It’s not often that one sees a story told without words. Since the fall of silent films, dialogue has captured the basis of human storytelling. But in depicting non-human protagonists, few have tried and succeeded. Wall-E lasted 40 minutes (ignoring recorded human video) with only endearing robotic sounds. Other animated films feature animals, toys, or even automobiles that nonetheless speak the human tongue. So it is with a breath of fresh air that Machinarium enters: a puzzling point-and-click about a robot. Not only is the entire story told, but a vast metallic world is built, filled with other lively robots, all without a single word.
The secret: animation.
The game opens with our hero haphazardly cast out of the city, robotics parts scattered across a broken wasteland. After reassembling himself and maneuvering into the city, bits of story begin to reveal themselves. Occasionally, ideas are told through animated “thought bubbles”: black and white scenes or memories of the past. We see the two baddies bullying him, ruining his sandcastle, and finally stealing his girl and kicking him from the city. Despite the likeness to common tropes, there is something refreshing about guiding a robot through the hero’s journey back into a bizarre yet beautiful world. Every movement has character: the slightly clumsy but endearing struggle of the protagonist; the greedy shoveling of food into the fat nemesis’ belly; the lazy slump of the guard on duty. Coupled with the art and soundtrack, these tiny details build up a wonderfully crafted world of robots and metal parts, all without a single word of dialogue.
