 SpaceChem was generally well received by critics , with an aggregate Metacritic score of 84 out of 100 from its Microsoft Windows release . Quintin Smith of Rock , Paper , Shotgun said " I think we might have just received one of the year 's best indie games in the first week of 2011 " . Gamasutra 's Margaret Robertson praised SpaceChem 's gameplay , contrasting it with other open @-@ ended activities as it offers the opportunity for the player to be as creative as they want to be within the minimal ruleset required of each puzzle . Robertson also found the game to be thrilling , having each puzzle initially appear " so astonishingly dispiriting " to what she had previously learned , but through trial and error coming to a solution that works and giving her the feeling of having " made a creative statement " in her solution . Eurogamer 's John Teti praised the means through which the game introduced new mechanics without excessive reliance on tutorials ; he commented that " the problems become more daunting " through the addition of new elements and commands , the game " is always more accessible than it looks " . Edge said " The triumph of SpaceChem is that overcoming these situations is more a case of inventing a solution than discovering one . " 
