Machinarium is a point-and-click adventure game, where the player has to solve various puzzles. The first objective is to have Josef the robot reassemble itself and escape the scrapyard, and as the game progresses, also learn to stop a plot from the Black Cap Brotherhood and rescue his girlfriend.
Gameplay is managed by a cursor to perform context-related actions. Activating the cursor on the ground will have Josef walk to that location, activating an object will interact with said object (or pick it up). Using the cursor on Josef will grow or shrink the body.
The inventory is accessed by moving the cursor to the top of the screen. Items can be chosen by selecting them. If it can be used on an item on the world, the item will brighten to indicate a possible interaction. Items may also be combined with each other for an additional use.
Controls[edit]
| Keyboard | Mouse | Gamepad | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
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Pauses and opens menu. | ||
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 |
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Move cursor |
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Use | |
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Zoom (Toggle) | |
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Inventory (cursor to top-left corner of screen) | ||
 
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Robot Up/down |
- The menu may also be opened by moving the cursor to the bottom of the screen.
- Inventory is opened by moving the cursor to the top of the screen.
Hints[edit]
The adventure game has a built-in hint system. The right-most inventory has a hint symbol which describes the current objective, and a walkthrough book that gives the solution for the current area. The walkthrough book requires performing a shoot 'em up minigame, spanning a few sections of dodging walls and shooting spiders in the way.