Back in 2009, Amanita Design surprised everyone of us with one of the best Point & Click adventures yet to be seen, set in a Steampunk world with that indie feeling all over it. Such a game was filled with lots of puzzles and brain-breaking riddles, that were purposely made to keep you thinking for a long time.
Name: Machinarium | Developer: Hothead Games | Genre: Adventure | Players: 1 | Version: 1.0 | Size: 17 MB + secondary download | Price: $4.99 |
Now, thanks to Hothead Games, we have a really neat port of Machinarium to our Android terminals, that keeps everything from the original version and gives us that much needed Steampunk dose. Let’s check it out.
Gameplay
In Machinarium, you play the role of Josef (from Josef Capek), whose life has been turned upside down by the evil Black Cap Brotherhood. Yours is the task of getting your life, friends and love back, all of this while saving the city of Machinarium from imminent danger.
With a rather simple UI, the game follows the usual Point & Click adventure, allowing you to pick up items to be used later, in order to get to the next part of your adventure. If you’re too stuck in a certain part of it though, you have two options to find your way out: There’s a hint per map (this may come in handy during the first stages, but as the game progresses hints become less helpful), or you can use your always handy walkthrough book, which gives you almost complete answers after completing a mini-game.
Graphics
The game shows itself as a Steampunk gem, full of a steely ambiance and lots of funny animations. Specially noticeable are our little friend’s flashbacks, as he remembers why did he end up in a garbage dump and who is to be blamed for it. The game demands a medium-high resolution device, so you won’t by able to play it in, let’s say, a Dell Streak 7. This comes just as expected, since some of the items you must pick up aren’t really big.
The quality of the visuals is actually not that surprising given that the PC version of the game won the Excellence in Visual Art award at the 12th Independent Games Festival.
Sounds and Music
The ambiance created graphically was really nice, but it’s the game’s sound department that really makes it amazing. There is a big bank of sounds for almost every movement you do, and it’s important to notice these sounds because sometimes those sounds become important hints. The music takes you to a Steampunk universe, completing the game idea and ensuring you are enjoying the experience.
Trivia: The PC version of the game also won the Best Soundtrack award from PC Gamer in 2009.
The Good: Outstanding graphics, Hooking gameplay, immersive soundtrack
The Bad: Medium-High resolution device needed.
Conclusion: You won’t want to miss this one from your collection. Machinarium puts steampunk and point & click games up a notch in the scale. For the price of $4.99 you will have a gem of a game to enjoy.
