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Silicon Zeroes

Silicon Zeroes Game Cover
88%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
optimization, replayability
88% User Score Based on 233 reviews

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Silicon Zeroes Game Cover

About

Silicon Zeroes is a single player simulation game. It was developed by PleasingFungus and was released on September 18, 2017. It received positive reviews from players.

Silicon Zeroes is an open-ended puzzle game that challenges players to build complex electronics from simple components. Set in Silicon Valley's first startup in the 1960s, players must prevent the company from imploding by resolving over seventy puzzles related to CPU design. Featuring an original soundtrack by Craig Barnes, Silicon Zeroes promises to be an engaging and educational experience for fans of logic and engineering.

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Silicon Zeroes screenshot
Silicon Zeroes screenshot
Silicon Zeroes screenshot
Silicon Zeroes screenshot
Silicon Zeroes screenshot
Silicon Zeroes screenshot
Silicon Zeroes screenshot
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88%
Audience ScoreBased on 233 reviews
story9 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions
  • Silicon Zeroes offers a challenging and satisfying puzzle experience that teaches players about computer architecture and logic design.
  • The game features a well-paced difficulty curve, gradually introducing new concepts and mechanics that keep players engaged.
  • The interface is intuitive and visually appealing, making the process of building circuits enjoyable and rewarding.
  • Many puzzles feel overly restrictive, often requiring a single, optimal solution rather than allowing for creative problem-solving.
  • The lack of tutorials or hints can lead to frustration, especially for players unfamiliar with the mechanics or concepts being introduced.
  • The story and character dialogue can be heavy-handed and detract from the overall experience, with some players finding it off-putting.
  • story
    59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Silicon Zeroes" is generally viewed as simple and somewhat shallow, serving primarily as a backdrop for the engaging puzzles rather than a focal point of the game. While some players appreciate the lighthearted context it provides, many feel it lacks depth compared to other titles in the genre, such as those from Zachtronics. Overall, the narrative is often considered a minor aspect, with players more focused on the puzzle-solving experience.

    • “The story is simple, but is a welcome addition.”
    • “Silicon Zeroes is a highly accessible story about a tiny Silicon Valley company at the dawn of the computer age, building digital devices and trying to swim rather than sink in the ocean of the tech industry.”
    • “The story was neat - it wasn't in-depth enough that it detracted from the gameplay, but it got a laugh or two out of me, and the main story ending was pretty nice!”
    • “Just do the game and skip the 'story'; it reads like a woke circle jerk.”
    • “The plot is also disappointing.”
    • “The story is kind of 'meh', though to be fair, while Zach's storytelling is much more intriguing than Silicon Zeroes', I don't really play these games for the story.”
  • gameplay
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is generally well-received, featuring engaging mechanics for placing and moving hardware components, though some players found the introduction of new mechanics and a lack of clear explanations frustrating. Despite initial challenges, the game offers a satisfying loop with a variety of puzzles and a visually distinct toolset, making it both fun and educational. Overall, the gameplay is described as tight and interesting, with a good balance of challenge and accessibility, enhanced by a compelling soundtrack.

    • “Despite these issues, the gameplay itself is well put together - wiring is easy to distinguish, you aren't constrained by space, the tools are mostly visually distinct, and it feels snappy.”
    • “It's a great gameplay loop that will give the player many hours of fun and maybe even teach them something.”
    • “The plot is funny and relatively compelling, and the gameplay - building digital devices with an easy-to-use, beautiful editor - is tight, interesting, and never too easy nor too hard.”
    • “I looked at this and thought I would love it too, but the game drops you in at the deep end over and over, and I found that most of my time wasn't being spent solving the puzzle; it was spent working out how a new game mechanic actually worked because so much of the game is so poorly explained.”
    • “A small downside in the mechanics, I think, is the delay mechanic; it's introduced part of the way through the story, then you are stuck tweaking the delay for a couple of levels, and then the delay starts to autotweak itself.”
    • “Starts off slow and makes sure that you understand all the mechanics well.”
  • graphics
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the simplistic 2D art and lack of substantial visual improvements, leading to a lackluster overall aesthetic. However, others appreciate the polished, retro feel and the game's design, noting that it runs well even on older hardware. Overall, while there are some positive aspects to the visuals, many players feel the graphics do not meet the high standards expected from a PC game.

    • “A challenging hardware programming puzzle game with a nice visual aesthetic and chill soundtrack.”
    • “The graphics look polished and have a nice retro feel to them.”
    • “I love the design and aesthetic of it, and it's easy to draw the circuits in the way you want them (you can stick the wires to nodes to make it a bit tidier).”
    • “While there are options to change the resolution for the game, all this does is scale up the simplistic 2D art assets used to make the game, which makes little or no difference to the graphics quality.”
    • “Without any other substantial graphics tweaks, it's not possible for gamers to improve the lackluster 2D visuals.”
    • “Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
  • music
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating the chill and relaxing soundtrack that complements the gameplay. However, some users note that the background music can become repetitive and simplistic, leading to a monotonous experience over time. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the ambiance, it may not stand out as exceptional.

    • “A challenging hardware programming puzzle game with a nice visual aesthetic and chill soundtrack.”
    • “Graphics are good, the ambiance and soundtrack are great too, and the story is a nice add-on to a game that doesn't need one.”
    • “The soundtrack is also pretty nice and relaxing to listen to as you build the circuits.”
    • “The music can get a bit repetitive, but it's subtle enough that it doesn't intrude into your thinking.”
    • “The only downside is the background music; it's simplistic and on a very short loop, so it gets monotonous almost instantly.”
  • optimization
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization aspect challenges players to engage in complex CPU design and optimization, often requiring near-optimal solutions to progress. While the puzzles primarily have one solution, the introduction of various metrics for optimization encourages players to think critically about performance, though some find the optimization process less engaging due to its structured nature. Overall, the game effectively integrates optimization into its core mechanics, making it a necessary focus for advancement.

    • “80% of the puzzles have basically one solution, so the graphs showing how you did are basically pointless, but it's worth it so you can learn how to make your own CPU pipeline, complete with cache, speculative execution, CPU bugs that only appear after passing 37 tests successfully that probably make your chip insecure, and pseudo hyperthreading, all in the name of maximum performance.”
    • “By giving a single metric for optimization, it makes the goal of optimizing every puzzle maximally a reasonable one, which I always appreciate.”
    • “80% of the puzzles have basically one solution, so the graphs showing how you did are basically pointless. However, it's worth it to learn how to make your own CPU pipeline, complete with 'cache', speculative execution, CPU bugs that only appear after passing 37 tests successfully, which probably make your chip insecure, and pseudo 'hyperthreading', all in the name of maximum performance.”
    • “In other words, you have to devise a near-optimal solution to most puzzles just to advance, rather than optimization being something you pursue after successful completion. Not that optimization is all that interesting either in this game, due to the particular set of metrics solutions are judged on.”
    • “I've played with designing my own CPUs for FPGA in the past, but by the end of this game, it's challenging me to do more complex optimizations than I've attempted in real life.”
  • replayability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers moderate replayability, particularly for players interested in electronics and binary logic, as it encourages revisiting puzzles to achieve optimal solutions and improve previous designs. However, some users feel that it may not provide enough complexity or depth to justify extensive replay, suggesting that while there are opportunities for optimization, the overall replay value could be limited.

    • “The marks for perfect solutions also add a bit of replayability.”
    • “Every puzzle ends in an overview of how many components/ticks an ideal solution would have, so there is additional replayability if you didn't solve a puzzle optimally.”
    • “Every puzzle ends with an overview of how many components/ticks an ideal solution would have, so there is additional replayability if you didn't solve a puzzle optimally.”
    • “On top of that, you can go back and optimize earlier machines for additional replay value.”
    • “It maybe lacks in replayability.”
  • grinding
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, with many describing the management of tasks as a nightmare that detracts from the overall enjoyment. While the initial puzzles are engaging, the repetitive and cumbersome nature of later challenges makes the experience feel more like a chore than a rewarding progression.

    • “The process is also tedious, and management becomes a nightmare that simply makes 100%ing this feel like a chore.”
    • “I know it's supposed to represent the beginning of computers and that the process was tedious like this, but the evolution this game expects ebbs and flows in such an unnatural way that it just doesn't feel rewarding.”
    • “Automatic paths quickly become a mess, and handling them manually is incredibly tedious when moving components around.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in Zachtronics games is characterized by witty and engaging writing that enhances the overall experience, making the plot both funny and compelling. Players appreciate how the humor serves as an incentive to continue playing, complementing the challenging yet accessible gameplay.

    • “I find the writing in Zachtronics games to be witty and funny, and an incentive to keep pushing through.”
    • “The plot is funny and relatively compelling, and the gameplay - building digital devices with an easy-to-use, beautiful editor - is tight, interesting, and never too easy nor too hard.”
  • atmosphere
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game resonates well with fans of Zachtronics, offering a familiar and engaging experience that complements its storytelling.

    • “If you like the atmosphere and story of Zachtronics games, you'll feel right at home.”
  • emotional
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a sense of frustration and inadequacy when their thought processes don't align with the developer's intentions, highlighting the game's emotional impact by making them feel challenged and self-critical.

    • “This game honestly made me feel really stupid for not thinking exactly like the developer, despite coming up with viable, albeit slightly slow, solutions.”
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25h Median play time
24h Average play time
11h Main story
19h Completionist
5-43h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 3 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Silicon Zeroes is a simulation game.

Silicon Zeroes is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

The main story can be completed in around 11 hours, while the entire game is estimated to take about 19 hours to finish. On average players spend around 24 hours playing Silicon Zeroes.

Silicon Zeroes was released on September 18, 2017.

Silicon Zeroes was developed by PleasingFungus.

Silicon Zeroes has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

Silicon Zeroes is a single player game.

Similar games include The Signal State, Turing Complete, TIS-100, EXAPUNKS, Human Resource Machine and others.