The game begins with the pieces of our nameless robotic protagonist getting dumped, for reasons presently unknown, in a junkyard on the outskirts of a towering mechanical metropolis. Thankfully, due to his robotic nature, and the assistance of a robotic rodent, he is capable of putting his body back together – but remember kids, you can’t! Shortly after being reassembled, our automaton’s adventure begins with a trek back toward the city from which he was just expelled. This journey is accomplished through a series of screens that act as individual puzzles for the player to solve through clever use of the surrounding environment and some creative inventory management. However, the journey is much more than mere puzzle solving, as a surprisingly engaging story emerges in Machinarium as well.

The execution of this story is made all the more surprising by the complete lack of dialogue in the game, written or spoken. Instead, the characters of Machinarium converse telepathically, with thought bubbles filled with animated sketches provided for the benefit of the player. These animations are beautifully illustrated, wonderfully convey each character’s emotion and intent, and are quite often very funny. Through these pictograms we learn more about the inhabitants of the mechanical city, the reason our protagonist was expelled from it, a terrible plot to destroy its largest tower, and even a tale of love. These conversations are just one of the many brilliant highlights of Machinarium’s distinctive visual style.

The graphics are two-dimensional, comprised of highly-detailed hand-drawn sketches, and bathed in moody neutral tones and drab, desaturated colours. Still, the world of Machinarium feels very much alive, thanks to the amount of animation and interactivity weaved into each screen. Small robotic insects scurry about, steam pours out of vents, lights flicker, water drops from exposed pipes, and gears and pistons shift and turn to keep the heart of the city beating. The fantastic animations aren’t limited to the environments either, as the robotic characters themselves benefit from a wealth of expressive and often amusing animations as well. Where most games of this nature would often recycle a small set of key animations over and over again, the characters of Machinarium, most notably our protagonist, benefit from a vast pool of unique animations – rarely doing things the same way twice – resulting in a silent, robotic hero with a very human personality.

However, being a robot, our little hero is capable of doing things that humans cannot (beyond putting himself back together), such as stretching his torso and limbs to interact with the environment in different ways. By clicking on his head and dragging up or down, our protagonist will grow and shrink as desired, enabling him to reach items dangling above or to squeeze into a small ventilation shaft. Furthermore, despite his size, our hero apparently has a rather spacious interior, as he collects items by swallowing them and stores his inventory in his stomach. As with most adventure games, items in the inventory can be called upon at any time or combined to make new items entirely, and whenever an item is needed to proceed, our hero merely pulls it out of his mouth.

You’ll need these abilities and some solid logic if you wish to help our protagonist complete his journey, but be prepared to get stuck from time to time. While some of the puzzles are more traditional in nature, several of the screens require a much more abstract approach in order to solve them. The solutions are similar in nature to a Rube Goldberg machine, achieving a very simple goal or task in a complicated or convoluted manner. Normally, this manner of puzzle would be incredibly frustrating to solve, but the character and charm of Machinarium makes even the failed attempts a delight to watch. Additionally, there is no way to lose or perish in the game, as you are awarded as much time as you need in order to overcome the puzzle at hand.

Though if you find that your patience draws thin, and you’d rather put a particular puzzle behind you, Amanita Design has implemented two very welcome options for assistance, each offering a different degree of help. The first comes in the form of the idea button, which makes our protagonist think about the final step of the puzzle, illustrating it in a thought bubble similar to the telepathic conversations. The beauty of this method is that the game shows you what your goal should be, which is not always obvious at first, but doesn’t spoil how to achieve it. Ideally, with this new-found sense of direction, players should be able to work out how to accomplish their goal, but that won’t always be the case, and that’s where the second assistance tool comes in. For those completely stuck, Amanita Design has provided a solution book for each screen. However, obtaining that solution isn’t as simple as clicking on the book icon, or it would be far too tempting to use. Once the book is clicked, players are forced to play a shoot-’em-up mini-game in which they control a flying key traversing a cave fraught with deadly perils. If the key successfully navigates the cave, reaching the keyhole at the end, the book will open and reveal the step-by-step solution for that screen. It’s a beautifully illustrated and beautifully designed system that on more than one occasion actually discouraged me from spoiling the solution for myself, but I certainly appreciated its inclusion nonetheless.

While working out the solutions to each puzzle, or merely getting lost in the gorgeous visuals, Amanita Design has seen fit to serenade us with some wonderful music. Much like the environments in the game, the score is both moody and subdued, relying mostly on atmospheric electronic tones. Each area uses slight variations of the themes heard in those before it, or new themes altogether if the situation demands. The themes certainly aren’t memorable pieces, but they fit perfectly with the world and atmosphere that Machinarium presents. Additionally, and I know this is just conjecture on my part, the subdued and relaxing tones may help most players think. In fact, I have found the music to be so beneficial in this regard that I have actually left the game running in the background so that I may listen to it while I work (even as I write this review). Could we get a soundtrack, please?

The adventure game genre is all but extinct in the modern age of gaming, yet it seems that every year we are treated to one masterpiece such as Machinarium that keeps hopes for the genre’s triumphant return. Unfortunately, the experience is brief, as most players, especially genre veterans, will complete the game in six to eight hours, but every minute spent in this robotic world is a very pleasing one. For traditional adventure game fans, or just fans of games that make you both think and smile, Machinarium could very well be the best $20 you spend this year.

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The story of Aztaka follows a young Aztec warrior named Huitzilo as he attempts to lead his people to salvation. A child of destiny, Huitzilo is burdened by the task of finding the Path of the Gods – a legendary gateway through which mankind may transcend into the Heavens. To do so he must locate the seven hidden Phonograms – ancient relics that act as keys to the Path of the Gods. Thankfully, Huitzilo is not alone in his quest. Sharing his destiny is Ayohpa, a young Aztec woman trapped in the body of a hummingbird. Though cursed with her avian form, Ayohpa possesses the knowledge of magic – a gift that will greatly benefit the pair in their journey.

The gameplay will seem simple and familiar at first – travelling left and right on a two-dimensional plane while attacking monsters and jumping over obstacles. However, Aztaka brings several fresh ideas to the table that really help to distinguish it from other games in the traditional action RPG genre. Each of the creatures that Huitzilo and Ayohpa encounter on their journey possesses a different kind of lifeforce energy, of which there are four in total. Whenever a creature is defeated, this energy is left behind for Huitzilo to collect. Each type of energy can be used in a different way to manipulate the game world or to directly aid the protagonists. For instance, the green energy – known as Vital Energy – is capable of making branches grow on trees, allowing Huitzilo to navigate them like platforms. But when used on Huitzilo directly the Vital Energy will restore lost health points, and donating the green energy to fallen allies may restore them to good health. Throughout his journies, Huitzilo will obtain containers capable of storing the individual types of energy. Many of the puzzles in Aztaka involve using the four types of energy in clever ways in order to proceed, so storing them becomes a necessity. Unfortunately, most of the puzzles are quite easy, and the solutions are often very obvious. However, some require an energy that you may not have discovered yet, or may originate from a difficult monster, requiring you to come back to the puzzle at a later time.

Another interesting gameplay mechanic is the method in which Ayohpa’s spells are cast. To cast a spell, you must click on the spell icon and then click again on your desired target. Once your target has been selected, a series of icons will appear on the screen in a pre-determined pattern. Clicking on these icons in the appropriate order will result in the successful execution of the spell. Missing one of the icons or failing to click on it fast enough will result in the spell failing. The action goes into slow-motion during this process, but trying to cast spells with the mouse while using the keyboard to make Huitzilo dodge incoming attacks can be a stressful experience. Thankfully, placing skill points into Ayohpa’s Heaven Focus skill makes the process much easier. For each point spent on the skill the time allowed to cast the spell increases, and the icons in the spell-casting pattern will become easier to click. This is achieved by increasing the lock-on radius for each icon, allowing your mouse cursor to snap to the next icon automatically as it gets closer.

The character development in Aztaka is surprisingly deep. Both Huitzilo and Ayohpa possess unique skills and attributes that can be improved as the game progresses. With each creature that they defeat, the pair earns experience points toward attaining their next levels. Whenever one of the characters gains a new level they earn one skill point and one attribute point. These points can be spent right away or saved for later, but always have a noticeable impact on the game when used. Each of the skills have their purpose, allowing each player to tailor their character to their preferred style of play. Further experimentation with character builds will also make additional playthroughs seem much less repetitive.

Skills and attributes can be further augmented with the use of items and equipment. Both Huitzilo and Ayohpa are capable of equipping themselves with a variety of artifacts and jewellery, each of which can improve attributes or add levels to skills. These items are sometimes dropped when monsters are defeated, but the best items are typically reserved for quest completion rewards or found hidden on levels. Merchants can also be found in some of the villages offering a random assortment of goods for sale, but the gold needed to buy them can be rather uncommon. Thus purchasing an item can often be as vital of a decision as spending a skill or attribute point.

Travelling from level to level is done by selecting a destination on a world map populated with known locations. Unfortunately, the auto-save feature in Aztaka will only save the progress of a game when the player returns to the world map. There is no manual save feature in the game, and the only way to leave a level is to locate one of the exits – some of which can be a great distance away. This can make dying in Aztaka a very frustrating experience, especially on levels that culminate in a boss battle. Huitzilo is only granted one life per level when the game begins, but can earn more by spending points on the Divine Favor skill.

The levels themselves are a work of art – quite literally. Each level and environment in Aztaka is beautifully hand-drawn and rich with style. It is abundantly clear that the art team at Citérémis spent a great deal of time studying Aztec culture and have lovingly recreated it. Every temple is lined with pictographs, and every statue resembles actual Mesoamerican craftsmanship. The artifacts and jewellery found throughout the game also adhere to the style of those worn by real Aztec priests and warriors. The cultural accuracy is remarkable.

The outdoor environments are equally well-crafted. Each rock formation, flower, and blade of grass is drawn with a great attention to detail, and every background looks like a gorgeous watercolour landscape. Bringing each environment to life are the characters and creatures that inhabit them. While not hand-drawn like the environments, every character and creature model is carefully textured to resemble the hand-drawn art style. This technique was executed so well that it can be very difficult at times to believe that the character and creature models are actually three-dimensional. Some animations spoil the illusion, but overall the visual presentation of Aztaka is that of a beautiful, animated storybook.

Accompanying the gorgeous visuals is the equally enchanting music. Whimsical and tribal, the music in Aztaka further delivers upon the cultural themes of the game. Each level features a unique music track befitting of its atmosphere and can really help immerse a player in the action. From aggressive drumbeats to soothing rhythms, some of the music in Aztaka is immediately memorable. Unfortunately, the sound effects don’t live up to the standard set by the musical score. In most cases, the sound design is generic and flat, rarely adding to the character of the game. However, the quality of the sound effects is not distracting enough to diminish the overall presentation of the game.

Aztaka is a remarkable achievement. For a first release from an independent developer, the game shows an incredible amount promise. While the game may be lacking a little in polish (something that may come with additional patches), it is difficult to ignore Aztaka’s gameplay innovations and visual presentation. The action role-playing game genre is not as prevalent as it once was, but in following with the Aztec cycle of life, death and rebirth, Aztaka is doing its part to revitalize it.