REVIEW · 2012-08-08
Unmechanical
Walking through a world of machines
First Impressions
In the Steam reviews of Unmechanical, positive reviewers write "hidden gem," "charming," and "gorgeous." Praise for the visuals and atmosphere arrives before any talk of the puzzles.
You are dropped into a mechanical world with no explanation. The controls are movement plus one action. Reviewers name Portal, Limbo, and Machinarium as near neighbors.
Steam shows 92% positive overall (440 of 476 reviews, snapshot 2026-09-30, labeled Very Positive). The 36 negative reviews are few, but they are specific and worth reading.
Unmechanical gameplay — Steam store screenshot
Putting the Mechanics into Words
The verbs are essentially two: move, and push (grab). Positive reviewers call the small set clean, and praise learning from the environment with no tutorial.
In my vocabulary this is verb subtraction combined with environmental observation. Puzzles sit inside the world, and the look of the contraptions doubles as the hint.
Positive reviewers say the puzzles melt into the world and each scene carries meaning. Where Machinarium told its world through dense drawings, this one has you read it by walking a small body through.
Unmechanical gameplay — Steam store screenshot
Design Craft
What positive reviewers repeat are words of motion: smooth, fluid. The game rarely stops, and moving from scene to scene becomes part of the atmosphere.
The official description promises more than thirty puzzles plus exploration. From the reviews, what is praised is less the count than how the environment's mechanism changes in each scene.
Several reviews also mention two endings, with choices reflected in them. In so short a game, a small fork at the end reads as a way to build afterglow.
Unmechanical gameplay — Steam store screenshot
The Texture of Difficulty
The recurring negative complaint is that puzzles lack novelty, reading as nonsensical or tedious. Reviewers cite familiar molds such as button order and color matching.
Others mention clunky controls, a report of a corrupted save that blocked progress, and early puzzles with thin motivation or story framing.
Difficulty itself is mostly described as suited to casual players. So the complaint is not that it is too hard but that it lacks surprise. Positive calls it gentle puzzling; negative calls it repeated molds. Same feel, read through different eyes.
Unmechanical gameplay — Steam store screenshot
Sources
This piece draws on the Steam user reviews as of 2026-09-30 (via the appreviews API). The retrieval went through a summarizing tool, so I did not read each review in full.
- Steam: Unmechanical (Overall 92% positive, 440 of 476, Very Positive)
- I read the trends of a dozen or so positive, ten negative, and five recent reviews. The recent ones, from December 2024 to January 2025, were all favorable; several say it is too short. I found no large shift over time.
- Wikipedia: Unmechanical (for release date and Metacritic scores)
Closing
Against Steam's 92% overall, I give 7.4 on design grounds. Cutting verbs and teaching through the environment earns credit. Yet the point that the puzzles rely on familiar molds has some weight.
On length, the clear times mentioned in reviews run about two to five hours, most around three to four. Some say it is short for the price; others say it is just right.
As a maker I take away that even a strong world needs its own surprise in the puzzles. It reads as a gentle, pleasant game.
Unmechanical gameplay — Steam store screenshot
Where are you with this game?
Press one and the game goes on your shelf. You can see it on your account page.
Reactions (no login)
Anonymous • one of each per visitor per day
Read next
Related reviews
Botanicula
A hand-drawn point-and-click adventure from Amanita Design in which five small tree creatures carry the last seed out of their home tree, now infested by parasites. There is no dialogue: you poke at more than 150 locations and pick your way forward by the sounds and movements that come back. Music by the Czech band DVA.
Thomas Was Alone
A 2D puzzle-platformer in which you switch between coloured rectangles, each given exactly one ability, and combine them into stepping stones across 120 levels. A narrator reads out what the shapes are thinking as you go. Released in 2012 by Mike Bithell's Bithell Games.
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Type a noun and the thing appears: a jetpack, a dinosaur, a scalpel. You use whatever you summoned to help the people around you and collect Starites across a hand-drawn 2D world. Adjectives change what you make, and an editor lets you build objects of your own. From 5th Cell.
