I, a robot?

Adventure is only a point-and-click away as Irreverend Opinions reviews Machinarium!

---


A puzzle adventure in a stylised world of robots and amazing music. A robot that has been abandoned by his city in pieces must pull himself together and return to not only confront some rather bad robots, but save his robot girlfriend in the process.


The first thing I noticed about Machinarium, as a first impression, is the music. The soundtrack by Czech composer Tomáš Dvořák[floex.cz] really stands out in the task of impressing a strange new world without alienating the player from what they are engaged in.

Graphically, the art style for Machinarium is quite striking, with hand-drawn animation hauntingly evocative of works by surrealist Jan Švankmajer, and seeming to be another achievement for Dvorský that fans of Amatina Design will be encouraged to see. With their pencil-and-paper 'living comic' art style, the organic appearance of the background and characters helps to round out the artificial world with a warm and almost human sense, which helps the player to get involved with the characters quite readily.

For an adventure game without dialogue at all, the plot is quite memorable and involving, with the characters having both impact and personality. By removing dialogue from the game, the designers also allow the game to be accessible to players who do not speak English, using thought bubbles and pictures, authentic instruments and short beeps or buzzes to illustrate what characters are thinking or asking.

Puzzles throughout the game are both thought-provoking and challenging, sometimes requiring the player to think outside the box to complete tasks without pushing for weird feats of skewed logic present in some games of the genre. Should the game prove to be too much of a bother, an in-built 'hint' system allows players to get some suggestions to how they can complete the task.


For some players, the puzzles will be a bit too challenging, though thankfully a short minigame can help to unlock the puzzles if you are more of a mind to do a reflexive shooter than a point-and-click puzzle solve.

Some players have reported having issues with transferring the game from fullscreen to windowed mode, though this seems to be more of a UI confusion than a bug issue.


None to speak of.


Turn out the lights and enjoy the immersive, imaginative world.


Well deserving of the awards it has recieved, Machinarium is a beautiful game with something special for art and music lovers, as well as fans of the point-and-click puzzle genre. 10/10.

---

If you liked this review or want to see more recommended games, be sure to follow our curator group: Follow Original Curator Group

I, a robot? Adventure is only a point-and-click away as [b][i]Irreverend Opinions[/i][/b] reviews [b]Machinarium[/b]! [strike]---[/strike] [h1]The Blurb[/h1] A puzzle adventure in a stylised world of robots and amazing music. A robot that has been abandoned by his city in pieces must pull himself together and return to not only confront some rather bad robots, but save his robot girlfriend in the process. [h1]The Good[/h1] The first thing I noticed about Machinarium, as a first impression, is the music. The soundtrack by Czech composer [url=http://floex.cz/]Tomáš Dvořák[/url] really stands out in the task of impressing a strange new world without alienating the player from what they are engaged in. Graphically, the art style for Machinarium is quite striking, with hand-drawn animation hauntingly evocative of works by surrealist Jan Švankmajer, and seeming to be another achievement for Dvorský that fans of Amatina Design will be encouraged to see. With their pencil-and-paper 'living comic' art style, the organic appearance of the background and characters helps to round out the artificial world with a warm and almost human sense, which helps the player to get involved with the characters quite readily. For an adventure game without dialogue at all, the plot is quite memorable and involving, with the characters having both impact and personality. By removing dialogue from the game, the designers also allow the game to be accessible to players who do not speak English, using thought bubbles and pictures, authentic instruments and short beeps or buzzes to illustrate what characters are thinking or asking. Puzzles throughout the game are both thought-provoking and challenging, sometimes requiring the player to think outside the box to complete tasks without pushing for weird feats of skewed logic present in some games of the genre. Should the game prove to be too much of a bother, an in-built 'hint' system allows players to get some suggestions to how they can complete the task. [h1]The Bad[/h1] For some players, the puzzles will be a bit [i]too[/i] challenging, though thankfully a short minigame can help to unlock the puzzles if you are more of a mind to do a reflexive shooter than a point-and-click puzzle solve. Some players have reported having issues with transferring the game from fullscreen to windowed mode, though this seems to be more of a UI confusion than a bug issue. [h1]The Ugly[/h1] None to speak of. [h1]Suggestions[/h1] Turn out the lights and enjoy the immersive, imaginative world. [h1]The Summary[/h1] Well deserving of the awards it has recieved, Machinarium is a beautiful game with something special for art and music lovers, as well as fans of the point-and-click puzzle genre. 10/10. [strike]---[/strike] [i]If you liked this review or want to see more recommended games, be sure to follow our curator group: [url=http://gtm.you1.cn/groups/Original_Curators_Group#curation]Follow Original Curator Group[/url][/i]