Game Review: MechaNika for iOS, Android - One of The Best Indie Games This Year

MechaNika [Android, iOS]

Developer: Mango Protocol
Price: $1.99, no IAPs

MechaNika may look like a game for the kids; it may even sound like it, but it's not. A word of warning – it's a totally adult experience. In fact, it's so painfully serious I had to pause and ponder on the atrocities of reality as I played.

Story

You play as Nika, a 7-year old prodigy who is much smarter than her parents, teachers and school mates. Hers is a perfectly normal modern family – an E! addict Mom with tons of make-up on her bored face, an absent-minded Dad obsessed with bykes and a teenage brother living in the realm of video games. And each of them ignores and neglects Nika in their own way. Her school is hell, and I must admit the developers made it very easy on the modern schools, avoiding the bullying and letting the nerds be. Nika's city is just like any other – with pimp ghettos, fancy downtowns and quiet neighborhoods, where a little girl meets transgender prostitutes, 40-year old virgin males looking for a mate, homeless people, drug dealers and creepy butchers, among others.

It's an urban tale that can be an eye-opening experience for a thoughtful player, or an unusual entertainment for anyone else. The point in question is the little girl's response to the “normal” world around her – it's plain nuts and needs to be destroyed. Oh, did I mention Nika is an alcoholic and takes a swig or two on her cognac concoction every now and then? I totally understand her – that's the only way a healthy psyche can tolerate the psychotic world of today. No concoction, zero tolerance.

Gameplay

So, you help Nika build a machine that would send all the bad stuff to hell and leave all the good stuff unharmed. You choose where to go, which puzzles to solve, which stuff to put in her backpack, which characters to talk to. A piece of advice – talk to everyone. Not only the dialogues and interacting options are fun, but they will also help you assemble that machine in some of the unexpected ways.

As you turn pages on some of Nika's inner dialogue, you will find yourself grinning on the spot on depictions of life's routine moments from the perspective of an observer. Why are some elderly people so mean instead of being nice and wise? How can be parents so indifferent to what their children are doing, consuming and reproducing? Whenever Nika gets befuddled, you can let her take a swig of her concoction to “see things clearly.”

Difficulty

The puzzles and challenges in MechaNika are a delight for the Da Vinci Code fans. No, they're not THAT difficult, but unless you know that Fibonacci number, you might need to google for an answer if you want to get that machine finished.

Overall, the gameplay is a classical point-and-click adventure with interactive areas and dialogues, but the story's uniqueness makes it so engrossing you'd forget about your expectations and enjoy the process.

Replay Value

Mid-way through the game, I am finding many things I would like to do differently in my next play, so yes, the game offers quite a good motivation for a replay.

Design

A cartoonish, hand-drawn artwork is atmospheric and conveys more than you first notice on the surface. Take a closer look at this child's play, or this guy's outfit.

The style reminds me of the Cartoon Network's Adventure Time, but with pleasant color palettes and realistic depictions of the humans.

Performance

MechaNika runs smooth and is not resource-hungry; I haven't had any performance issues with it, but one particular character going blank – a transgender prostitute luring a client. Not my favorite scene, anyway.

Price

MechaNika is a premium game, and you get the full pack for $1.99. No IAPs, no tips, no cheats. Just you, the brainy challenges and the philosophical double bottom. Enjoy!

Pros

• A game with a deep philosophical meaning
• Addicting, motivates to play through the end
• Interesting, unusual challenges
• Good replay value
• Beautiful, stylish design
• No IAPs
• Smooth performance
• Unique entertainment
• Intuitive, easy-to-navigate UI

Cons

• Adults only, not appropriate for the younger audiences, which is not a con per se.
• The default font might be difficult to read, but there is an option to change it

Conclusion

MechaNika is unique and the fact that it won the first prize in the Three Headed Monkey Awards in Europe proves it. The game is full of atrocities, but once you stop to think this is what the real world has to offer to a child, you may come to the point of sharing Nika's vision. It won't appeal to the mainstream audience fond of the FPS genre, but a thoughtful player will enjoy its subtle irony. It's one of the best indie games this year; we recommend it!