Indie Gaming Beauty by Amanita Design: Machinarium

Machinarium is a lovely 2d, sidescroller adventure puzzle game for the PC. I rarely get into indie games, but this stellar title by independent game developers Amanita Design (a small Czech group) grabbed my attention. The setting of Machinarium is in a world populated by robots, filled with fascinating architecture made from rusted junk and odd organic materials.

The story follows a lone robot (Josef) whose love has been kidnapped by a notorious gang called the Black Cap Brotherhood. Players advance through each level by manipulating various objects on-screen, interacting with them through the protagonist's actions, and solving each puzzle to move ahead. Some are fairly easy, but the difficulty gets incredibly more intense as one progresses through the various levels. It is similar to a point and click action game, although the player must move the main character to accomplish the needed actions. The protagonist has a few special abilities that help in solving puzzles (he can increase his height if needed, plus a few more). Some puzzles involve simply collecting a few objects on screen and then combining them, while others involve creating complex chain reactions, timed perfectly to advance the storyline.

The art style found in Machinarium is really unique. It is hard to describe, but I'll do my best-it has a soft, hand-drawn feel, with amazing attention to detail on every screen. The overall setting and game feeling of a rusted out, junky planet filled with robotic beings, is wonderfully carried out through the graphics, with a few special effects. While it is 2d, the animations are relatively flawless, especially for the game's protagonist. I enjoyed the game graphics of Amanita's previous sidescroller puzzler game, Samorost, but I was truly blown away by the work put into the graphics for Machinarium. I have included a few screenshots from the game

The soundtrack is also quite unique and conveys the rather opprseive yet interesting game setting. It's mostly environmental noises and effects, yet they are quite foreign to what one would expect for most traditional 2d sidescrollers.

Truly a game that demands at least a moderate amount of thinking, Machinarium is a game I play in my free time, but not after a long study periods where the last thing I want to do is use my brain. Still, I do play Machinarium quite often (I'm still working on some of the later levels) and I try to solve most of the puzzles without any outside help (i.e. online game guide).

Definitely try out Machinarium if you are looking for something a little different from the generic mainstream games coming out today. The artwork is absolutely amazing, the gameplay is addicting and the storyline is immersive. Also, consider trying out Amanita Design's other lovely puzzler title, Samorost (Episodes 1 and 2), about a lone spaceman trying to rescue his dog from nasty experimenting aliens.

http://machinarium.net