Total Coverage #7, Machinarium impressions

“I am a lover of point and clicks, and although I don’t class myself as a very good one, I gave this one a go due to pure boredom. And I have NEVER been so happy about being bored in my life!” -Alcreadia

Lately there was a cute point & click game called Machinarium released. Flash in all its glory a group of gamers in TO have tried it out, be it demo or the real deal. Here are their impressions. Along with the raw quotes on Machinarium made by community members you will also see the TC editors text in plain black adding his own comments to the gamers impressions.

/…/style and artwork, i love the harsh sci-fi in contrast with the rustic landscapes – its really beautiful. -Nojjy

A simple game with smooth impressive animation and a great soundtrack. There are some funny moments and the flashbacks are a nice way of continuing the flow of the story. -Eggboy

Flashbacks are provided in the game as cute text bubbles there to give some insight as to why various things have happened in the machine city the game take place in

Machinarium is adorable. And I don’t mean it in a cute girlie way with pink ribbons and bows, I mean it in a small robot with puzzles and odd characters way. I loved the graphics. You could tell that time and attention was put into the game (an any of their games in fact) and it showed from the design of the characters, the backgrounds, the random details that you hardly even notice but they are there. -Alcreadia

The game is really beautiful, the charming and creative artwork is definitely a strong point of the game. The world the game take place in is really an odd place, but for some reason it feels very “obvious” and how bizarre it may be it feels like an expression of how a steamy robot world should look like.

I was pleasantly surprised at the hint system. You have two levels. A brief hint that will let the robot

think a thought of what he should be doing and a more detailed hint set out in a comic style that will walk you further through the puzzle, though be warned as you have to work to earn this one via a mini game!
-Alcreadia

This is something I personally agree with strongly. By passing on small hints in every puzzle screen the game is passing on information in a very smooth way, completely in line with the rest of the game design.

Once you get past the first few screens it becomes less of a logic / puzzle exercise and more of a ‘which pixel perfect click random assocation do I have to make now’.
-Eggboy

/…/sometimes the puzzles can be quite random and hard to work out, you just end up clicking the whole screen until something works – that could just me be stupid though. -Nojjy

These two views presented here is something that I, Prox, thought completely opposite about! I found the different screens quite logical, and opposite of how it is there were no moments of “Poke the elephant with a stick so that it can fart and scare some wild goose into flight a couple of screens away – so that you can pick up a pink rock and use as a bribe to the town goon who then gives you a bag to carry aforementioned stick in after you had poked the elephant. Thus opening a magic door letting you save your companion monkey.”

the game is challenging. It caught me out a few times. I was disappointed to find a full walkthrough on their forum, having preferred perhaps more hints. I am not strong willed and I feel that I would have gone to the forum for the answers rather than sit and puzzle it out for a couple of hours. -Alcreadia

Agreed. Although this is what saved my sanity when i encountered 1 monkey island moment and had to stick my robot hand into a flesh-eating plant, after having fertilized it a bit so it would grow big enough… Hm, I guess there were some monkey island moments after all in Machinarium!

I wouldnt necessarily recommend people buy this game to play it to completion, but everyone should at least go try the demos at the authors site for an enjoyable few hours. -Eggboy

I will not be purchasing this game. As much as I enjoyed its puzzles and amazing pictures, I feel that it is not suitable for my level of ability to solve things (I’m not that clever!). Though don’t be put off. If you love a good puzzle that makes you want to head butt your desk, go for it! You will love it. -Alcreadia

Me personally? I have played through it, although as admitted earlier I used the forums when I was stuck in aforementioned room. I enjoyed my time in the game and would like to point out the very appealing graphics and cute “mood” of the game. I can almost guarantee that you will leave your gaming sessions with a smile on your face.

Machinarium, homepage + demo & purchase link.
Machinarium on Steam: 16.99€.
86/100 metascore.

/Prox