Unmechanical: Extended Edition is a challenging and rewarding puzzle platformer which requires the player to lift and place objects to progress through the game. You play as a flying robot trying to navigate through a biomechanical complex. While no story is provided through traditional techniques, it is slowly revealed by way of the striking visuals. By the end of the game, you know exactly what is going on. The extended edition features a new episode that is even better than the base game. This episode has a lot more personality and appeal than the original levels. Overall, Unmechanical: Extended Edition is a good platformer with some unique puzzles despite feeling generic at times.
The gameplay seems rather simplistic in the beginning but gains more depth as the levels progress. You receive many upgrades that provide new abilities like the ability to swim and interact with new objects. The player starts by opening doors with blocks but ends up accomplishing feats like extracting ore from caves to power a furnace. The basic controls are surprisingly versatile. Who knew you could accomplish so much by using one button?
When the player is stuck on a difficult puzzle, they can always press the Y button which brings up a thought bubble. This image shows a hint about how to complete the task. For example, there is a part in the game where you have to drag fragments of light to other robots. It is tricky because you have to use a single fragment to illuminate multiple robots. The hint provided that information and made the puzzle much easier. The majority of the challenges do not require hints but it is still a great feature to have.
The puzzles in the game can require a lot of thought to complete. You have to figure out creative ways to understand the puzzle before you can solve it. There is an area in Unmechanical: Extended Edition that requires the player to place equal weights on four scales to open a door. The weights are of different sizes so measuring them individually and then placing them on scales is the solution. While many people will adopt the Edisonian approach to solving puzzles, there is always a smarter solution. The game challenges you to find it. While trial and error plays a major role in most puzzle platformer, Unmechanical: Extended Edition pushes you to do better.
Even though there are a few generic puzzles in the game like pushing buttons in a particular order, the overwhelming majority of them are quite difficult. This also makes them enjoyable and frustrating if you get stuck for a long time. However, that is the beauty of a good puzzle platformer. It should have areas where you get stuck, have to think about it for a while, and then come back and solve them. It should not be about powering through levels.
The visuals of the game are striking for the most part. While some of the regions feel like caves you would explore in any game out there, the biomechanical parts are the best. The beating heart of the complex is a sight to behold. The visuals in the new episode are even better though. Not only is there more activity in the background, but it also affects you.
Having a partner to interact with along the way, and one who also helps you, touches an emotional cord. There is a part in Unmechanical: Extended Edition where you get damaged and struggle to fly. You finally make it to a repair station but collapse. However, your buddy is there. Never has the entry of another character been so welcome.
The new episode added to the extended edition is also harder. There are places where you can get permanently stuck if you do not bring the necessary objects. The only way to fix this is to start from the last checkpoint. The extra episode is the best part of Unmechanical: Extended Edition because it takes the best of the original levels and distills it down to a truly phenomenal experience. One wishes there was more of it.
Some of the puzzles in the game require precise movements. The controls can feel floaty at times due to the slower frame rate. There is a part in the game where you are required to precisely block out lasers to open a door. This was difficult because the controls are unwieldy. Maybe having the robot feel a bit clumsy was a design choice but it can leads to vexing moments during certain situations. Some people might actually give up playing that game due to this issue because overcoming one section is just that imprecise and sloppy.
While the visuals of Unmechanical: Extended Edition are interesting to say the least, the overall feel is not that original. There was this game called Machinarium which was released on Windows Phone a year ago, but originally hit PC all the way back in 2009. Unmechanical: Extended Edition looks a little like that. Some of the mechanics are also similar. For example, the hint bubble is exactly the same as the hint bubble in Machinarium. It would have been interesting to see the developer do something different than what has been done before.
The game only takes about six to eight hours to complete. However, because it presents a challenge, it can take many days depending on the sitting. It is a difficult puzzle platformer for sure but figuring out the puzzles on your own is very rewarding.
Overall, Unmechanical: Extended Edition is a fun game and presents some unique puzzles even though it draws inspiration from other titles. It requires you to think and sometimes you have to do a lot of it. It is not a game you can complete in one sitting because you will get stuck and you will need to try different approaches. Anyone looking for an interesting and challenging game should check this one out. It will keep you busy for days and you will keep on coming back. The extra episode is the best part of the package and represents what the developer has learned since the launch of their title. Just experiencing that makes this a great title. Do yourself a favor and give it a shot for that extra episode.
Asher M is a games journalist, former News Writer (Gaming) at Windows Central. They contributed 18 articles to ICXM between 2014–2015, focused on game reviews, and Xbox news: one of several bylines used by Asher Madan during his time at ICXM.