Apple picker We recently announced the release of another bundle of indie games via flash Humble Bundle. This time it contains games from the well-known Czech studio Amanita Design, to be specific Self-sufficiency 2, Machinarium, but also a complete novelty, an adventure game with the name Botanicula. And it is precisely because of her that over 85 people have already downloaded the bundle.
Brno studio Amanita Design entered the gaming consciousness with its fresh approach to point-and-click "adventures". They do without any intelligible dialogue and are first of all graphically and sound absolutely breathtaking. The word adventure is in quotation marks here on purpose, because it is impossible to imagine games based on the mind-boggling combination of seemingly uncombinable items or the solution of seemingly intractable puzzles while the authors gnash their teeth and curse. Adventures under the baton of Amanita Design have quite a different goal: to entertain, constantly amaze, and above all to return to games the joy of playing and discovering them. And it is precisely on this that the latest venture of the Brno studio stands. Compared to Machinarium, in which it was still about solving puzzles and quite complex problems, Botanicula relies on the exploration of a large number of beautiful locations and cutely strange characters. You will still click on everything that comes under your cursor, but not with the aim of finding some kind of one-pixel object and filling a ten-line inventory, but simply with the expectation of what will blow your mind for strangeness.
To a certain extent, the visuals also received changes compared to previous titles. Compared to Machinarium, Botanicula is a bit more abstract, has a distinctly more dreamlike atmosphere, and while it may seem impossible, it's also a whole lot edgier. Just look at our five main heroes: it consists of Mr. Lucerna, Mr. Makovice, Mrs. Houba, Mr. Pěříčko and Mr. Větvička. Their journey begins when their home, a large fairy tree, is invaded by giant spiders and begin to suck all green life out of it. It should be noted that the heroes become heroes rather than by their determination, and that in addition to sympathetic naivety, a large dose of luck will help them in their adventure.
During your journey, which will lead you through many different corners of the vastly branched world, in addition to the evil dark spiders, you will also meet a large number of diverse characters, some of whom will even help you fight and defend your home. But it won't be free - you'll have to help them with their own problems before you go any further. One day you will help a worried mother find her offspring, who have run away somewhere into the unknown (understand beyond the boundaries of the game screen). The second time, you'll be looking for lost keys or an earthworm that escaped from a grumpy fisherman. But know that no matter what kind of activity it is, you will never feel like you are doing something unnecessary or even boring. And even if this or that character doesn't help you. You can be sure that they will always at least make you laugh with their wacky output.
You may also find yourself replaying the same animation over and over again or just exploring the game screen as a captivating sound loop plays in the background. In addition to perfect graphics, Botanicula also excels in terms of sound. And it's not just about the musical background (which, by the way, was taken care of by the music group DVA), but also about the "dialogues" of the characters, which sometimes consist of open-mouthed chatter, sometimes saddened muttering or hypnotizing aliquot muttering. It's nice to see that in terms of audio quality, many indie games are doing better than oversized blockbuster series lately.
Unfortunately, it is necessary to state that the encounter with the world of Botanicula is not very long. The game time is around five hours. On the other hand, this fact lets you know how artfully executed the title is. The creators managed to balance everything so that the player did not get stuck anywhere for a long time, quickly solved simple problems, and still felt good about overcoming them. It's hard to say whether this is a result of the impressive visual style, but in all the time I never once had the chance to pause at the simplicity of a puzzle, or, on the contrary, get too stuck. And since it's always mainly about quality, in the end you can't take the playing time as a minus.
What was also very pleasantly surprising was the fact that there is something extra waiting for curious players behind the final animation. When traversing the game world, it is possible to interact with characters that are not directly related to the story and seem to play second fiddle. In addition to the fact that the characters themselves often reward the player with some comical number after clicking, the number of "species" discovered is also counted in the achievements. And after the closing credits, the game adds it all up nicely and unlocks the appropriate number of bonus movies according to the resulting number. Taking it from a slightly more traditional point of view, this bonus material provides some degree of replayability. It's also extremely nice that the developers don't reduce achievements to just a line of text appearing on the player's profile, hoping to satisfy them with the words "I have six platinum trophies". But most importantly, this bonus highlights what is so beautiful about the game: it rewards us for being curious.
So be curious and experience the world of Botanicula for yourself. Whoever is last on the tree will be eaten by the spider!
Game homepage Botanicula.
Botanicula is great! Perhaps only the spiders that everyone writes about look more like stylized virus particles to me.
How many gifts can you get after completing the game? I managed to get two, let the others brag about how many you managed.
An incredible game, similar to Machinarium, I recommend it to everyone.
I can't find the bottom of the key :( according to the sheet, I've already asked for everything.
wait
I already know, but it was harder
I would really like to know, but I still can't find it?? :(
Please advise how to install from DVD to Mac, I tried everything possible and nothing
liol 10.7.5