Review: Unmechanical Extended
By contributor-December 19, 2015
Gameplay
Upon launch, players are met with a screen proudly announcing that it has been developed in the Unreal Engine. Unmechanical definitely felt like an Unreal game to me based on the movements.
There is a very slight but noticeable difference when navigating through air or water and the physics of the game are excellent, with each object given the weight and balance you would expect it to have. All of these are very important for a puzzle game that is heavily based on physics. This simple attention to detail by the developers is what makes Unmechanical feel like a great indie game, rather than just a good one.
Graphics
The graphics were definitely one of the most interesting aspects of the game for me, especially as the game progressed. There is a very strange mixture of mechanical and biological materials that generally resemble beating hearts. If you look closely you will see how the light sometimes interacts with the biological parts of the background to reveal multiple layers of tissue. Another interesting aspect of the visuals of the game is the UI - or lack thereof. The game simply does not require a UI, leaving the screen completely available for gameplay. I think this is another factor that adds to the calming feeling of the game. There is no need to check the UI for information, the only thing you need to look at is the robot you are playing as. In a time when players are expected to constantly read information from a busy UI while also managing game play, not having a UI is a refreshing change.
Puzzles
Despite there being very little plot to the game, or really any indication of what was going on, I still found myself immersed in the game until the end. I put this down to the simple fact that all the puzzles were generally interesting in their own right and they continuously changed as the game went on.
I thoroughly enjoyed my play through of Unmechanical: Extended. If I could change anything it would be that I would love to see a co-op version of the game. I know some players might argue that the game is quite short. But as with all puzzle games it will take you more less time to complete it based on how up to par your brainteaser and puzzle solving skills are.
