the only person who feels this way, but I stand by my assessment of engineering. One last point: this game could have taken the opportunity to challenge you to optimize anything at all. Free from the restraints of reality, yet still judging your work based on real world economic biases. I think that's what disappointed me the most.Show moreShow less
18.3 hours at review29 people found this helpful
Written during Early Access
RecommendedSteam player
The experience: you build a shameful, jittering meatball of pistons and regret. And yet, you’re proud. You watch your creation spit out product after product, inefficiently but reliably, like a factory designed by a caffeinated octopus. Your friends share screenshots of their compact, elegant builds, and you respond with your 37-arm monstrosity held together by timing loops, divine mercy, and stubbornness. You name it “The Alchemajestic Horrorspindle” and defend its honor in Discord debates. But... that’s the point.The game doesn't want your machine to be perfect. It wants you to care about it. To iterate. To optimize. To tear it down and rebuild it three hours later because you found a way to shave off one cycle and you hate yourself just enough. 10/10 - still hating myself.Show moreShow less
11.9 hours at review136 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
I'm not a fan. I can see how people enjoy this for the simple puzzles they are, but it lacks depth and the inability to annotate clusters of instructions make it less about solving the actual puzzle and more about trying to figure out which of the 30 instructions in a bar is the one you need to adjust. This makes the game incredibly fiddly and each puzzle takes about 50% too long because of it.Show moreShow less
3.2 hours at review26 people found this helpful
RecommendedSteam player
I'm here because of Goodbye Galaxy and I think this video is the best advertisement for the game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Ekun0WDIkShow moreShow less
30.3 hours at review135 people found this helpful
Not recommendedSteam player
Ignore the "simulation" tag, this game is not a sim and there are no simulation aspects. It is a puzzle game only.Show moreShow less
0.1 hours at review20 people found this helpful
Source: Steam user reviews reproduced in their original form. Helpful-vote counts are an archived record, not live data. Last collected: 08/15/2026.