Part 36: Final thoughts

Part 36
Final thoughts

There's a lot to say about the Submachine series, including a bunch of things that I couldn't really tackle in any of the specific games. So, this is a final update to put some of my thoughts in order.


The Submachine Series

I have to say, overall I like this series. The games have an unique atmosphere, and the unanswered questions make you want to play more. I do think the games are quite hard. I'm not afraid to admit I needed to look up a guide to get through some parts of the games.

This LP allowed me to take a deeper look at the evolution of the game series, and it's easy to see that Mateusz got better at it over the years. I remember wondering after the first few games came out if the story ever go anywhere. But it did, and I am glad to see the results.


Other Submachine projects

Submachine Universe


I think I mentioned this 'game' a few times. Submachine Universe started as "Submachine Network Exploration Experience" back in 2010. As the original name suggests, it's a free exploration experience - Mateusz does not consider it a 'game' because there's no story and no ending.

In the game, you can visit nearly all places we've been to in the main games, and it looks like it's some time after we actually went there in the main series. You can see how the places changed, and how places interconnect. The main way to find all locations is by the three-digit Portal devices. All Portal addresses we've seen in the main games work. There's also hints scattered around. By combining several hints and doing some arithmetic on cyphers of numbers, you can discover new addresses. There's also a few addresses that correspond to numbers in popular culture, such as 404 and 666.

Submachine Universe has been updated several times, mainly to add parts corresponding to games that were released after 2010. The current version is 4.5 and is available only in the HD engine, but it is completely free. Download.

A very important part of Universe is all the Notes with theories on them. These are actually theories from fans, collected by Mateusz on his forums. A lot of them contradict each other, which proves to me that there are still mysteries about the Submachine that don't have, and may never get, a definite answer.

If you decide to explore Submachine Universe, just know that there might be fan theories in there from before Submachine 7 was released. Also know that Universe is still being updated - Mateusz regularly adds new locations.

I decided to not show this game off because honestly, I think it's not suited for an LP format. If you want to check it out yourself, feel free.


Submachine: The Engine


The Engine is a potential future Submachine game, first mentioned by Mateusz in 2012. It's currently a Patreon goal, he'll create the game if his Patreon hits $2000. It's been sitting just above $1000 for a while now, so it may be a while before it's released.

The only thing we really know about it is this description from Mateusz:

Other Submachine games

Reading the wiki, it seems that Mateusz sometimes mentions future games he wants to make, but doesn't give any more information. It seems he recently mentioned Submachine: The Explorers, which would be about the adventures of one of the Exploration Teams. We'll have to wait and see if he's going to actually make this game.

The Patreon also mentions a project called "The Big Game", and this is what Mateusz says about it:

Thank you

It's strange to realize how much time I spent on this project. SSLPs are a lot of work, folks. But I am glad I was able to show off these games. So I think a few thank yous are in order.

First of all, thanks to Mateusz Skutnik and everyone else who had something to do with creating these games.

Secondly, a great thank you to you, the readers. Especially those who posted their thoughts in the thread. Without all of you, I would've abandoned this project long ago.