Videogames that trigger any form of emotion apart from “grrrrr I need to kill them all” are few and far between. When it comes to games available online, they are even rarer. One generally has a choice between mind numbing RPG in anime style and hypnotic puzzles that will make you go blind (my favourite kind).
Enters Machinarium, beautiful point and click adventure game created by Amanita Designs, a Czech studio also behind the Samorost saga. Machinarium tells the tale of a cute robot fighting evil robot bullies in a beautiful post-apocalyptic world made of tin and oil.
It is reminiscent of Ico and of Tears for Fears’ Mad World. Just like in Ico, you are an innocent creature trying to save a beautiful princess and get her out of an evil town. Except well… you are both robots, and one of the best things about the game is that it is totally devoid of human language. No lengthy cut scenes filled with useless back-story, no endless conversations about such and such monsters to defeat. Just pure gaming pleasure.
There is something extremely poetic and slow about the whole game, but it manages to stay challenging and riveting. At times, it will even make you slightly frustrated, but all will be forgiven, because how can you not forgive an adorable robot? And in case you end up totally stuck, there is a clever hints system that will give you either an indication of your goal, or the solution (but for this you will have to work a little harder).
Point and click is a genre that seems to feel a bit disincarnated sometimes, but Machinarium, just like Ico is based on characters interactions, but nothing is ever obvious. You learn about the bigger picture as you progress in the game.
Machinarium made me giggle, it made me sad, then happy again. Before you say anything though, it is not a “game for girls”. It is just a good game that will keep you entertained through its 30 different levels. Fine, sometimes the clicking is a bit difficult because you really must click the right pixel to solve a puzzle, but on the whole, it is a brilliant downloadable game, completely worth paying $20 for.
If you don’t believe me, you can play a demo version online.