Deeply satisfying, challenging puzzles
Mentioned in ~1 in 2 positive reviews
“SpaceChem has the most marvelously difficult puzzles where you don't so much find a solution as build it.”
Steam review · 51.5 h played ↗
SpaceChem
Worth buying? What 300 Steam reviews say.Worth buying? Here’s what 300 Steam reviews actually say.
Overwhelmingly PositiveOverwhelmingly Positive · 95%Zachtronics2011Logic · Automation · Puzzle
$9.99
Open on Steam ↗US Steam price, checked 6 h ago
The verdict
A brutally hard, deeply rewarding programming-style puzzler with big optimization depth. Skip it if you want hand-holding, polish, or relaxed play.
Great for
Programmers and logic fans who love optimizing solutions and don't mind being stuck for hours
Main risk
Steep difficulty spikes and a weak tutorial leave many players stuck or bouncing early
What players love
Feels like programming and engineering
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 positive reviews
“This is the game I'd use, if I have to introduce someone to programming, without them noticing.”
Steam review · 7.2 h played ↗
Optimization and leaderboard replayability
Mentioned in ~1 in 7 positive reviews
“No matter how good you think a solution is, someone else managed to do it in half the cycles and half the symbols.”
Steam review · 29.4 h played ↗
Great music and engaging story
Mentioned in ~1 in 12 positive reviews
“The soundtrack and (light but engaging) storyline are perfect for a puzzler like this.”
Steam review · 244.8 h played ↗
What players complain about
Weak tutorial and poor explanations
Mentioned in ~1 in 4 negative reviews
“The main problem with this game is that there isn't enough in-game help to understand the mechanics.”
Steam review · 2.2 h played ↗
Feels like work, tedious
Mentioned in ~1 in 5 negative reviews
“It feels more like programming than playing a game, and the harder the puzzles get, the more they become like a chore.”
Steam review · 4 h played ↗
Difficulty spikes make it too hard
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“Then you hit a difficulty spike that's just asinine.”
Steam review · 3.4 h played ↗
Resolution, fullscreen and launch problems
Mentioned in ~1 in 6 negative reviews
“it is impossible to play fullscreen on your usual monitor (the default window is tiny and not resizeable - vector graphics, guys!).”
Steam review · 2.9 h played ↗
Clunky, dated UI and controls
Mentioned in ~1 in 8 negative reviews
“The one word that sums up SpaceChem is 'clunky'. Clunky controls, clunky graphics, clunky audio.”
Steam review · 0.6 h played ↗
Hidden bonder priority makes solutions fail
Mentioned in ~1 in 38 negative reviews
“Since the Grey Bonders have an internal priority that you simply cannot see, and have to work out”
Steam review · 16.4 h played ↗
System requirements
From the Steam store page
Steam Deck: Playable300 MB
Minimum
OSWindows XP SP3 / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
Processor2.0 GHz Processor
Memory1GB RAM
Graphicsframe buffer support recommended
Storage300MB
OSWindows XP SP3 / Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
Processor2.0 GHz Processor
Memory1GB RAM
Graphicsframe buffer support recommended
Storage300MB
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