Machinika: Museum
- January 31, 2019
- Littlefield Studio
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"Machinika Museum" is a narrative-driven puzzle game where players restore and examine mysterious machines. As the new curator, you'll delve into the stories behind each artifact and uncover a captivating tale of technological discovery. Solve intricate 3D puzzles, unlock hidden secrets, and piece together the past in this immersive, atmospheric adventure.
iPad
iPhone
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
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Windows
Android
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- Engaging and interesting puzzles that are mostly intuitive and satisfying to solve.
- Beautiful graphics and sound design that enhance the overall atmosphere of the game.
- A fun and intriguing storyline that unfolds as you progress through the puzzles.
- The game is quite short, typically taking only 2-4 hours to complete.
- Some puzzles can feel overly simplistic or repetitive, lacking the challenge found in similar games.
- There are occasional bugs and control issues that can disrupt gameplay, such as the mouse cursor disappearing or the game freezing.
- story321 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally described as intriguing but often feels minimal or underdeveloped, serving primarily as a framework to connect the puzzles. While some players appreciate the gradual unfolding of the narrative through puzzle-solving, others find it lacking depth and coherence, with many expressing disappointment over the cliffhanger ending that leads into a sequel. Overall, the story adds a layer of interest to the gameplay, but its execution leaves room for improvement in future installments.
“The graphics are stunning, the puzzles strike a nice balance in difficulty, and the story is really engaging.”
“Each of the chapters are tied together with an overarching story that gives additional sense of completion at the end.”
“As you solve puzzles and uncover more of the story, you feel a sense of accomplishment that drives you to continue playing.”
“The story is minimal and mostly conveyed through letters received at the beginning of each chapter.”
“Except... the story is just a cliffhanger to encourage you to buy the sequel, so if you play games just for the story (which in this case is nothing special) I can't recommend this game.”
“The story was a little weak, but in the context of the game, it was sufficient enough not to be too distracting from the puzzles.”
- graphics197 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their stunning visuals, detailed environments, and immersive art style, often evoking nostalgia for classic puzzle games. While many players appreciate the high-quality production and engaging aesthetics, some critiques mention that certain graphical elements feel outdated or inconsistent. Overall, the visuals significantly enhance the gameplay experience, contributing to a captivating atmosphere and enjoyable puzzle-solving.
“The graphics are stunning, the puzzles strike a nice balance in difficulty, and the story is really engaging.”
“An enjoyable game with beautiful graphics, great 3D puzzles, and lovely music.”
“The graphics and sounds were beautiful, and the background story as to why you are tinkering with these machines and the fluidity/reactions of your actions taken made it immersive.”
“The visuals are lacking and inconsistent, the puzzles are more non-intuitive rather than challenging, and it didn't leave me wanting more.”
“While the graphics look okay, the developer weirdly decided to lock the number of resolution options you can get... now, if you have a modern GPU, you'll probably get a bunch of super-resolution options, and these are the only options that appear.”
“The graphics is not great for this type of game; blurry textures and visible geometry.”
- gameplay148 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its engaging mechanical puzzles that draw inspiration from titles like "The Room," offering a mix of intuitive and occasionally frustrating mechanics. While many players appreciate the unique tools and atmospheric design, some find the puzzles to be too easy or repetitive, with a few technical issues affecting the experience. Overall, it provides a short but enjoyable puzzle-solving experience, ideal for casual gamers looking for a relaxing challenge.
“Loved the game and the mechanics of the puzzles with a rising difficulty.”
“From the subtle mechanical clicks of gears to the atmospheric background music, every sound feels meticulously designed to pull you deeper into the game’s mysterious world.”
“The gameplay is smooth, and the puzzles are just the right amount of challenge.”
“Unfortunately, most of the time you try to solve the buggy controls and mechanics that get stuck.”
“But on the other hand, the way that the puzzles are presented to you is extremely vague, leaving you fumbling around with mechanics until something accidentally happens.”
“The mechanics are annoying and all of the 'puzzles' are way too easy or just nonsensical with generally difficult interactions.”
- atmosphere55 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful environments, immersive sound design, and enchanting music, which collectively create a relaxing yet mysterious experience. Players appreciate the attention to detail in both graphics and audio, enhancing the overall puzzle-solving adventure. While some find the puzzles less challenging, the captivating atmosphere keeps them engaged throughout the gameplay.
“From the subtle mechanical clicks of gears to the atmospheric background music, every sound feels meticulously designed to pull you deeper into the game’s mysterious world.”
“The atmosphere is equal parts dread, wonder, and mystery.”
“I recently finished this beautiful game that captivated me with its stunning atmosphere, cohesive theme, and well-crafted puzzles.”
“Overall, 2/10. The first 10 minutes were fine, enjoying the atmosphere; after that, it was annoyingly easy and boring.”
“It's okay to be a fan of games like Myst or The Room, but obviously a lot is needed to replicate the atmosphere and quality of those games.”
“As a jaded, if not suicidal, employee of the national museum of exo-cultures, you're bound to examine shipments containing alien artifacts in a weirdly mundane atmosphere of unpacking regrettable stuff after a drunk online shopping spree.”
- music49 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the immersive experience without being intrusive. While some players found it relaxing and well-suited to the game's mysterious theme, others noted its minimal presence, with sound effects often taking precedence. Overall, the soundtrack complements the gameplay effectively, contributing to a calming and engaging puzzle-solving environment.
“From the subtle mechanical clicks of gears to the atmospheric background music, every sound feels meticulously designed to pull you deeper into the game’s mysterious world.”
“The music and sound effects perfectly complement the game's mysterious and mechanical theme.”
“The music and sound effects fit perfectly, giving a relaxing mood to the environment so that you can focus on the puzzle.”
“And even though the game lacks background music, it does have compelling sound effects which make up for the missing soundtrack.”
“The music and visuals are nothing especially to write home about.”
“The music blends into the background more than anything.”
- stability39 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is generally described as fun but plagued by numerous bugs and glitches, particularly affecting controls and progression. Many players report issues such as soft locks, unresponsive inputs, and the need to restart chapters due to technical problems. While some users experienced minimal issues, the overall consensus indicates that stability is a significant concern that detracts from the gameplay experience.
“Unfortunately, most of the time you try to solve the buggy controls and mechanics that get stuck.”
“It is so buggy when it comes to control that it's just unplayable.”
“This game is riddled with soft locks, buggy camera controls, and annoying boring puzzles.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The game is generally criticized for its limited replayability, with most players noting its short playtime of under four hours and lack of achievements or personalization options. While some enjoyed the experience, many recommend waiting for a sale due to the minimal incentive to replay. Overall, the consensus is that the game offers little in terms of replay value.
“More ways to personalize your experience would add to the overall enjoyment and replayability.”
“While I did enjoy this game, it doesn't have too much replayability going for it, but for the price and the rather smooth gameplay experience along with a fun narrative, I do recommend it.”
“It was a fun game; I will see how it goes for replayability.”
“It is a bit on the shorter side (<4 hrs) with practically no replay value, and there are no achievements, so maybe wait for a sale.”
“The limited replayability and short story might leave you wanting more.”
“I beat it in just under four hours, and being a puzzle game, it's also not replayable.”
- grinding9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unengaging, with many puzzles lacking depth and requiring minimal thought, leading to a repetitive experience. While some elements are enjoyable, the overall impression is that the game feels like a slog, with frustrating controls and a lack of meaningful challenge contributing to the grind.
“Otherwise it was like playing an endless series of hog or hopa mini-games without any connective tissue or narrative, so a bit tedious and grindy.”
“Machinika Museum does a decent impression of the room at places, there are a few bits of good story, a few bits of good puzzle and a few bits of enjoyable mechanisms in there - but most of my 3.5 hours with the game still felt like grinding ahead, doing uninteresting things.”
“While I enjoyed how the atmosphere of this game is reminiscent of games around the 2010s, the puzzles tend to get less clever in design and more tedious the further you play, for example, there is a damned cereal box maze in one of the chapters, there are too many puzzles in the game that require too little brain power to be fun or satisfying to complete, and you will solve most of the boring puzzles by trial and error, not to mention the broken controller support that doesn't allow you to do certain actions like zooming back out of an area.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurdity and clever narrative elements, such as the juxtaposition of serious military operations with lighthearted observations about the game world. Players appreciate the comedic touches found in the packaging and the quirky interactions, which add a layer of amusement to the overall experience.
“I reckon normally these would be handled, studied, and investigated by a small army of scientists in top secret facilities... it is not the biggest deal if you just decide to roll with it, but it is kind of hilarious if you think about it.”
“Liked the narrative of assembling exo-tech for the military-government and the glimpses of the game world, by way of the shipping tags, were especially humorous.”
“It's a funny riddle game.”
- monetization5 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy for the game has been criticized as overly reliant on in-game advertising, primarily serving as a promotional tool for an upcoming sequel. Players feel that the game is essentially a cash grab, being a mobile app repackaged as a paid PC product, which detracts from its overall value and experience.
“But the biggest issue I have with this is that it is merely an interactive advertisement for the actual game coming out later this year.”
“Machinika: Museum is a free mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as a paid product, as if it was a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. The game doesn't look terrible as far as mobile apps go, but there's a lot of problems, more technical than gameplay-wise.”
“Continuously advertising the next game.”
- optimization5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with good visuals and minimal performance issues, particularly on the Steam Deck. However, some players experienced stuttering in the middle sections, indicating room for improvement in performance consistency. The controls are mostly effective with a mouse, though the game seems better suited for touch or controller input.
“Visuals are good and without any performance issues.”
“A special commendation to the developers for producing such a beautiful game with such a low performance profile - it drains almost no battery on Steam Deck but looks stunning.”
“The middle had some stuttering and performance issues, which was odd, but thankfully they went away before the final chapters.”
“The only point that needs improvement is that the performance is not good.”
“I had the feeling that the game was originally optimized with a touch screen or maybe a controller in mind, but it was fine to play with a mouse for the most part.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the emotional satisfaction derived from solving puzzles in this game, feeling a sense of intelligence and accomplishment. While the focus is primarily on the puzzles rather than a complex narrative, the experience still evokes positive feelings of achievement.
“This is one of the few casual puzzle games I've played that actually made me feel smart for solving a puzzle, and that happened a lot while playing this game.”
“The story made me feel awesome.”
