The Signal State

i like this game, i love modular synths. i wish the game background music synced up tempo wise with the puzzle playback. it's literally insane that it doesn't just do that. i just turned the music off. wow. i wish there was a like "0.75x recommend"

This game is reminiscent of the Zachtronics games, and does a good job with the style. The premise of analog modules can make for interesting puzzles, but the campaign is quite easy. There are a few interesting, optional puzzles, but it feels like not all the mechanics are done the justice they deserve. However this issue is balanced out by the great workshop support, that easily makes the game worth it. 8/10

Fun but short game that somewhat scratches the Zachtronics itch. IMO its better than a lot of other Zach-likes, but is too short to justify buying at full price. Worth getting if it's on sale. Took about 3 hours to finish the main story, spent a little time solving some of the optional levels too, which I may go back to later. Other than being too short, I didn't like that wire length is counted in the final score. This just motivates you to go back and shuffle components arbitrarily after solving each level.

I’m glad I ignored the lower Steam scores compared to the Zachtronics titles and played this game. The Signal State offers a cool modular building system for creative puzzle solving. There seem to be many solutions for each puzzle. My first designs usually used significantly more modules than the optimal solution. The campaign offers a nice difficulty progression if one does the optional puzzles in the given order. In my opinion, they were more difficult than the mandatory puzzles, which often served as tutorials for introducing new modules.
As for the story, I could not really immerse myself in the high-stakes anti-corpo narrative. I would have gone for less drama, focusing on being an inventor in a post-apocalyptic world who brings joy to people’s lives by producing or repairing cool gadgets. Also, the menus and UI are a bit less polished than games by Zachtronics, but credit to the developer for coming up with the analogue signal mechanics before 20th Century Food Court in Last Call BBS. The Signal State earns its place in the pantheon of Zach-likes.

Broadly, it's a programming game.
Except what you program is the function of a signal using modules.
You have a scaler, an offset, an adder and a few logical operators.
So far the game has been easy.
I have two minor complaints.
_ The levels are timed. Which means that anyone wanting an high score will do it once and then re-do it with the solution in mind. That's not logic anymore, that's a psychomotor test. I'm playing this laying on a sofa using a K400+ (tiny keyboard + trackpad) on my lap. Let's say it's a huge handicap on that front.
_ The cable length is used in the score. It feels kind of arbitrary. It took me up to the end of the tutorial to realize the source module could be moved.
That aside, it's kind of fun.

Game is fantastic. Has a really fun approach to understanding programming basics, logic gates, all while using an innovative wire and rack system.

The challenge gap between the story and optional tasks can be really wide, and the hints aren't perfect (they encourage you to go to the Discord), so be prepared to grind it out unless you want to chat with others.

Some of the nuances about how the game calculates numbers, especially in loops, is not explained well - so make sure to watch in-between steps to see how things are being processed if you keep having issues.

An extraordinary logic puzzle simulation game with a story set in a dystopian post-apocalyptic world, in which you repair abandoned technology and machinery in order for a community to rise again and regain the life they have lost.
The graphics fit the broken world, which is not meant in a negative way, the rusty and slightly yellow-brownish look just fits the story, period. The interface is very well organized and you find your way around very quickly, I was also impressed by the gameplay, the game picks you up exactly where it should be. The title song is one of the highlights, a wonderful piece of music that simply fits this narrative fantastically and conveys a good portion of confidence and courage to face upcoming hurdles, apart from that, the rest of the songs are less significant and a bit repetitive, but still okay.
One thing that is super important to mention here, is that the game is definitely not for everyone, and if you are not much into modular synthesizers and electronics, and you rarely play challenging puzzle games, the chances are very high that you won't have much fun with it and even very quick throw in the towel out of frustration. But if you enjoy puzzle games with a touch of programming that can be a little challenging and even sometimes mind-bending, The Signal State is definitely worth a try. And if you're here because you love synthesizers, well my friend than this is a definite recommendation, especially because of the sandbox mode.