This gem surfaces soon
We have it ready, but it is not unsealed yet. Come back when it opens.
Opens on 2026-07-20 (JST)
Maxwell's demon just wants to push a block to its goal, but every block carries its own heat, and the only way through 350-plus levels across 10 worlds is learning exactly which cold block cools which hot one.
A thermodynamic puzzle game made and self-published solo by developer muratsubo, whose own Hatena blog shows a history of entering puzzle game jams and running an independent matrix-deduction puzzle event called EnigMarch. Per Steam's own listing, you play as Maxwell's demon, whose job is to push blocks to a goal, except every block carries heat, hot or cold, and while the demon can't stand touching a hot one, slamming a cold block into a hot one cools it down. The game spans 10 thematic worlds and more than 350 levels, and each world is itself a puzzle: reaching its far end, using solutions carried over from levels you've already solved, is what opens the next world, with side paths leading to harder extra levels and a built-in hint system ready to explain any level's solution if you get stuck. Released August 29, 2024 at ¥1,700, it is Very Positive at about 98 percent over 402 reviews (394 positive, 8 negative), a paid title, not free, fully launched and not in Early Access, with Steam Achievements and Cloud support, no AI-generated assets, and per Steam's own content descriptors, nothing sexual. About 89 of its 402 reviews, some 22.1 percent, are already in English, but the great majority of its audience is still in Japan.
Published 2026-07-20
01First, the one feeling
- Per Steam's own listing, a hot block and a cold block resolve into something new the instant they touch, so what starts as an ordinary sokoban-style push becomes a running question of which block you're actually allowed to bring into contact with which, and in what order.
- Each of the 10 worlds is itself a puzzle you clear using solutions from levels you've already solved, so progress never resets to zero; every earlier answer becomes a tool you're still carrying, right up until a side path drops you into an extra level that assumes you've mastered all of it.
- The demon at the center of all this can't stand the heat it's constantly asked to handle, which turns a simple physics pun, Maxwell's demon from real thermodynamics, into the actual emotional texture of play: a small, put-upon creature doing an uncomfortable job, one careful cold block at a time.
02Who this is for (and who it is not)
For you
- You want a puzzle game where a hidden property, heat, quietly rewrites an ordinary block-pushing task, across 10 worlds and 350-plus levels with harder optional extras
- You want a genuinely solo, self-published Japanese production: developer muratsubo's own puzzle-jam and puzzle-event history shows up directly in their personal blog
- You want a Very Positive title (about 98 percent over 402 reviews) whose audience is still mostly in Japan, with English readers only around 22 percent
Not for you
- You want a short game; 350-plus levels across 10 worlds is a real commitment, even with a hint system available for when you're stuck
- You want a title already found by a large English-speaking audience; it is a paid game, not free and not in Early Access, with no AI-generated assets and, per Steam's own content descriptors, nothing sexual, but its reach into English remains modest
03The roots of this taste
98% positiveonly 402 reviews — yet almost no one has found it
Maxwell's puzzling demon Buried gem
Per Steam's own listing, you play as Maxwell's demon, whose job is to push blocks to a goal, except every block carries heat, hot or cold, and while the demon can't stand touching a hot one, slamming a cold block into a hot one cools it down. The game spans 10 thematic worlds and more than 350 levels, and each world is itself a puzzle: reaching its far end and clearing it, using solutions carried over from levels you've already solved, is what opens the next world, with side paths off the main route leading to harder extra levels for players looking for more of a challenge, and a built-in hint system ready to explain any level's solution or a world's specific gimmick if you get stuck. Made and self-published solo by developer muratsubo, whose own Hatena blog shows a history of entering puzzle game jams (including an entry called A Magical Hat) and running an independent matrix-deduction puzzle event called EnigMarch, it released August 29, 2024 at ¥1,700 and is Very Positive at about 98 percent over 402 reviews (394 positive, 8 negative per Steam's own review API), a paid title, not free, fully launched and not in Early Access, with Steam Achievements and Cloud support, no AI-generated assets, and per Steam's own content descriptors, nothing sexual. It supports Japanese, English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, and Korean, and while about 89 of its 402 reviews, some 22.1 percent, are already in English, the great majority of its audience is still in Japan.
Give it your first passBaba Is You The critical echo
The origin of this taste: Baba Is You, Hempuli Oy's 2019 puzzle game where, per its own store text, 'the rules you have to follow are present as blocks you can interact with,' so manipulating an ordinary-looking object can change how the whole level works and cause surprising interactions the player has to discover for themselves. Maxwell's puzzling demon is not an official Baba Is You work, and this lineage is a comparison drawn by this site in outside critical commentary, not a stated influence from developer muratsubo, but it carries the same core idea into a new frame: an ordinary block-pushing task where a hidden property, in this case heat, quietly rewrites what happens when two objects meet.
Give it your first pass04Make this gem shine
If it speaks to you, check it on Steam and give it your first pass. Your push is what makes a buried gem shine.
You gave it your pass. The gem just caught the light.
05The bloodline of this taste
- Baba Is You Root
- Maxwell's puzzling demon You are here
- Read-and-build games another taste