While The Room series from Fireproof Games didn’t invent the particular “escape room" or “puzzle box" niches of the adventure game genre, it definitely feels like it brought the most modern version of them when it initially released nearly a decade ago. This is especially true in the context of modern mobile devices, where we were able to directly manipulate the intricate puzzle boxes with our fingers right on the touchscreen. That was a really powerful thing. Many games have followed in those footsteps over the years, and one new one in particular looks quite interesting. It’s called Machinika Museu?m? from developer Littlefield Studio and publisher Plug In Digital, and in it you play as the keeper of a museum’s workshop. You’re the one who is tasked with examining and fixing the various technological discoveries that are sent the museum’s way, but in this instance a strange new batch of devices have been sent for examination, and solving their puzzles will lead you on an adventure that will literally span the galaxy.
What I loved so much about The Room is that its big, elaborate puzzle box couldn’t possibly exist in real life due to its intricacies and the laws of physics and whatnot, but something about the game made it feel very real and believable. I get that same feeling from the devices shown in the trailer above. They feel otherworldly and appropriately alien, but in a realistic way. I’m not sure...