Great Permutator

About

Great Permutator is a challenging puzzle game that tasks players with building complex conveyor systems to transport colored boxes to their correct destinations. The game features 50 levels, 10+ action block types, and a level editor with online sharing capabilities. With global score leaderboards and not-so-easy achievements, players will need to engineer clever solutions to succeed. The game boasts nice pixel art graphics and a cool soundtrack.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 86 reviews

music8 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features challenging and rewarding puzzles that require critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
It has a good undo and redo feature that allows players to experiment with different solutions.
The level design is distinct and well-crafted, providing a sense of progression as new machines are introduced.

The game has a steep difficulty curve, making it frustrating for players who expect a more gradual increase in challenge.
There are technical issues, such as crashing on startup, and the developer's support for these issues has been lacking.
The graphics and music are simplistic and may not appeal to everyone, detracting from the overall experience.

music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its quality and fitting style for an indie puzzle game, while others find it repetitive or irritating. Overall, the soundtrack is described as simple and classic, complementing the game's aesthetic, but it may not be a standout feature for everyone.
- “The puzzles are fun, the music is good, and the game is cheap.”
- “Great puzzles, great music, great pixel art, great game.”
- “Music is actually pretty good, never mind for an indie puzzle game.”
- “The music is repetitive - but you're not buying this for the soundtrack, right?”
- “The only absolutely negative thing I can say about this game is the music is really irritating.”
- “In regard to the graphics and music, they are simple and not so enchanting, but the game has its own style.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
63%
19%
The graphics of the game are described as simplistic and reminiscent of 16-bit retro styles, with a solid and consistent aesthetic that aligns with its indie roots. While some players feel the resolution could be improved, others appreciate the unique charm and subtle details that enhance the overall experience, particularly in the context of its puzzle mechanics. Overall, the graphics are functional and fitting for the game's design, though not particularly enchanting.
- “Graphics have a solid, consistent style.”
- “And on that 'graphics' front, the spray-painted '29' in the game's interface for the challenge mode is a subtle change that almost represents this puzzle game's strengths too perfectly from those who dedicate the time to complete this game.”
- “In particular, the great permutator's swap machine, randomiser, duplicator, and what is effectively the equivalent of an if-statement make the whole game feel like a cross between some sort of esoteric programming language and the kind of puzzle games that people used to make for handheld consoles, but with 16-bit console/retro PC graphics.”
- “Graphics could certainly be better; I'd have preferred a higher resolution myself.”
- “Simplistic graphics.”
- “In regard to the graphics and music, they are simple and not so enchanting, but the game has its own style.”
gameplay
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
42%
25%
The gameplay features a solid puzzle mechanic that involves using pieces to transport items between points, reminiscent of programming-style challenges found in games like SpaceChem. While the trial-and-error debugging can be frustrating, the simplicity of the mechanics helps mitigate this issue, making the experience enjoyable for fans of this genre. Overall, players find the gameplay engaging, particularly if they appreciate puzzle-solving elements.
- “If this sort of 'use pieces to get things from points A to points whatever' gameplay appeals to you, this is pretty fun, and is what you might expect.”
- “The only other game that I can compare this to is Zachtronics Industries' SpaceChem, as both have gameplay that is very much like programming.”
- “The debugging is pretty poor - it is a very trial-and-error part of the game, though thankfully the mechanics are simple enough that it is not as bad as SpaceChem.”
- “The gameplay is rather unusual.”
- “The only other game that I can compare this to is Zachtronics Industries' SpaceChem as both have gameplay that is very much like programming.”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The game's optimization aspect is noted to be limited, with few creative solutions available for puzzles, contrasting with more complex titles in the genre that offer a wider range of possibilities. While it presents a challenging timing-based puzzle experience, the scope for optimization is not as expansive as in similar games.
- “This is a challenging optimization timing-based puzzler with a bit of its own style.”
- “This game offers a unique take on optimization, blending timing and strategy in a way that keeps players engaged.”
- “So here is not much room for creativity and optimization.”
- “- limited puzzle solutions (not much about optimization possible)”
- “Several optimization puzzlers (SpaceChem, Infinifactory, Manufactoria) in this genre are very complex games where there are many possibilities for solutions.”