Indie Spotlight: Machinarium

Format: PC (Flash)
Genre: Point & Click Adventure
Developer: Amanita Design
Release: 16th October 2009

Very few games from the indie scene stun quite like Machinarium; its existence is more concerned with entertaining in a quiet, reserved manner than it is astounding with jaw-dropping action sequences or enravelling you with convoluted plots that confuse rather than captivate.

No, the message it delivers is that of style over substance, and given the substance that’s in this game, there’s plenty of style to take in. Right from the outset you’re welcomed with an interesting setting that leaves you with very little to go on, but enough not to leave you confused.

“Machinarium takes its own spin on this traditional convention of gameplay.

Machinarium is one of a recently-revived breed of game, that of Point & Click Adventures. For the uninitiated, it effectively means that you must solve puzzles by interacting with the world through your character. This is done simply by clicking on objects to interact with, and if your character can, they will do whatever it is that they should with it.

One of the more complex puzzles in the game

Machinarium takes its own spin on this traditional convention by also giving you the option to interact with your own character, a small hapless robot that starts off the game quite literally in pieces. By interacting with the robot you’re able to extend or contract its body, giving it access to certain things that would normally be out of its reach. This adds another layer to puzzles that players wouldn’t normally have had to deal with in past titles of this genre.

The difficulty of an adventure game is largely defined by the puzzles one must solve to progress through it. This is also the defining factor of the flow of the game; if you can’t solve a puzzle then you won’t get any further in the story, regardless of previous performance. Machinarium pulls this off well, balancing the types of puzzles you must tackle while rarely resorting to convoluted solutions just to up the ante. The momentum of solving these puzzles was rarely lost, while always maintaining a good level of brainpower needed to figure out what item goes where next.

“What you end up with is a very quaint story that is befitting of the artistic style.

Machinarium also handles storytelling in its own unique way, not a single word making its way onto the screen during gameplay, save for a few lines of text at the beginning, just to explain how the game works. If something must be communicated to the player, it is only done through the use of charming pictures and concise pictograms. This makes it effectively language-independent, something that can be said for only a scant few games of its kind.

Tutorial text explaining how the game works

Your hapless robot is given hardly any introduction at the start of the game, showing him being dumped off in bits scattered on top of a refuse pile. Your first task is to rebuild the game’s protagonist without an inkling of how or why he got there, and the blanks are filled in as you go along.

What you end up with is a very quaint story that is befitting of the artistic style, but dealing with it in any more detail would be telling.

“It’s no wonder that the artistic style of Machinarium is worthy of praise.

Which brings us to Machinarium’s most prominent and identifiable feature. Having earned an Excellence in Visual Art award at the 12th Annual Independent Games Festival, it’s no wonder, then, that the artistic style of Machinarium is worthy of praise. Add that to the fact that it was entirely designed in Flash (thus also making it platform-independent) and you have  something  truly impressive.

Showing off the Game's immense detailing

The different regions you explore are lively and skilfully animated, cutting no corners in providing an overall consistent style that never ceases to amuse with its humorous little nuances. The robots your character interacts with each have their own unique design; some functional, others just for appearance, but every one of them is sure to put a smile on your face.

From start to finish, Machinarium is sure to give you a memorable experience, with puzzles that will challenge but never frustrate. It is a recommended purchase for both adventure game enthusiasts and novices alike.

Machinarium is available for purchase both from Amanita Design’s own website, where you can try before buying, or from Steam (although the former method is highly recommended).