Meltdown

From the Devs

You’ve landed a desk job. Now you’re the reactor operator.

Your primary objective is to maintain the alignment of wires in the power grid, regulate the water tank’s flow, and tune the steam ventilation to keep the reactor from overheating. You must balance all of this while dealing with your boss’s antics.

The Lore

Landing an entry-level job is hard these days, but you’ve finally managed to find one close to home. A mostly-legit résumé and a handsome smile got you through the door, but now it’s time to get to work.

That is how you ended up working at an aging, decrepit nuclear power plant. Now, the boss and all of the city’s residents are counting on you to keep the lights on—and keep it from exploding.

Gameplay

Dive into managing an old, poorly maintained nuclear power plant, where every ignored problem causes another, and another, and another. It is your responsibility to keep the power output at the right level throughout the day so that the residents can enjoy their lives in peace, with minimal strain on the reactor.

To power the city, you need to connect wires to pass enough electricity out. But beware: as power is generated, heat builds up in the old, failing reactor. While electricity is flowing, you need to manage the water tank’s flow to cool the reactor without causing a freeze, and tinker with the radiator’s steam ventilation to slow the heat overload. Everything you see on screen is part of the loop.

Every problem you ignore will cause two more. Balance the reactor’s heat, water cooling, and power generation together while maintaining your desk and keeping the boss and the city’s mayor happy.

Feeling alone harnessing the awesome atomic power of nuclear fission? Check the leaderboard to see how well others are managing to keep things working in endless mode.

Controls

It’s a simple job that doesn’t need any qualifications. Everything you need to know is on-screen. Don’t mind the sparks.

Use your cursor, keyboard, or gamepad to increase heat and power generation through nuclear fission, switch and interact with the three modules on your main screen, and press the button that starts blinking red.

The reactor is at your fingertips, waiting to be tamed.

Are you feeling the heat? That might be because your passion for contributing to society is burning bright.

Or more likely… it’s the reactor about to kill everyone you love in a 20-mile radius.

Straining the reactor will lead to more problems at faster and faster rates, but inaction will bring bigger consequences. Manage the reactor’s heat overload, prevent power outages, and keep the plant running at all costs while your boss tells you what to do. Overcome the challenges of working in a failing nuclear plant at the heart of the city. Storms, sabotage, and other story events will be pushing you and your reactor to its limits!

Don’t worry. You’re not the first operator to work here, and you hopefully won’t be the last. Will you bask in the chaos or be consumed by it?

This game was made for the 2025 Big Mode Game Jam with the theme of "power."

Key Features

• Resource Management through ‘minigames’

• Overwhelming, screen-based UI

• Global leaderboard

• An easy-to-read manual that explains everything about the game

• Dedicated story-based “training” tutorial

• 31 Unique Story Days

• Endless Mode

• A kind and caring boss who checks up on you through the telephone

• A neat radio

• A gameplay that makes you go full meltdown mode

• Immersive game-scene