Machinarium is out! Wheee!

Well, nearly out. I pre-ordered it, though, so they emailed me an early download link. Since I’ve got some time to kill while it downloads, I guess I’ll try another IF here.

Non-Spoiler summary: Well-implemented, though some handling of implicit actions would be much nicer; no bugs that I saw. Lots of character. But it’s hard. Maybe not all the way to unfair, but you can definitely see it from here. If you don’t have an excellent instinct for IF puzzles it’s going to be rough going.

The Believable Adventures of an Invisible Man is by Hannes Schueller. Disclaimer thingy.

Spoilers after the only work-safe image of a girls’ locker room I could find.

Nobody has ever recognized your genius! Now you’ve proven them all wrong – and you’ll have your revenge on them! Yes, revenge… the only thing you can think of right now. Revenge. Revenge! REVENGE!

Muah-ha-haaa! MUAAA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAA!

>x me
You can only see what you’re wearing – with nothing inside.

Already? I haven’t drunk the potion (in the test tube (on the workbench)) yet. Maybe I’m naturally invisible, and I’ve made a potion to make me even invisibler?

Actually, from looking around, I guess I drank it already. I feel like there’s been an opportunity for dramatic text and more scenery-chewing missed here.

>turn on computer
(the computer)
You don’t have time to watch porn right now.

I guess watching internet porn would be kind of dumb if you’re invisible and there’s girls’ locker rooms to hang around in. It would be like… like a… like a professional spelunker playing Adventure? …man, that analogy was weak. I’m kind of tired.

Like God sitting around playing The Sims?

>x students
(the students)
They look as if they’re actually enjoying being outside. Perverted scum!

I know, right?!

Secretary’s Office
This is supposed to be a office? It’s so clean and tidy you’re wondering how anyone could possible get any work done here!

Damn, it’s like this game was written just for me.

…Man. Life sucks without pockets. This is some weaksauce invisibility potion.

>put badge in mouth
That can’t contain things.

Dammit! (Yes, I tried “nature’s pocket” as well.)

It seems like I need to get rid of this creepy guy and the students, so I have a clear path from home to the university to float my non-invisible inventory along. But I seem to be missing a verb or something.

…Ah. Huh. Okay, thanks, walkthrough. I guess that’s fair enough.

Of course, having resorted to the walkthrough, I ended up basically just playing from the walkthrough from that point on. This is a difficult game, and unfortunately, having played from the walkthrough makes it hard to judge if it’s difficult in a fair way or not. I do know that most of the solutions are things that I probably would not have thought to do. RUB CHEMICALS ON ME, for instance, is a definite guess-the-verb.

On the whole, it’s an all-right game. It’s definitely got character. I can’t recommend it to the easily-frustrated, though.