Machinarium is a sci-fi adventure game which takes place in a city inhabited by humanoid robots - the first full-length game by Amanita Design, an independent developer responsible for the highly acclaimed indie games Samorost and Samorost 2. Players must guide a robot through a massive technological cityscape and solve mind-bending logic puzzles to complete his quest.
Machinarium a Point and Click Adventure Game by Amanita Design
For those unfamiliar with the term, a "Point and Click Adventure" is an adventure game with controls as simple as pointing and clicking a mouse or touchpad. Much of the gameplay involves solving elaborate puzzles using items collected through the quest and environmental interaction. While the overall popularity of point and click adventures has faded to make way for games with more interactive gameplay, the genre received an obscure boost by the unlikely addition of new episodes from old point and click adventure games like Tales of Monkey Island and Sam and Max.
Machinarium is an all new game with an original design by acclaimed independent developer Amanita Design. Gamers can play through the entire Samorost adventure for free on the Amanita Design homepage, along with demoing the sequel and Machinarium.
Gorgeous Backgrounds, Charming 2D Animations, some of the Best Graphics in an Indie Game
The most initially striking aspect of Machinarium is the astonishing visuals. During the video game design process, artists create "concept art" as something to strive for, but rarely do video games ever achieve visuals even close to the ideals created in the design process. Machinarium's visuals look so good, the game feels like living concept art.
But it's not just about the beautiful backgrounds, Machinarium comes alive due to the incredible attention to detail. Lamps dangle on long wires, toxic sludge bubbles with flies buzzing around, and smoke billows from smokestacks. The main character dances to music, and, a small detail that will make animation nerds giddy, the robot actually extends and shrinks when moving up and down in an elevator.
Music, Plot, and Gameplay in Adventure Game Machinarium
The music complements the visuals nicely, mostly eerie and surreal but at the same time kind of relaxing in a weird way, along with the occasional upbeat number to mix things up.
And the plot, while incredibly simple, also feels sophisticated and enjoyable and will likely remind players in more than one way of Pixar's animated robot epic WALL-E. There's no dialogue - most of the plot is conveyed through thought bubbles with black and white animation sketches. The ending might feel a bit abrupt due to shortness, considering the game's length is about 6-8 hours, but it's satisfying nevertheless.
Of course, plot, music, and visuals can only carry a game so far; a game's got to have gameplay, after all. And if it's one aspect that might lose players, it's the gameplay. For a point and click adventure, Machinarium offers an excellent array of puzzles to solve with a well-balanced difficulty curve. But unfortunately, gamers accustomed to more interactive games might find the puzzle-solving aesthetics in Machinarium a little too simple for their liking.
Luckily, Machinarium also offers a few mini games sure to please the more hardcore gamer, with a Space Invaders clone and a unique Atari-style adventure inside the mind of a robot to eliminate viruses.
One of the Best Adventure PC Games in Years
Machinarium's strengths far outweigh it's weaknesses, and makes for one of the best adventure games on PC for years, and a true must-have for indie game supporters. For those still not convinced, playing through Samorost should give players a slight glimpse into the brilliant, creative adventures born by lead designer Jakub Dvorsky and Amanita Design.
Machinarium is available to buy directly on the Amanita website, along with video game download services Steam, Impulse, Direct2Drive, and GamersGate. Machinarium can run on most PCs, but it's best to try the demo first just in case.
Bradley Kairis - Bradley Kairis loves games, comedy, technology, politics, news and journalism. From the endlessly intricate strategies of Magic the ...
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