Alan's Automaton Workshop (2022)

Developer: Laputa Labs
Platforms: Windows, macOS, Linux
Genres: Simulation
Rating: 4.2 of 5, 212 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 10 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A methodical steampunk puzzle game where you build automata by connecting nodes and arrows, solving logic problems at a contemplative pace.

steampunkpuzzleprogramminglogicaleducationalsingleplayer2datmospheric

What players say

Players praise it as a challenging Zach-like focused on finite state machines, with a steep difficulty spike after chapter two. The beautiful steampunk visuals are appreciated, but the clunky drag-and-drop UI and lack of basic arithmetic functions frustrate even programmers. Players split on the story, with many finding it irrelevant or mediocre.

Screenshots

More games like this

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.