EXAPUNKS

Exapunks is a hacking game that will make you feel like a genius or an idiot—sometimes both in quick succession.

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EXAPUNKS is a single-player Science Fiction Simulation game with an intriguing story and delightful game mechanics. As a former hacker infected with a deadly phage, you must complete hacking tasks to receive antidotes. The game features fantastic visuals, sensational music, and various activities like writing viruses, hacking different systems, and even playing hacked games. However, be prepared for lots of grinding and slacking off in this very atmospheric game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

77%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,007 reviews

story98 positive mentions

grinding14 negative mentions

Engaging and challenging puzzles that encourage creative problem-solving.
The game features a unique cyberpunk aesthetic and an interesting storyline that enhances the overall experience.
The inclusion of printable 'zines' as manuals adds a nostalgic touch and immerses players in the game's world.

The game can be frustrating for players unfamiliar with programming concepts, as it requires a good understanding of assembly-like coding.
Some players find the need to constantly refer to external manuals tedious and prefer in-game tutorials.
The difficulty curve can lead to moments of overwhelming complexity, potentially discouraging less experienced players.

story
246 mentions
40 % positive mentions
59 % neutral mentions
1 % negative mentions
The story in "Exapunks" is generally praised for its surprising depth and engaging cyberpunk themes, effectively integrating with the gameplay to enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the immersive atmosphere, character development, and the unique presentation of the narrative through voice-acted cutscenes and printable zines, although some feel the pacing can be uneven and the middle sections lack excitement. Overall, the narrative serves as a compelling backdrop that motivates players to solve puzzles, making it a standout element in the game.
- “The story is surprisingly good, the challenges are thematically integrated, and the overall look and feel of the game creates a perfect, thematic, and cohesive experience.”
- “The story is intriguing and engaging, and it does a great job of tying together all the missions.”
- “The hacker story provides a reason to progress through the game beyond the satisfaction of solving every puzzle, and the puzzles themselves are elevated by being relevant to the story.”
- “Towards the end, the puzzles became hindrances to getting to the story.”
- “Also, regarding the story, in the beginning and in the end it's pretty nice but lacks excitement in the middle.”
- “The story itself is not the only thing that evolves.”
graphics
76 mentions
59 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The graphics in "exapunks" are widely praised for their fantastic aesthetic, combining a retro-futuristic 90s hacker vibe with polished visuals and engaging sound design. Players appreciate the game's unique style, which enhances the immersive experience, and many note that the graphics are a significant improvement over previous titles in the genre. Overall, the visual presentation, along with the atmospheric soundtrack, contributes to a compelling and nostalgic gaming experience.
- “The graphics are super-clean, have a great aesthetic, and look amazing, especially at 4K!”
- “The in-game visuals are beautifully polished and eye-catching.”
- “Graphics, sound, and story are all nicely polished and create a great retro-futuristic 90's atmosphere that's surprisingly immersive.”
- “The graphics are pixelated, the dialogue is cheesy, and the gameplay is downright addictive.”
- “It's like most of the development went into the aesthetics instead of the game complexity.”
- “I can't imagine what Exapunks is 'loading' during this time; it can't possibly have as many resources to load as a graphic-heavy AAA title.”
gameplay
68 mentions
44 % positive mentions
51 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Exapunks is highly praised for its engaging and addictive coding mechanics, which challenge players to solve intricate puzzles using assembly code. Reviewers highlight the game's unique blend of programming principles with a rich cyberpunk aesthetic, creating an immersive experience that balances difficulty and accessibility. Overall, the gameplay is described as refined, rewarding, and a standout entry in the Zachtronics lineup, appealing to both seasoned programmers and newcomers alike.
- “In my opinion, it has the most refined gameplay, the most interesting challenges, and the coolest setting of all the other games.”
- “The core gameplay feels similar to TIS-100 but with an improved code editing experience.”
- “The mechanics are always awesome, but this one manages to be a lot more immersive, surprising for an assembly puzzle game.”
- “The gameplay is quite literally just coding.”
- “I am a huge fan of the Zachtronics 'programming game' gameplay concept, but the thematic framing of why you solve all those puzzles has often seemed like an afterthought.”
- “This... whilst still brilliant and clearly the work of a team at the height of their powers feels perhaps too similar to what's gone before in terms of the basic gameplay.”
music
63 mentions
60 % positive mentions
35 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its quality and atmospheric fit for the cyberpunk aesthetic, while others noted a lack of variety in tracks, leading to repetitiveness. Some players found the soundtrack to be an excellent backdrop for puzzle-solving, enhancing the overall experience, while a few opted to mute the music due to its distraction. Overall, the soundtrack is generally well-regarded, but a desire for more diverse tracks is a common critique.
- “The music, aesthetic, puzzles, zines, and dialog all come together perfectly to create a unique style that I can only describe as exa-punk, and I'm here for it.”
- “The setting is a wonderfully realized cyberpunk retro-future; the music, character designs, and mechanical designs all create a wonderfully atmospheric and lovingly authentic 90s cyberpunk experience.”
- “The soundtrack is excellent, and the story is presented through a combination of voice-acted cutscenes, interactive dialogue, chatroom messages, and the printable hacker magazines included with the game.”
- “Music is not great, and there seems to be only one track.”
- “Would recommend turning the music volume in game to 0 and listening to something else.”
- “The soundtrack consists of too few tracks, so I disabled it early in the game.”
atmosphere
37 mentions
68 % positive mentions
24 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and nostalgic qualities, particularly its strong cyberpunk aesthetic reminiscent of the '90s. Players appreciate the combination of well-crafted puzzles, atmospheric music, and engaging storytelling, which collectively enhance the overall experience. The game's design elements, including pixel art and voice work, contribute to a richly developed world that resonates with fans of retro-futuristic themes.
- “The setting is a wonderfully realized cyberpunk retro-future; the music, character designs, and mechanical designs all create a wonderfully atmospheric and lovingly authentic 90s cyberpunk experience.”
- “The atmosphere is fantastic, with nice voice work and a great art style.”
- “The atmosphere of this game is phenomenal.”
- “The atmosphere of this game also has some affinities with the computer community of Japan in the same era.”
- “While this is not a major feature, it adds to the sense of immersion and atmosphere that this game has aplenty.”
- “The high level of polish, charm, and atmosphere is just remarkable.”
optimization
30 mentions
23 % positive mentions
67 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The game's optimization aspect is highly praised, offering a blend of straightforward puzzles and complex challenges that encourage players to refine their solutions for better performance. While initial solutions may be easy to achieve, the real enjoyment lies in the pursuit of optimization, with opportunities for competition through leaderboards and collaboration with friends. Overall, the game strikes a balance between accessibility and depth, making it engaging for both casual players and those seeking to master intricate programming challenges.
- “Amazing programmer's puzzle that mixes algorithmic fun and the act of optimization with an experience similar to hacking.”
- “The real fun, as usual, is in optimization.”
- “As usual with Zachtronics games, the puzzles themselves are generally pretty easy to solve if you break them down and take them piece by piece, but the open-ended nature and optimization puzzles mean that you can effectively make the puzzles as difficult as you want and also adds a ton of replay value.”
- “It seems like there's a lot of optimization you could do at first glance, but the puzzles are so simple you'll never make a bad solution that really needs optimizing.”
- “The optimization has diminishing returns; you'll get the low-hanging fruit first, and eventually you may get to a point where your solution feels very tight and hard to improve further.”
- “Opus Magnum, however, gives you too much freedom, so that it is not very demanding to find any solution (not talking about optimization here).”
grinding
15 mentions
20 % positive mentions
-13 % neutral mentions
93 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is often seen as tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the repetitive nature of trial and error and the cumbersome process of navigating between puzzles and resources. While some players find moments of satisfaction in solving complex challenges, many express that the experience can become overly laborious, leading to a decline in enjoyment as the game progresses. Overall, the balance between challenge and tedium appears to be a significant concern among players.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
- “The grind is challenging but satisfying, making every achievement feel earned.”
- “Not sure how others with zero coding background figured it out, but even as a cryptic puzzle, it's obviously a tedious chore that involves trial and error.”
- “But it's extremely tedious to do so as you need to leave the puzzle, go back to the main screen, open the zine, go to the correct page, read up on the command you can remember, and then go back to the puzzle.”
- “I'm not sure - once you figure out the kinks of the exa [execution agent] programming language, the puzzles stop being challenging and start being tedious if you just want to find a solution and move on, as opposed to furiously optimizing to reach the tenth percentile.”
replayability
15 mentions
33 % positive mentions
47 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through its challenging puzzles, competitive scoring system, and features like leaderboards, multiplayer, and custom puzzles. Players appreciate the open-ended nature that allows for optimization and refinement of solutions, enhancing the experience and encouraging repeated play. While some users find it less replayable than other titles in the Zachtronics library, many still report hundreds of hours of engaging gameplay.
- “The puzzles can be quite challenging as you progress through the game, and the scoring system increases replayability, inviting you to keep trying until you've matched other people's shortest/fastest programs.”
- “As usual with Zachtronics games, the puzzles themselves are generally pretty easy to solve if you break them down and take them piece by piece, but the open-ended nature and optimization puzzles mean that you can effectively make the puzzles as difficult as you want and also adds a ton of replay value.”
- “The best educational game I've ever played, teaches you basic (assembly, not BASIC) programming while being complex and interesting puzzles with multiple solutions and workshop support gives endless replay value.”
- “Not quite as replayable as SpaceChem (where I clocked up a huge number of hours), but still well worth a go.”
- “As of yet, I think that the removal of any restrictions concerning the number of lines of code actually harms the game in terms of replayability of any given level in comparison to TIS or Shenzhen.”
- “While the story is somewhat cliché, the actual game is somewhat challenging, and the competitive aspect known from previous Zachtronics games creates replay value.”
humor
8 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing and engaging themes, often eliciting laughter through absurd scenarios and witty dialogue. Players appreciate the balance of humor with challenging gameplay, although some find that the comedic elements can be overshadowed by the frustrations of complex coding tasks. Overall, the humor adds a lighthearted touch to the experience, making it accessible and enjoyable.
- “Addictive programming puzzles and some hilarious writing that somehow manages to tell a simple but compelling story.”
- “Its immensely satisfying to see a piece of code run well and occasionally hilarious to see a piece of code work, but run as bad as possible.”
- “The humor is spot-on and the pacing is good.”
emotional
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players express a mix of emotional responses to the game, ranging from stress and guilt over actions taken within the game, such as hacking, to feelings of nostalgia evoked by certain elements. The emotional impact appears to be significant, but some users feel desensitized due to frequent intense experiences.
- “And trust me, it made me feel really bad when I had to hack an online game to reset ownership of all buildings and upgrades, and I saw the reactions in the group chat.”
- “The пасьянс made me feel quite nostalgic.”
character development
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Character development is primarily focused on ember-2, who receives significant depth throughout the game, while other characters, though interesting, do not have as much time to evolve. The richly crafted cyberpunk retro-future setting enhances the overall experience, contributing to the characters' appeal through its atmospheric design and nostalgic elements.
- “Each character is interesting, though Ember-2 is really the only character that’s around long enough to have a lot of character development.”
- “The setting is a wonderfully realized cyberpunk retro-future; the music, character designs, and mechanical designs all create a wonderfully atmospheric and lovingly authentic 90s cyberpunk experience.”
monetization
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is creatively integrated into the experience, with manuals designed as hacker magazines that feature game explanations, background articles, and faux advertisements, enhancing the overall immersion while providing essential information.