Machinika: Atlas

75%
Game Brain Score Based on 119 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • stability
Machinika: Atlas Game Cover
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In Machinika: Atlas, find yourself stranded on Saturn's moon, Atlas, inside a crashed alien ship. As a museum researcher, solve cryptic puzzles to navigate the labyrinth of the mysterious vessel and uncover its secrets, even if you haven't played the preceding game, Machinika: Museum. Engage in a captivating sci-fi adventure that challenges your logic and observation skills.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

75%
Audience ScoreBased on 119 reviews
story13 positive mentions
stability17 negative mentions
  • The game features a nice continuation of the story from the first game, with engaging puzzles that provide a satisfying challenge.
  • Graphics and ambiance are well-crafted, creating an enjoyable sci-fi atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
  • The introduction of free movement adds a new layer of exploration, making the game feel more immersive compared to its predecessor.
  • The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches that can lead to frustrating soft locks and require reloading chapters to progress.
  • Many puzzles are overly simplistic or poorly designed, lacking the depth and intrigue that made the first game enjoyable.
  • The hint system is often unhelpful, providing vague guidance that can leave players feeling stuck and confused.
  • story38 mentions

    The story continues from the previous game, picking up with the protagonist's arrival at a deserted alien spaceship, and while it provides a backdrop for the gameplay, many players find it lacks depth and emotional stakes. The narrative unfolds through letters and a new walkie-talkie feature, offering a mix of intrigue and frustration, as some feel the puzzles do not align well with the story. Overall, while the story is enjoyable and ties into the first game, it is considered more of a secondary element to the puzzle-solving experience.

    • “Storywise, you pick up where the first part left off, having just arrived at an alien spaceship, a location you find to be deserted, but filled with mechanisms and machines that you have to figure out to proceed from your starting point.”
    • “Not really long, but the story is quite fun and ties into the first one quite nicely.”
    • “The story enfolds with letters you can find and info you get via your walkie-talkie.”
    • “The plot picks up where the last story ends and is mostly followed via letters and the walkie-talkie, which is a new feature.”
    • “The wrap-up of the story at the beginning is quite bad.”
    • “[spoiler] The plot also lost a lot of the whimsy that the first game possessed, instead exchanging it for a wispy visage that's trying to be a 'humanity is inherently barbaric and always shoots first' plotline that resolves extremely unsatisfyingly and with no true sense of stakes, even when the ship is supposed to be actively bombarded by missiles.”
  • graphics23 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the unique art style and smooth movement, while others criticize the visuals as outdated or lacking depth. Although there are moments of impressive aesthetics, several users report graphical glitches and a general feeling that the graphics do not significantly surpass those of the previous installment. Overall, while some find the graphics appealing, others feel they fall short of modern standards.

    • “The art style is slick, pleasing, and unique, but I wish they had used more advanced rendering techniques to create it.”
    • “Love this game! It has awesome graphics and the puzzles are great; I would highly recommend.”
    • “Gorgeous graphics, moderately interesting puzzles...not a brain-killer.”
    • “It's not graphically much better than the first game, still looking like it's either a mobile port or decades old, but you know that just from the store page, and that's not where the meat of the game is anyway.”
    • “Graphics: so basic it will appeal to those cryogenically unfrozen from the year 2003.”
    • “Despite what the trailers show, even on the highest settings, there are some key visuals that appear flat and even untextured; the tools at your disposal are different in lieu of not being in the same environment as before, but it feels like an afterthought in the face of the prior game.”
  • stability17 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs, softlocks, and glitches that disrupt gameplay, even after multiple patches. Issues include non-responsive controls, problematic puzzles, and visual glitches, leading many to find the experience frustrating and unstable. While some players note that the developers are addressing these problems, the overall consensus is that the game remains too buggy for a strong recommendation at this time.

    • “Even today, after multiple patches, the game is still a pain to get through: softlocks, glitches, non-responsive UI, and so on.”
    • “The game glitches out every chapter or so, mostly during chapter transitioning animations, softlocking your game.”
    • “The last chapter glitched out, wasting 45+ minutes of my life trying to solve the buggy puzzle.”
  • gameplay14 mentions

    The gameplay is generally praised for its smooth movement and engaging mechanics, offering a relaxing experience with simple yet enjoyable puzzles. While the game introduces an "escape room" style and allows for free movement, some players feel that the walking mechanic doesn't significantly enhance the gameplay, which remains largely point-and-click. Overall, the game is considered a solid continuation of its predecessor, appealing particularly to fans of mechanically oriented puzzles, despite some minor bugs and concerns about potential repetitiveness.

    • “A pretty cool sequel with nice mechanics and nice puzzles.”
    • “The gameplay besides that is a solid 10/10, and I definitely enjoyed the experience after the original game.”
    • “If you played Machinika Museum and enjoyed it, buy Atlas; it's a great continuation with the addition of free movement. The game is relatively short but charming, gameplay is interesting, and the puzzles are challenging.”
    • “That's another issue I have with Atlas... the mechanisms are no longer completely indecipherable, and look more like 19th century steampunk technology; lots of gears, pistons, electrical conduits, etc. Why does this hyper-advanced alien spacecraft still use gigantic gears to transfer mechanical energy?”
    • “After the first few levels, I was afraid the gameplay might become repetitive, but the game manages to reinvent itself as you progress.”
    • “But besides chapter 7, I do like this game a lot; it's almost like The Room series of games, but you can personally walk around in the area. Now sadly, this doesn't affect the gameplay much, as you're still allowed the usual point-and-click style, which also means that there's nothing that inherently takes advantage of the ability to walk around.”
  • atmosphere10 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players feeling that the introduction of dialogue and living characters detracts from the eerie charm and mystery established in the previous installment. While certain moments and sound design have been praised for their immersive qualities, many users noted a significant decline in the overall atmospheric tension, particularly in comparison to its predecessor. However, a few players found the atmosphere to be surprisingly deep and unique, highlighting the developers' effective sound and visual choices.

    • “The sounds and atmosphere worked and felt perfect.”
    • “I found this game interesting and surprisingly deep in terms of its atmosphere, which is quite unique and a strength for this genre.”
    • “The atmosphere of the game has been preserved and even improved thanks to the sound and visual decisions of the developers.”
    • “While the letters and notes from the previous game provided a lot of the unique charm and mystery while contributing to the somewhat uneasy atmosphere, every time there was dialogue or notes in this game it took me out of the experience completely.”
    • “That's right, there's dialogue in this game, with other living things, which seems totally out of genre, and spoils the atmosphere and tone.”
    • “The environment is severely lacking in atmosphere.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The game's optimization is mixed, with some users noting fast performance and the ability to run on various hardware, while others report significant performance issues, lack of polish, and reused assets that detract from the experience. Despite achieving high frame rates, players have experienced smoothness problems and a general lack of logical world-building, indicating that it falls short of the optimization seen in its predecessor, "Machinika Museum."

    • “Performance is fast, though!”
    • “A more optimized, polished game, which will run on almost any hardware in high quality (the first part itself ran at 30-50 fps due to the lack of a discrete video card), which can not help but please.”
    • “Various performance issues.”
    • “It is not optimized like the first part 'Machinika Museum'; even with 144fps, there are issues with smoothness.”
    • “A lack of polish, bad performance, and a complete lack of logic in its world-building.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    The game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with players reporting only about four hours of gameplay and expressing disappointment in its short length and buggy puzzles. While the first game in the series offered enjoyable replay value, this installment does not meet those expectations, leading to a recommendation against its current pricing.

    • “I played the first game several times and enjoyed it for its replay value.”
    • “The variety of choices and outcomes keeps me coming back for more.”
    • “Each playthrough feels fresh, thanks to the different paths and strategies available.”
    • “I got about 4 hours of play from this with no replay value.”
    • “As of now, I can't recommend the game for its current pricing. It's short, has no replayability, and while the museum was fun, it seems clunky and poorly thought out. Some puzzles just don't work properly and are bugged, which led me to check an online walkthrough and see that I did exactly what was supposed to be done.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game's ending script is noted as amusing, despite feeling somewhat rushed. While the cutscene timing may be abrupt, it adds to the comedic effect without detracting from the overall experience.

    • “The ending script of the game felt a bit rushed, but it was funny.”
    • “It stops when the cutscene is supposed to stop, so it's not game-breaking, but I just found it funny.”
  • music1 mentions

    The music in the game is highly praised, complementing its excellent graphics and enhancing the overall experience.

    • “Excellent riddle game with very good graphics and a captivating soundtrack.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and boring, indicating that it can detract from the overall enjoyment and engagement.

    • “Some of the grinding aspects were tedious and boring.”
    • “The repetitive nature of grinding made the game feel like a chore.”
    • “I found the grinding to be excessively time-consuming and not rewarding.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
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