Unmechanical Review (PC)

very good
key review info
  • Game: Unmechanical
  • Platform: PC
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: Yes  
  • Reviewed on:

I’ve noticed a clear dominance of the shooters, RPGs, simulation and strategy genres in the gaming industry, so cute little indie puzzlers started to be pushed to a niche that's fading with time.

Luckily for us, for the past few years, more and more developers have been trying to keep this dying “breed” afloat, and Unmechanical from Talawa Games achieves exactly this.

It's not a ground-breaking, revolutionary puzzle game, but a fun-to-play, relaxing and sometimes even challenging game where patience and attention will take you to the end of an amazing mechanical journey.

The game uses Unreal Engine to render the surrounding environment and it does a marvelous job. The lack of an intricate story leaves everything to the player's imagination, while figuring out what to do when faced with a big puzzle-like machinery completes the mystery circle.

Story

For those who are expecting a compelling and engaging story, there will be disappointment.

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Solve puzzle...
... after puzzle
It all starts on a bright day, with our hero flying happily with his friends minding his business, when all of a sudden something grabs him from the luscious, green environment and transports him to an underground facility.

Essential questions, like where you are, who did this and what they want from you, are too complicated for this tiny robot.

The only question that matters is: will this strange, mechanical prison be able keep him in or will he manage to break free? Join him as he sets on a fantastic voyage filled with perils and challenges!

Gameplay

After the short cinematic ends, you'll gain control of the strange-looking robot that has two arms, two feet, a propeller and a tractor beam. Control of the character is done with the arrow keys (or WASD) while the beam is activated using the keyboard (space, control) or the mouse (any of the two main mouse buttons).

While the robot's limbs are useless, you will have to use the tractor beam to solve most of the tasks ahead. If you manage to get stuck, just use the hint button (F1).

The gameplay is actually a series of puzzles that most enthusiasts of the genre will definitely recognize. If at the beginning, they might seem like your average walk in the park, as the game progresses, they become slightly more complicated.

But that doesn’t mean that you need a “high-end” IQ to finish the game. What makes a puzzle difficult is the fact that you must figure out what needs to be done in order to begin solving each challenge.

The challenges you have to face vary from visual and sound memory games to weight puzzles and even fitting the right object into the right shape while hovering and wobbling. Electricity and strange-looking white orbs of light seem to power everything in this underground facility and most of the game’s puzzles orbit around them.

The contrast of solving these enigmas is quite great: if at times the game makes you build and power up entire parts of the labyrinth, at other times you must use your destructive powers and make everything crumble down to a pile of rubble.

The unusual adventure starts in a run-down cavern with tubes and water running all around you. Traveling further and further, you uncover different sceneries: rooms filled with mechanical gadgets, narrow metal pipes, underwater caves filled with Avatar-like flora and a mix of flesh and technology that gets close to creepy.

The saving system is unique and does not allow for manual saving. Another characteristic is that each time you reach a checkpoint, you cannot carry objects with you any further.

The game basically redefines the concept of linearity, so exploring the surroundings is out of the questions. The path you're going to take is always predefined, so after solving a puzzle it's up to the next one, and so on.

The game features two different endings. But don't worry, you can see them both, because after completing the game, you can select Continue and the last save game will be loaded. Choose carefully, as one will bring you salvation and the other a lifetime of misery.

Unfortunately, the replay value of the game ends here, as the puzzles are not so fun to solve the second time around. The end of the game is very abrupt, and the lack of a boss (in the form of a mega-puzzle) fuels the feeling that you've forgotten something.

Graphics and Sounds

The 2.5D graphic presentation of Unmechanical is provided by the powerful Unreal Engine 3, which ensures a rich and highly detailed environment complete with atmospheric lighting and shadows. The use of this engine keeps the requirements to a minimum so that more players can enjoy the game.

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Even if it is mechanized ...
... it's still a prison
The relaxing electro music, created by Jonas Kjellberg, enriches the immersion, making you feel just like you're inside the underground facility, exploring industrial sections and even diving underwater. While solving puzzles, the music goes silent so that your brain can focus on the task at hand.

Conclusion

The contrast of the character with the surrounding environment is quite obvious: here we have a small robot, touching on humanity with its vulnerabilities, in a world where everything is huge, overwhelming and … mechanical. It's like the game puts players in the “shoes” of this little robot that's just trying to find its place in an uninviting atmosphere.

Overall, Unmechanical is a great and addictive puzzle game that centers on the gameplay and leaves everything else in second place. If I had to change something, I would definitely add at least one more area to the game and make manual saving optional.

So why should anyone try Unmechanical? Because, in my opinion, it is a game of patience and wits that nourishes the survival instinct in you, while making you think outside the box.

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story 7
gameplay 9
concept 7
graphics 8
audio 8
multiplayer 0
final rating 8
Editor's review
very good
 
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