This is just like that game The Incredible Machine. I love it.

This looks like basically a new version of the great physics based puzzle game The Incredible Machine. Use the mechanisms to rid the levels of the aliens.
Gameplay:
https://youtu.be/VW-Z2jNeASU

The game is essentially identical to previous parts, but it includes 200 new puzzles.
If you like Rube Goldberg machines, this won't disappoint.

+ Suitable for people of all ages.
+ 200 levels.
+ Interesting mechanics.
+ Intuitive Interface.
+ Comfortable mouse control.
+ Level editor.

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5 minutes of game

Note: This review is going to look a bit like it's copy + pasted from my review of Contraptions 2. I think that's fair because Contraptions 3, the entire game, is copy + pasted from Contraptions 2!. Sure, some of the levels are different, but it's the exact same game otherwise, same assets and everything. This should have been a DLC. Why sell one average game on Steam when you can sell it three times or more? This is not good for gamers.

Contraptions 3 is a handheld (Nintendo Switch)/console game that's also been put on Steam as a bit of an afterthought, as it's very much designed for the handheld/console gaming audience. But really, this looks even worse than a Switch game on PC... it looks and feels a lot like it was made with Adobe Flash (it wasn't, but it looks like it).

It's a simple Rube Goldberg puzzle game where you drag and drop various elements on the screen to kill little aliens or whatever, like dropping a soccer ball on a spraycan to push the alien off a shelf. Certainly, Rube Goldberg machines are interesting and fun, but there's better, cheaper games that do the same thing on Steam. The presentation, quality and price of this game make it a very weak competitor in a very niche market.

From a technical perspective, the game doesn't meet basic minimum requirements that most PC gamers expect as standard.

There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks. There's no way to ensure this is running at the native resolution of your display. There's no guarantee this game will look right on any PC as a result of this hamfisted design decision.

The game features somewhat lazy, simplistic "retro" looking 2D graphics, of the type you normally expect to see in low effort Flash/browser games and mobile apps. Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.

The controls can't be customised because the game has such a dumbed down, simplified interface that it's just point and click stuff like a browser/Flash game. The fact that the interface is this dumbed down might be seen as a problem in itself, however... this is a fairly shallow experience if you're the kind of gamer that likes to play games with deep, rich control schemes and interaction. You'll get none of that here.

Because this is designed for handheld/portable gaming appliances, it carries a number of deliberate design deficiencies. Compromises were made to cater to the low power handheld gaming appliances that the game was designed for. These are unfortunate compromises and limitations that PC gamers shouldn't be forced to accept, but it's evident that PC was a second thought for the mobile game developers. The game is deficient as a result of these choices, and would have been so much better without the handicaps that designing games for low power handhelds forces upon a game. While this might run well on a Steam Deck, we must remember the vast majority of gamers here are gaming on PC.

The very poor quality of this game puts it squarely on-par with ancient 1990's Flash/Java games, and given it's 2024 (and this was released not so far back in 2023), gamers and the industry expect and deserve better than this kind of low effort shovelware.

These technical defects push this game below acceptable standards for any modern PC game.

The poor quality of this game is reflected by how many people spent time with it. At the time of this review, SteamDB shows the game all-time peak player count was only ONE player. That's right, only one person ever played this at a time. When I played this for the purposes of reviewing it, I equalled the peak player count for the game. OUCH. The only player activity occurs once or twice a month, presumably someone loading it up to see what it is then quickly uninstalling it. Considering there's over 120 million gamers on Steam and well over 100,000 games for gamers to choose from, the overwhelming lack of interest in this low quality game is to be expected.

So, should you buy this game? Is this one of the best of the 100,000+ games on Steam?

Contraptions 3 has the laughable price of around $7 USD, it's not worth it given the defects and shortcomings with the product, especially considering the sheer number of completely free, much higher quality games on Steam.

For comparison, the $7 asking price for this game could get you games like "Metro 2033", "Civilization VI" or "Portal". Quality, professionally made games like those are frequently on sale cheaper than this.

Profile Features Limited!
Valve have marked this game as "Profile Features Limited" at the time of this review. This is usually caused by poor sales figures and low community acceptance for the game (to date). Until this status changes, this game will not give you +1 to your Game Collector badge count, appear in profile achievements or any other Steam meta-accomplishments, nor can it be displayed in some profile showcases. If these factors are important to you, it may be worth holding off before buying this game.