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Machinarium

EMAIL PRINT pc

9.3 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 41 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 63 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Amanita Design

Developer: Amanita Design

Genre(s): Adventure

Players: 1

ESRB Rating: RP (Rating Pending)

Release Date: October 16, 2009

Summary

Machinarium is independent puzzle / adventure game developed by the makers of popular web-games Samorost and Samorost2. A little robot who’s been thrown out to the scrap yard behind the city must return and confront the Black Cap Brotherhood and save his robot-girl friend.

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

One of the most beautiful games to hit home computers in a long time.

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100

Just Adventure

This is a very modest game with big ambitions. I don’t think I’ve played a game since Portal which is such few things to complain about. It costs $20 and you should be playing it right now.

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Vandal Online

Playing it is a pleasure for the mind and the senses, ever stimulating and ready to surprise and make us smile.

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Everyeye.it

The adventure in the world of Machinarium is an exciting discovery of beautifully designed details and strange machines, which will entangle the player in an alien world made of weird laws, defining a new way for the point and click genre.

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Total PC Gaming

Imaginative and memorable. It really blew us away! [Issue #27, p.56]

Gamervision

The few complaints I had were pretty nitpicky, and the issues are outweighed by the number of good qualities. Obviously, fans of point-and-click games check this out, but even if you weren’t a fan of the genre in the past, this might help to change your mind. Machinarium may not have gotten the attention it deserved earlier in the year, but it’s never too late to play a fantastic game.

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Meristation

One of the greatest PC games that we've tried so far this year is a puzzle game mixed with stunning graphics. A truly robotical adventure that's meant to be one of this year's GOTY without any doubt.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Machinarium’s distinct visual style and seamless animations are etched with a staggering level of detail, and few games come close to possessing the sheer beauty found here.

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LEVEL (Czech Republic)

Fascinating and touching story of a little robot in a vast mechanical city excels in every aspect. Most unusual adventure game you can find these days. [Nov 2009]

games(TM)

Remakes and IP revivals may be raking in the big bucks at the moment, but this artistically unique original is the game that really deserves your love and respect. [Nov 2009, p.106]

Multiplayer.it

We have the chance to take part in a journey that for style and atmosphere has not been experienced before; not in the videogame industry.

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Adventure Gamers

That aside, this is the best time I've had with an adventure game – 2D or 3D, big or small budget – this year. With an original charm all its own, Machinarium is a real winner and an instant classic.

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Destructoid

Some hiccups notwithstanding, Machinarium is just plain one of the best adventure games ever made.

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Gamer Limit

Machinarium is one of the best games of the year. It stands as a pillar of excellence for all independent developers, and will undoubtedly be revered for years to come.

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Eurogamer Spain

Amanita has put a lot of effort in all details, creating an adventure like no other we've seen in the latest years.

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Play.tm

Machinarium wants to tell you a story, it needs you to eek your way through it, and the artists have clearly sweated buckets of WD40 in creating a world originally brilliant for you to absorb, but it isn't 'free'. Your payment (besides the 11 GBP it costs) is the dying brain cells and droplets of blood forming on your forehead as you ponder another conundrum. But pay gladly my friends, because this is a kind of value you'll rarely see in any world, mechanical or otherwise. Savour it too, because Machinarium will pay you back tenfold.

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GameCritics

With a brilliant musical score, gorgeous artwork, solid adventuring mechanics, and a ton of other generic positive reviewer comments I can heap on it, Machinarium is elevated from merely good to gaming greatness, and I can only hope that the minds at Amanita produce some more masterpieces like this one

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InsideGamer.nl

The charm of Machinarium is the perfect play between the magic of the setting, the mysterious characters, little visual details and the soundtrack who binds it all together. This reanimation of a extinct and decapitated genre is still going strong, between all the great games coming out on the market these days. It gives us hope about the future of point-and-click.

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SpazioGames

Machinarium demonstrates, once again, how ideas and creativity in the world of video games today can impress the public, despite the current gaming market being governed by graphics and constant run-up to the latest technological developments. Proudly presenting an unique nature, and belonging to a genre of videogames that is unfortunately going to disappear, Machinarium stands out for originality, thanks to the stunning quality and many hours of puzzles and fun filled with really interesting ideas.

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Gamers.at

The unusual graphics are nice, and the puzzles are not only mindboggling, but also great fun. Machinarium shows what you can do with simplest methods.

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Computer Games Online RO

Therefore, Machinarium can be considered a very successful adventure game, which I recommend to any player, be it or not a passionate of the genre.

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PC Format

It's as accessible and charming as any Pixar creation, and it's completely won over this reviewer's heart. [Christmas 2009, p.95]

3DJuegos

Machinarium is an old-school Adventure, and a must-buy for hardcore fans of the point and click genre.

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GamerNode

This is excellent, independent game design - a small, self-contained, and awesome experience, easily justifying the $20 asking price

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Play Magazine

Some games need to be on your hard drive, for yourself, your family, your friends. Machinarium is one of them. It’s a supremely accessible, lavishly illustrated, and beautifully scored point and click adventure, with charmingly conceived (at times madly detailed) puzzles, genuine humor, and tin men with big hearts.

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GamingXP

Machinarium is a great, sweet, charming game. Period. Yep, sometimes, it‘s too difficult, but the idea of the built-in walkthrough is awesome, you‘ll understand every emotion and hint without having to read a single word, and it‘s starring a robot. Yeah.

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Absolute Games

It’s fun to freely explore the gloomy city now that Amanita Design got rid of their bite-sized locations. This is a full-fledged, mature adventure game. Hang around just for a minute, and you’ll take a liking to this odd-looking world.

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ActionTrip

It's a been a while since we've had a proper puzzle flavored adventure game and in that sense Machinarium brings more than a satisfactory choice of challenges. If it weren't for certain gameplay mishaps, the game would've got more attention altogether.

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IGN

Machinarium is a must-play for point-and-click fans. It hearkens back to the early days of the genre with a brutal level of difficulty that will keep you puzzled for hours.

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Eurogamer

Machinarium is a treat for the senses that demands more of your brain, a paradoxically gentle yet punishing riff on a genre that, until now, had been revived but sadly defanged for modern players.

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Edge Magazine

But the puzzles themselves are nearly an unmitigated joy.

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GameStar

Machinarium is the most unusual adventure of 2009. It's part of the game to find out how everything works and what you have to do. What happens if you turn this machine on or pull that lever? Bit by bit everything makes sense and only at the end of the game you'll understand it. This game is a step in the right direction to evolve video games.

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DarkZero

An overall amazingly crafted game made.

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GameSpot

A picture is worth a thousand words in this charming point-and-click adventure.

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PC PowerPlay

A spectacular heart-warming and utterly enchanting adventure. [Christmas 2009, p.66]

AceGamez

Machinarium is a solid and thoroughly enjoyable point and click adventure and while it's not without fault, these are passing annoyances rather than sticking points that will sour the experience.

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PC Gamer

A delightful adventure with clever puzzles, a great atmospheric soundtrack and superbly stylized art. [Jan 2010, p.75]

PC Gamer UK

Gloriously beautiful, infuriatingly fiddly. [Christmas 2009, p.98]

PC Zone UK

Deserves praise for artistic flair, but when it comes to gameplay approach with caution. [Jan 2010, p.81]

Eurogamer Italy

Those playing for a long time have developed the 'eye of the old-gamer', a sort of skill that allows them to lead back the majority of games to a minimum of seeds that give life to the 99% of videogames. We then salute with joy Machinarium, a modern title that goes back to the past, rediscovering what we could call a casual adventure for hardcore gamers.

Teletext GameCentral

Old school graphic adventure that doesn't pull its punches with either the puzzles or the gorgeous art.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 9.3 (out of 10) based on 63 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Will B gave it a10:
Pure class. From the artwork to the music and animation Machinarium oozes style. The puzzles are expertly crafted and balanced at just the right difficulty. Its obvious that a lot of time and effort has gone into this game. What with all the hype surrounding big money games like COD4:MW2 and the like I'm just glad games like this are still being made. A rare treat.

tutyit tot gave it a10:
Wom Bat - you shouldn't be bragging about how the game is made. You should be objective and tell out that this game is very funny and is cool to play. Yeah its a flash game and what then? You know how much it takes to make a flash game like this? I think you don't.Cos if you know you wouldn't say things like that. The game is worth 15 Euro for everyone who likes to play Great games! And MACHINARIUM is a hell of a good piece of ART and GAME ! Giving out 3 from 10 because its a flash based game is ridiculous !

Russell L gave it a10:
Fantastic game. I must admit I got stuck a couple of times, but if it wasn't difficult, it would be a beautiful but dull game. The whole point is to get your noggin working and here the balance between genius and imbecile was just right. Having the walk-through book with its mini game, just incase, is a stroke of genius. I'm eagerly awaiting more from these guys and a revival of point and click adventures in general.

Matt S gave it a7:
I wanted to love this game from the very beginning...the artwork...the music...beautiful. But, underneath this skin deep illusion is a game that is flawed by attempts to make obscurity and complexity, elements of mystery for solving and it simply doesn't work. I only made it about halfway through the game before giving up in sheer frustration at the amount of effort going into retracing my steps and missing clues that were half a game away. So, +1 for the incredible artwork, +1 for the clever and haunting music,and +1 for a couple of very funny moments, -1 for an awkward supporting UI and a big -5 for the game itself. What Machinarium has done is remind me of my past and a game called Myst that was also beautiful and haunting and ultimately too smart for its own good.

Wom Bat gave it a3:
This is a just a Flash based game, so you can forget about things like selective screen resolution or even a gaming engine. I would have appreciated being told it was Flash when I bought it on Steam. In my opinion it's not worth the money. Using a mouse to find hotspots is not unlike a web based flash game, and that;s where this game should be... on the web, not as an application for sale along side real games. Not happy at all.

Micael S gave it a10:
Beautiful scenes, drawn by artists with an eye for charming details. An adventure without death and shooting. Just the good guy trying to find his friend and helping others along the way. Nice. I love it.

Joe P gave it a10:
Incredible game. It easily made it into my top five in my 20 years of gaming. Very nice graphic, perfect soundtrack and a first: It's a game you want to win mostly because you like the characters.

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