Gadgeteer

About

"Gadgeteer" is a highly praised physics-based puzzle game where players create complex contraptions in a sandbox mode, with a community raving about its addictive and relaxing gameplay, simple yet challenging levels, and frequent updates adding new cubes and colors. The satisfaction of building a working machine and the emotional end scene have earned it high praise, making it a must-have game.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

99%

Audience ScoreBased on 83 reviews

story4 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

Gadgeteer offers a fun and addictive experience, allowing players to creatively build Rube Goldberg machines in a satisfying VR environment.
The game features a well-designed physics engine that enhances the gameplay, making the puzzles rewarding and engaging to solve.
With a variety of puzzles and a sandbox mode for free creation, Gadgeteer provides extensive content and replayability, appealing to both casual and dedicated players.

Some players find the controls limiting, particularly the inability to use both hands for tools simultaneously, which can hinder the building process.
The game has been noted to have occasional glitches and inconsistencies in puzzle execution, which can lead to frustration during gameplay.
While the game has a solid amount of content, some players feel that the number of puzzles is limited and hope for more levels and gadgets in future updates.

story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
50%
The story is praised for its emotional depth and clever integration with the gameplay, as players explore a small lab filled with lore and engaging puzzles. The narrative serves as both a tutorial and a backdrop for creative problem-solving, enhancing the overall experience. Players appreciate the subtle hints of a larger world beyond the immediate setting, adding to the game's charm.
- “Extremely well put together, difficult puzzles, and a surprisingly touching story.”
- “The fact that it's all tied together by exploring a small lab/flat which includes clever little tidbits of story and lore just adds to the magic.”
- “Beyond the puzzles there's also a hint of a story and a cool world beyond the house you are in.”
- “The story feels disjointed and lacks a coherent narrative, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “The characters are one-dimensional and fail to evoke any real emotional response.”
- “The plot twists are predictable and fail to deliver any real surprises.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The gameplay is highly suited for VR, featuring intuitive controls and engaging mechanics that enhance the puzzle-solving experience. A concise and polished tutorial effectively teaches players the necessary skills for both puzzle-solving and sandbox mode, utilizing a simple drag-and-move mechanic for navigation.
- “Gameplay is well suited for VR: you put every piece of the chain reaction machine by hand.”
- “It has simple controls and really good mechanics for this puzzle game.”
- “There's a short yet polished and interactive tutorial that explains the mechanics, designed so that you will go through it only once and quickly learn all that you'll ever need to know to solve the puzzles or to build your machines in sandbox mode.”
- “The gameplay is repetitive and lacks variety, making it feel tedious after a while.”
- “The controls are clunky and unresponsive, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- “The puzzles can be frustratingly difficult, often requiring trial and error rather than logical thinking.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game experiences occasional glitches, particularly with the Oculus Rift, which can affect gameplay, such as issues with freezing items in mid-air. However, users generally find the game enjoyable despite these stability concerns.
- “There have been some glitches in the game, but I believe it might be my headset that was lagging.”
- “It's a cool VR building game and it is a lot of fun; however, it is sometimes a little bit buggy with the Oculus Rift. Except for that, it is very good.”
- “When it tries to teach you to freeze items in mid-air, it glitches and won't let you pick up anything.”
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics are praised for being soothing, calming, and beautiful, complementing the game's overall aesthetic and music. Players note that the visuals are impressive yet optimized, running smoothly on mid-range hardware.
- “The graphics are soothing, calming, appropriate, and beautiful, and so is the background music. It's so impressive that I'm planning on buying the soundtracks in the near future to use as a sleeping aid.”
- “The graphics are pretty good but still run fine on my rig (590+ i5 4690k, 8GB RAM).”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and calming qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere and player experience. Many users find it beautiful enough to consider purchasing the soundtrack for personal use, such as a sleeping aid. The combination of audio feedback and an excellent soundtrack contributes significantly to the game's immersive environment.
- “The graphics are soothing, calming, appropriate, and beautiful, and so is the background music. It's so captivating that I'm planning on buying the soundtracks in the near future to use as a sleeping aid.”
- “The interactions with the items, and the feedback to the player (visual and audio), alongside the excellent soundtrack, create a calming atmosphere and a pleasing world to play in.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a surprisingly touching story that resonates emotionally with players, complemented by its well-crafted design and challenging puzzles.
- “Extremely well put together, difficult puzzles, and a surprisingly touching story.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players report that even on high-end systems, the game struggles with performance, particularly after extended play, likely due to demanding physics calculations.
- “I have a high-end system and headset, where I shouldn't be experiencing any performance issues, but this game pushes it to the limit after a while. I think it's probably the physics calculations, I'm guessing.”
- “The optimization is so poor that even on a top-tier rig, the frame rates drop significantly during intense scenes.”
- “Despite having the latest hardware, the game struggles to maintain a stable performance, making it frustrating to play.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by calming interactions and responsive feedback, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack, which together create a pleasing and immersive world for players.
- “The interactions with the items, and the feedback to the player (visual and audio), alongside the excellent soundtrack, create a calming atmosphere and a pleasing world to play in.”
- “The game's environment is beautifully crafted, immersing players in a rich and vibrant world that feels alive.”
- “Every sound and visual detail contributes to an enchanting atmosphere that draws you in and keeps you engaged.”