EXAPUNKS, the latest puzzle game from Zachtronics, has released out of Early Access

If you’ve got a hacking itch you want to scratch, EXAPUNKS has you break into systems that double as clever-looking puzzles.

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As with other Zachtronics titles, EXAPUNKS [Official Site] is about puzzle-solving and then optimizing said solutions. This time around, the game is set in the late 90s and has you break into secure computer systems and write viruses that alter these systems. I haven’t really had the chance to play the more recent games by Zachtronics, but Liam absolutely loved Opus Magnum. Judging by EXAPUNKS’ reception thus far, this looks to be another hit.

The game was briefly in Early Access, to gather feedback from players but now, about two months later, it’s been fully released. It's last update before release fixed an alt-tab bug on Linux and added an animated GIF recorder for your solutions to puzzles.

Features:

• READ ZINES - Learn to hack from TRASH WORLD NEWS, the underground computer magazine. Tutorials, hacking tips, secret information, searing commentary— TRASH WORLD NEWS has you covered.
• WRITE VIRUSES - Program your EXAs (EXecution Agents) to tear through networks, replicate themselves, trash files, terminate other EXAs— and leave without a trace. 
• HACK EVERYTHING - Hack banks, universities, factories, TV stations, highway signs, game consoles, the government... oh yeah, and your own body.
• SLACK OFF - Play ПАСЬЯНС, if you hack the server where it’s stored. Or play HACK*MATCH, if you hack the region lock on your Sawayama WonderDisc. Or create your own homebrew games for the TEC Redshift… if you hack the development kit.
• TAKE DOWN YOUR FRIENDS - Compete with your friends by running your programs directly against theirs in all-out hacker battles. Make every cycle count.
• CREATE YOUR OWN PUZZLES - Create your own networks to hack, and share them with the world on Steam Workshop.

As an aside, good on Zach for including zines in his retro setting. The internet all but did away with these self-published cultural artifacts. So having them as an-in-game mechanic and source of information for a freelance hacker is an altogether brilliant decision.

You can find EXAPUNKS on the Humble Store or Steam.