Review: Machinarium

[Logan Westbrook]

Review: Machinarium

Machinarium is great to look at, but it's no fun to play.

Read Full Article

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Shame, the premise sounds interesting.

 

[sunami88]

Still one of the best "art-games" I've ever bought. But it does have some flaws that are impossible to ignore.

Overall, I thought it was worth it for the art. But as a "game" I've played a HELL of a lot better.

In short: I agree with your review.

 

[Aedes]

Aww, shame.
I like this kind of games. I was hoping for a good review. Can't win all of them. :s

 

[wtrmute]

Man, that picture in the article there brings me right back to those old Planescape Campaign Setting illustrations. Good times.

Too bad the game is no good, then.

 

[Jared]

Aww, shame.
I like this kind of games. I was hoping for a good review. Can't win all of them. :s

Aye, Ah well. At least a demo to toy with!

 

[coldfrog]

I still like it. To be honest, I thought the premise was never that important. Questions like "Why am I rescuing this person? Who is it?" etc. never bothered me much.

Still, they did much better game-playing wise with the Samorost games. That clock thing WAS annoying.

 

[sunami88]

Ther "art" in a game is called "gameplay".

Anyway, yeah, I've been dancing around Machinarium for a while but, like Axel & Pixel, it seems like the kind of game that gets praise for its looks and its arthouse ambitions than for its merit as a game. Which is no guarantee that it's going to be a bad game, either.

Silly me, I thought the art in this game was the stunning backgrounds and genuinely amazing/twisted character designs. And that the gameplay was clicking around solving puzzles.

But again, silly me . Don't misunderstand me though, this was totally worth the purchase just to see and experience the world.

 

[Bad Cluster]

Have you ever had a game that you really, really wanted to like, but just couldn't?

I loved every pixel of that game, only thing bad about it is the fact that it is so damn short!

As for people saying its gameplay and puzzles were not as good, I actually loved the fact that most of the puzzles were not clear after the first glance at them. I actually hate this easy stuff in modern games, makes puzzles feel like annoyance more than anything.

 

[2012 Wont Happen]

That game actually looked good. Sounds pretty bad after reading the review though.

 

[sunami88]

No, no, no.

See, that's the artwork in the game, as there is artwork in a comic book, but just as the comic book is a narrative form of expression, games are an interactive form of expression. If the gameplay doesn't make you feel something, there is no videogame-as-art. It may be art as an interactive painting or video exhibition, but not art as a videogame.

Of course, the visuals will help, just like the energy of a live concert helps deliver the music, but you'll agree that the live performance isn't the art in the music, but rather the composition and execution of the piece. Otherwise, the concert would be a live happening or theater session that happens to be set to music.

I care to disagree, but see where you're coming from. In my opinion, art can add to the overall gameplay experience, but when taken as separate entities the act of pointing and clicking in this game is not very good, or very fun. Clicking around in the environments is, however. Hence why I think the art is fantastic; but the gameplay isn't.

Hopefully I got the point of your post. I won't lie, it was a bit over my head.

 

[Shrewsbury]

I think this reviewer needs to learn some patience.

 

[Suskie]

I completely agree with every aspect of this review, and I'd even go so far as to say that people who make games like these have missed the point of gaming entirely.

 

[AugustSchmidt]

Completely disagree with this review. Perhaps the best game I played last year. The puzzles weren't easy or intuitive but maybe I'm a masochist. I enjoyed it greatly. It hearkens back to the days of the Golden Age of Adventure games (most of you weren't even born I wager). The atmosphere and artistry were simply delightful. I actually liked not knowing exactly what was going on: it lent an air of mystery and left some of the interpretation of this world up to the player. It also wasn't weighed down with ceaseless dialog like the Sam and Max games. A true palate cleanser.

I wouldn't admonish anyone for not liking this game however: as the saying goes, different strokes for different folks.

 

[Zetona]

I liked Machinarium a lot. Then again, I had an online strategy guide helping me. Still, it's a sight more appealing than many games that are easier to play these days.

I actually liked not knowing exactly what was going on: it lent an air of mystery and left some of the interpretation of this world up to the player.

Very much agreed. It also fit in well with the art style, which greatly reminds me of Dr. Seuss' nonsensical buildings.

 

[rampantcreature]

Sounds a lot like the movie "9". Great visuals but...the rest leaves something to be desired.

 

[wsmieszek]

I do not agree with this review, seems like the reviewer just wanted to finish all the puzzles and get it over with rather than to think about the subtle backstory.

Also, it was no "guard" in the tower that came down for no reason. If you care to play with the clock longer, you'll realize that there are more combinations. There is one for the Jew in the tower, one for the fanatic and one for the Islam person hiding above the tower clock. It shows that there are religions in this imaginary world of machines...

 

[heyheysg]

I have to disagree,

While the puzzles may be obtuse, they are never cheap or illogical and they often make sense during or after the action.

Some of the harder portions would be the mini-games involved in solving a puzzle, like Tic Tac Toe vs the AI or tracing the lines.

To solve the problem of objects you can choose, the robot can only stand on certain locations and reach objects in a circle around him when he's short/normal/tall. That reduces the grabbable items to 3 small circles per area. That was the intention of the design.

And the premise doesn't matter, it's up to your imagination

Plus there are hints in every page telling a little story with it