The best Zachlike is getting a big surprise expansion

Nine years after stoically engineering one of the finest puzzle games known to humanity, the creators of Opus Magnum have decided to release a chunky prequel expansion that is "around half the length of the original". God, I needed this. For anyone who fondly remembers posting GIF after GIF of their clicky-clacky solutions in the original alchemical braintickler, it is good news. Good enough to break our usual cynical binning of press releases here at Jank, and relay some of the details.

It's called Opus Magnum: De Re Metallica, and let me pause here to say it is a terrible idea to tempt fate by invoking the name of a famously litigious rock band, but never mind. We'll soon have more clonky puzzles with swivelly mechano arms.

It's going to have it's own prequel story, about a "maverick alchemical researcher" who is inventing reckless stuff which'll see him "clash with established orthodoxy, bicker with his assistant, and attract attention from the Great Houses." I enjoy the stories of these games but I imagine a lot of folks only care about cold hard facts. So know that there are three new "glyphs". Three fresh chapters of puzzles. And a difficulty level "similar to the second half of Opus Magnum".

For folks who haven't played before, you're an alchemist who has to combine little marbles of elements together and deliver them to a big output hole. You get a hexy grid where you can plop down crane arms and moving tracks, using these tools to rotate and fuse marbles in whatever way you need. The puzzles are open ended, so your solution is likely to be different to your mate's own approach. But whose machinery is more efficient? Well. That's where the proud little GIFs come in.

But you probably knew all that. Zachlikes are a cult favourite among programmer types. Maybe you are even thinking: "Hang on, didn't Zachtronics shut down in 2022?" Yes - good memory. But then they reformed as a new studio called Coincidence Games a few years later to release Kaizen: A Factory Story - a game about fusing bits of electronics together in 1980s Japan. But both programmer Zach Barth and writer Matthew Seiji Burns have returned to their old alchemy marble 'em up.

"Zach was originally approached by a couple fans in the community about some compelling and unique ideas for the game," we're told via PR spokesfolk. "As a game designer, it sparked his creativity and he felt he had to see it through and hence De Re Metallica was born. As this is an original Zachtronics title, it will continue to be published under this studio name."

It's due out March 17th, alongside a surprise Nintendo Switch release of the original (cannot think of anything worse than playing this without a mouse but you do you). The only snag is that I've definitely forgotten the best practices of Opus Magnum, which means if I want to return for these tougher puzzles, I'll have to replay a lot of the early chapters of the base game. My brain is not as lithe as it was nine years ago. The GIFs will not be quite so swish.