I love Amanita Design...by Jaromir Plachy and DVA. He's the guy, and they're the band who made Botanicula and the succeeding games Chuchel and Happy Game, which all have a unique animated whimsy that successfully puts the aesthetic experience ahead of traditional game challenge. I tried Machinarium and found it to lack the appeal Plachy's titles have for me.
Botanicula may be the most grounded of the Plachy games, but not by much. It just happens to have a clearer naturalistic theme that gets exaggerated. The woodland setting makes for some gorgeous visuals and setpieces, the game offers some decent chuckles and freaky creatures, and there are some moments of real horror that almost foreshadow Happy Game's direction. The story is about a bountiful magical tree being ravaged by spider-like creatures that suck the life out everything, with five small woodland flora teaming up to deliver a seed to the earth. The game is large and exploratory, feeling like a transition between the more intricate point-and-click style of Machinarium and the vignette style of Chuchel and Happy Game. The player will go between screens and pick up items, occasionally having to select the right character for a task or achieve something in time with another sequence. The game also has optional puzzles to unlock cards for the creatures you encounter.
Botanicula may not be my favorite of the games by my favorite Amanita creators, but it's still gorgeous, has some wonderful scenes, and definitely scratched an itch for more.
The start of something magical.
I love Amanita Design...by Jaromir Plachy and DVA. He's the guy, and they're the band who made Botanicula and the succeeding games Chuchel and Happy Game, which all have a unique animated whimsy that successfully puts the aesthetic experience ahead of traditional game challenge. I tried Machinarium and found it to lack the appeal Plachy's titles have for me.
Botanicula may be the most grounded of the Plachy games, but not by much. It just happens to have a clearer naturalistic theme that gets exaggerated. The woodland setting makes for some gorgeous visuals and setpieces, the game offers some decent chuckles and freaky creatures, and there are some moments of real horror that almost foreshadow Happy Game's direction. The story is about a bountiful magical tree being ravaged by spider-like creatures that suck the life out everything, with five small woodland flora teaming up to deliver a seed to the earth. The game is large and exploratory, feeling like a transition between the more intricate point-and-click style of Machinarium and the vignette style of Chuchel and Happy Game. The player will go between screens and pick up items, occasionally having to select the right character for a task or achieve something in time with another sequence. The game also has optional puzzles to unlock cards for the creatures you encounter.
Botanicula may not be my favorite of the games by my favorite Amanita creators, but it's still gorgeous, has some wonderful scenes, and definitely scratched an itch for more.