Machinarium Videogame Combines Art And Visual Storytelling

Machinarium is not a new videogame. But if, like many gamers, you overlooked it when it was released in late 2009, you owe it to yourself to go back and pay it some attention. Machinarium may look simple or perhaps even a touch primitive at first glance, but in reality the game is an inspirational fairy tale set in a wondrous, grimy world of living machines; a touching story of struggle, heroism and robot-love.

One of Machinarium’s most remarkable qualities is the way its tale is woven without a single word—there’s not one instance of speech or text in the entire game. Instead, everything is told visually. Dialog between characters unfolds as brief animations, while plot details are filled in through flashbacks.

Even the physical appearances of the game’s denizens, from the diminutive main character to his ruffian tormentors and the strutting, tin-pot police who, in theory at least, guard over the city, figure prominently in the storytelling process, as the pint-sized underdog struggles against bullies and thugs to be the hero his doe-eyed beloved has always believed him to be.

That may be a lot to read into a game that, bizarre setting aside, is a fairly straightforward point-and-click adventure. From a gameplay standpoint, Machinarium is solid if not particularly noteworthy. But the details of its world most definitely are. Each level and everything in it is entirely hand-drawn, providing a unique and whimsical visual style, while the soundtrack, both musical and ambient, is every bit as impressive—possibly more so. The combined effect is nothing short of extraordinary.

Gamers unfamiliar with the standards of “adventure logic,” in which odd, occasionally arbitrary sequences of actions are required to complete tasks and move things forward, may need a little time to get settled, but veterans of the genre will feel right at home. You will collect objects, you will combine objects, and you will use those objects on other objects to make things happen. But the game mechanics are actually quite simple, because everything is visual and its various regions are fairly tightly compartmentalized. Some of the problems you’ll face are real stumpers, however, and while one hint is available for each of the game’s screens, don’t expect it to do much more than give you a very gentle nudge in the right direction.

But that’s okay. Machinarium is a slow-burning experience that’s best savored rather than merely consumed. It crafts gripping beauty out of an ugly world in a way that elevates it from the merely good to the truly memorable. It’s not for everyone: twitchy Halo junkies probably won’t find too much to like in it. But for anyone in the mood for something a little more thoughtful, or who’d just like to see the videogame medium stretch its legs a little bit, Machinarium is a wonderful, magical game that simply should not be missed. For the Silo, Andy Chalk.