The Machine’s Garden is a brand new puzzle game for PC and mobile devices by Jon Miller and Michael Schmitt. Jon and Micheal are based in North Carolina, United States and The Machine’s Garden is a result of their own work. The Machine’s Garden is their first major release and was made possible after three years. Their first title was another puzzle game Snailboat. While The Machine’s Garden is now available on both mobile devices and PC via Steam, this is our review of the Steam version of The Machine’s Garden in which we put on our thinking cap and try to solve some brilliant hex grid puzzles.
The Machine’s Garden starts really quickly. There is no introduction screen or cutscene and you are taken straight to the very first puzzle of the game. Although it is pretty simple, you move forward and start getting Mission Logs after you complete this very first puzzle. In The Machine’s Garden, your main goal is to connect or activate all of the hexes in the puzzle without overlapping. Which means that you are only allowed to pass over a hex grid once. This sounds really simple but the level design ensures that it does not remain simple for long.
The main screen of the screen is a large Hex Grid from where you choose your levels. As you complete a level, it will unlock your access to its adjacent grids and so on. Your main goal will continue to be the same that is connecting the hexes on a grid to complete the level, unlock more levels, and move on from there as well. If you look at the story of the game, you are basically helping a dormant AI reawaken from its sleep and activate its various systems and memories. After you complete a level, you receive a briefing that shows you what has been uncovered so far and it also helps you understand as to what happened to the humans living on the planet.
While the puzzles start really simple, as you continue to progress in the story, you start to encounter increasingly complicated puzzles that introduce special hex cells on the map as well. These special hex cells range from teleporters to multipliers. Some of these cells will teleport you from one hex grid to another while some of them will attach a block to your grid and this you will be required to control both of them in order to connect all of the hexes together to complete the game. These levels are extremely complicated and will really test your analytical skills.
However, one of the best things I liked about The Machine’s Garden is that allows you to take your time with the game. There is no penalty for retrying and there are no loading times as well so if you fail a level, you can quickly resume it back without any sort for wait or loading times. This ensures that you can continue to try again and again and change your approach each time to experiment with the level and finally find the correct pattern.
Each level has a set pattern and you can only complete that level when you follow that pattern. The levels are designed in a way that you can only proceed in the correct pattern because when you deviate from the correct pattern, you will quickly become stuck and will need to try again from the start or retrace your steps back a few hex grids. This is fairly easy to do in the starting levels but later stages in the game bring many new mechanics into play as well where every hex seems like an open path and you do not figure out whether it was right or wrong after much progression in the game. This is what really keeps your brain working at its full capacity.
Final Verdict:
The Machine’s Garden is a simple-to-play yet complicated puzzle game that will make you scratch your head quite often. The quick retry mechanic ensures that there is no delay if you fail a try and you have no time limits or penalties to worry about. Featuring retro-inspired visuals and simple soundtrack, The Machine’s Garden’s only focus is to be a complicated, brain-teasing puzzle game and it does that brilliantly. The level designs are unique and each level offers a brand new challenge that will really test your analytical skills. If you love puzzle games and spend most of your time solving brain-scratching puzzles, I am sure that The Machine’s Garden will be right up your alley. Even if you are not much of a puzzle game fan, this game is still a decent way to experience this brilliant genre.
Final Score: 8.5/10
