Get on Steam"MHRD is a simulation game where you become a hardware engineer at a startup in the 1980s. You'll design and build your own CPU and other hardware components using the integrated development environment and a specific hardware design language. The game is single-player, can be very grinding, and has some bugs, but offers an immersive and educational experience for those interested in hardware technology."
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Reviews
- The game provides a fun and educational experience, teaching players how to build a CPU from basic components like NAND gates.
- The progression from simple logic gates to more complex components is well-structured, allowing players to gradually learn and apply new concepts.
- The retro aesthetic and sound design create an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
- The game is very short, with many players completing it in just a few hours, leading to concerns about its value for the price.
- The text editor is clunky and lacks features like scrolling, making it difficult to manage larger designs and comments.
- There is a lack of debugging tools, which can make troubleshooting designs frustrating, especially for more complex tasks.
- graphics19 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are characterized by a retro aesthetic reminiscent of the 1980s, featuring minimalistic designs and a lack of advanced visual elements. While some players appreciate the nostalgic style, many criticize the absence of a graphical interface for circuit design, which could enhance usability and intuitiveness. Overall, the visuals are seen as fun but limited, with a strong call for improved graphical tools to facilitate gameplay.
“I really enjoyed the minimalism and aesthetic of this one.”
“On the whole, a fun little diversion with a nice retro aesthetic.”
“The aesthetics are, to me, quite fun.”
“You're not going to find any fancy graphics here, and you're going to have to do your own research outside of the game to be able to create the various circuits needed to build your CPU in the game.”
“There is no mouse input or graphical display of your current designs (besides the stock ASCII design that is provided as a guide to create the circuit).”
“Aesthetically, it's IBM business-drab 80's: you can choose any color scheme as long as it's green, amber, or grey-monochrome. Given that the entirety of the storyline is 'work at an 80s chip company,' that's appropriate.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is centered around designing and building computer circuits, requiring players to create truth tables and circuit diagrams to solve puzzles. While it features some minor bugs, the core mechanics are engaging and educational, allowing players to learn about electronics and logic elements. The simple, text-based interface and satisfying sound design contribute to an enjoyable experience, despite a lack of visual flair.
“The gameplay consists of building hardware using this IDE.”
“The core mechanic for this game is designing your own suite of parts and using those to build other parts.”
“Around half of your gameplay is going to involve writing out truth-tables and circuit-diagrams to figure out a solution, especially after the first few tutorial levels.”
“The gameplay is simple but allows you to learn a lot about electronics and how logic elements are built, as well as how CPUs and RAMs are made, along with many other elements.”
“Purely textual gameplay and doesn't focus on being pretty.”
- stability11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting frequent random freezes, crashes, and significant lag, even on high-performance systems. Many find the editor particularly buggy and lacking essential features, which complicates troubleshooting and detracts from the overall experience. While some users acknowledge that the simulation itself is mostly stable, the overall performance issues remain a significant concern.
“Worst of all, the editor is buggy, lacks basic features, tends to slow down to a crawl and actually stops responding all the time, which is somewhat ridiculous for a very basic plain text editor running on a multi-GHz quad-core CPU.”
“The game doesn't run very well on my Mac: the game randomly freezes for a couple of seconds now and then, and it crashed once, losing me a few minutes of work on the decoder.”
“Also, for reasons I can't really comprehend, the game frequently freezes for a second or two.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be largely tedious, often mistaking it for a challenge. While some tasks can feel like a chore, the inclusion of a helpful intern character named "Ted" alleviates some of the monotony by automating repetitive tasks, making the experience slightly more enjoyable. Overall, the game balances between being trivially easy and occasionally tedious, especially for those familiar with logic design.
“Another game that confuses 'tedious' for 'challenging'.”
“If you are familiar with logic design, this game is trivially easy, often tedious, and fairly short.”
“Typing three assignments for every gate is just tedious.”
- story9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and lacks depth, with many reviewers noting it feels more like a framework for gameplay rather than a compelling narrative. While there is a basic storyline set in an 80s chip company aesthetic, it is considered bare-bones and does not significantly enhance the overall experience. Players seeking a rich narrative may find this aspect disappointing, as the focus is primarily on gameplay mechanics rather than storytelling.
“It's a cool little game with a semblance of a story line.”
“Aesthetically it's IBM business-drab 80's: you can choose any color scheme as long as it's green, amber, or grey-monochrome, given that the entirety of the story-line is 'work at a 80s chip company' that's appropriate.”
“There is a little framing story, but it's very thin.”
“It's pretty fun if you enjoy Zach-likes, but in comparison to most popular games in this genre, keep in mind that MHRD has barely any story.”
“There also isn't much of a story or any other real draw.”
“This is not a story-driven game.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The optimization aspect of the game has received criticism for performance issues, including random stuttering and lag, which detracts from the overall experience. Players express disappointment that the game lacks optimization challenges or goals, making it difficult to refine and improve their builds for better performance. While some find the potential for optimization enjoyable, the absence of prompts or incentives to optimize further diminishes the gameplay experience.
“I also wish there were optimization goals for replayability: most of these types of games offer personal & global top scores for things like 'parts used'.”
“And since the parts you build are based on the other parts you build before it, all of your scores are based on how lean your previous components are, so you can really see how an inefficiently made operation at a low level can really affect performance at the higher level as you progress through the game, and go back and refine them to improve your final scores.”
“It'd be nice to see the system pop up and say: 'we think that you could get ~50% better performance out of this gate, if you refactored it'.”
“I also wish there were optimization goals for replayability: most of these types of games offer personal and global top scores for things like 'parts used'.”
“How does a game like this suffer random stuttering and lag?”
“Other programming games usually have a bunch of optimization challenges to dive into after the main campaign, but not here.”
- replayability6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has limited replayability, primarily offering only the main story mode and minimal opportunities for optimization, such as refining solutions with fewer gates. Players express a desire for additional features, like optimization goals or scoring systems, to enhance replay value, but currently, the experience feels incomplete and lacks significant incentives for revisiting.
“Not an easy thing to add, unfortunately, but it'd add a significant amount of replay value to the game.”
“Not a lot of replay value either, other than maybe going back and trying to optimize some of your solutions to use fewer gates.”
“I also wish there were optimization goals for replayability: most of these types of games offer personal & global top scores for things like 'parts used'.”
“While I enjoyed it, in its current state it feels incomplete and has little replay value.”
- music4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has received mixed feedback; while some players appreciate the nostalgic background sounds reminiscent of early computing, others feel the lack of a more engaging soundtrack and user interface detracts from the overall experience. The absence of music in certain puzzle elements leaves some players wanting more, highlighting a desire for a richer auditory experience.
“Nice soundtrack.”
“If you look for something closer to the Zachtronics-style of puzzle games, then the lack of music, the UX, and its rather brief length might leave you longing for something more.”
“If I closed the game while drawing my work on paper, I would have an hour in this, max. It would be one thing if the game had some fancy interface, music, dialogue, or a visual editor, or something, but no!”
“With most games using electronic music, this game simply has the background buzz and whir of a computer from this era, adding a very nice tone and environment.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as lacking the wit found in other titles, such as those from Zachtronics, yet it still manages to be amusing in its own right, particularly through its unique take on engineering simulation in VHDL/Verilog. Overall, while it may not be traditionally funny, it offers a quirky charm that resonates with its technical theme.
“It's a simulator of real engineering in VHDL/Verilog, but it's very funny.”
“The game has a unique sense of humor that keeps you entertained throughout.”
“The quirky dialogue and absurd situations had me laughing out loud.”
“If it's flavor, it's not funny.”
“The jokes fall flat and feel forced.”
“I expected humor, but it was more cringeworthy than comedic.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a strong sense of realism, immersing players in the experience of solving genuine problems. This creates an engaging and thought-provoking environment that enhances the overall gameplay.
“The atmosphere of solving actual problems can be felt throughout the game.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally uplifting and challenging, though those with prior experience may find it less engaging, potentially diminishing the overall enjoyment.
“This game made me feel good about myself, and was an interesting challenge.”
