The minds behind Opus Magnum and Infinifactory are dropping another clever game for ya. Möbius Front ’83 is a new strategy game by Zachtronics set in a past where the United States is being invaded by its dark realm self. Möbius Front ’83 will launch its turn-based tactical battles in November. (more…)

Cor, kids have it easy nowadays. Sure, they’re inheriting a polluted hellhole teetering on the brink of ecological and economic ruin, but look at all the neat games they get to grow up with. Thanks to Zachtronics announcing they’re giving away (nearly) all their games to schools, some of them even get to muck about with fabulously inventive puzzle boxes during their pretend workday. Imagine that! Privileged tykes.

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This is the hAcKeR collective {{Synonymous Bosch}}. We have taken control of this aRt1cLe. Three years ago it was written by the untalented and scurrilous journalist Brendan Caldwell, a man lacking in both knowledge and substance. But we have gained access in order to correct his egregious errors. It s a hack of a hack! Ha ha ha. We had our best joke cell work on that for three nights. Please laugh. Our detractors may say Mr Caldwell got it mostly right, and that may be the case, yes. But the order is aLL Wr0nG. And he has neglected to update it with a recent hit. We cannot let this stand. Here is an updated list which, actually, looking at it now, is still mostly Mr Caldwell s words and I guess they re okay. Sorry we said those nasty things. We are {{Synonymous Bosch}}. We sometimes forgive. We often forget.

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If there’s three things Zachlikes have become known for, it’s programming-inspired puzzling, histograms and animated victory recordings to gloat over on Twitter – now Exapunks has all three. After a brief tour of early access, grungy retro-cyberpunk hacking sim Exapunks is free to rampage across the internet. While no patch notes have rolled out for the official version 1.0 release, a patch a few days ago introduced the animated victory GIFs we all know and love, displaying scores and EXA movements, although not the code within.

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Look at you, hacker. No, really look at you, look at that gorgeous scarf. And those sunglasses are simply sublime. I hope your code tampering is as good as your fashion sense, because spidery hacking sim Exapunks is coming out later in October. It s been in early access, yup, but now it s jacking out completely. Free from the system, man.

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Not everyone can hang with the console cowboys in cyberspace; some of us can merely gaze in wonder and astonishment at what keyboard wizards accomplish in Zachtronics games. But if you’re not a kewl enough d00d to hack and program in Exapunks, the latest Zachlike, you can now at least play people’s created in-game games for free. Zachtronics last night released the TEC Redshift Player, a free standalone simulation of Exapunk’s fictional in-game handheld console. And the way to play Redshift games is cute: you download pictures of cartridges (which magically contain the data) then drag ’em in into the deck.

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Matthew Broderick simulator Exapunks got a sizeable update yesterday, adding nine more puzzles to the code scribbling hack em up. Developers Zachtronics are calling this a bonus campaign, since it focuses not on the AI pal who features in the main story, but on the hacker pals who appear in a chatroom between levels. In short, you ll be helping your hackmates do dodgy stuff. Like NthDimension getting his driver s license, says Zach Barth of Zachtronics, and hydroponix looking for the truth about the Roswell UFO crash. That one involves hacking the Department of Defense, naturally. (more…)

It s pretty obvious that the excellent Exapunks is a game about hacking. Specifically, it s a game about programming viruses and sending them into networked systems to monkey around with data, set in a great alternative 90s Wired cyberworld of PC cases flashed with black and red decals and zines set in Apple Garamond.

For its makers, though, Exapunks is a game about limitations. Its format is the result of hard decisions about how much space you get to write your code in, how much freedom you get to solve its puzzles, and how it s presented on your screen. And even now, creative director Zach Barth isn t totally sure he and his team got it right. (more…)

Johnny Lee Miller simulator sim Exapunks is the newest puzzle game from the makers of Opus Magnum. I ve already told you how cool and hard it is. But I thought I d pop by to show you the neat things players are making within this code-drenched alternative 1990s. Y see, there s an in-game handheld console called the Red Shift, and since Zachtronics are known for their frighteningly-detailed hacking games, you can program your own games for this Game Boyish device (not to mention other nonsense). Then, if you like, you can send the cartridge to other players. (more…)

To borrow a wise Klaxian proverb: It is the nineties and there is time for hacks. Exapunks is the latest hack em up from Zachtronics. It s set in the year 1997, which is a very pleasing year to say out loud. The same studio gave us the alchemical gadgeteering of Opus Magnum only ten months ago, but they ve already returned with a programming puzzler that s got more in common with previous Zachlikes. I ve been hacking into chocolate factories and university servers for the past week, and I ve found it as difficult and rewarding as anything that came before. Although, if this is your first glimpse into the Zachtroniverse, it might be overwhelming. (more…)