When comparing SolForge vs Machinarium, the Slant community recommends Machinarium for most people. In the question“What are the best Android tablet games?” Machinarium is ranked 16th while SolForge is ranked 74th. The most important reason people chose Machinarium is:
The player is forced to move their character across the map in order to find objects of interest. This, coupled with the great sound design and soundtrack which also do their part in giving cues as to where the objects are and if the player is close, really help you immerse into the atmosphere and art style of Machinarium.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Simple rules but plenty of strategy to be found
The rules of the game are pretty easy to learn but it is underlying strategy of what decks to build and what playstyles to use that make the game so strategic.
Pro Unique idea for game mechanics
No mana, play two cards per turn to level them up and increase their power, every four turns the deck is reshuffled to include the leveled up cards.
Pro Active and awesome community
Small community, but very active and dedicated to the survival of this game.
Pro Cross platform accounts
SolForge has cross platform accounts, making it easy for users to load up the game on their preferred device and log into their account with all of their progress.
Pro The gameplay is perfectly interwoven with the overall aesthetic and atmosphere of the game
The player is forced to move their character across the map in order to find objects of interest. This, coupled with the great sound design and soundtrack which also do their part in giving cues as to where the objects are and if the player is close, really help you immerse into the atmosphere and art style of Machinarium.
Pro Beautiful art style
Machimariums hand drawn graphics exude a very steam punk style that definitely has a very unique look by being all hand drawn.
Pro Challenging puzzles
The puzzles are quite challenging to the point of frustration but in the end give a sense of immense reward when figured out.
Pro Interesting protagonist
The main character and the one controlled by the player is just a normal, average, everyday robot. He doesn't have any special powers or abilities other than being able to slightly extend his midriff in order to reach high ledges or making his body shorter. He's pretty much an ordinary robot thrust into an extraordinary situation.
Pro Built-in hint system
For those that do find some of the puzzles too challenging there is an inbuilt hint system shown through "thought bubbles" on top of the playable character.
Every level has its own hint when pressed and it's usually a hint on where to go or what kind of object you need. Although it's advised not to rely on the hint system too much since it takes away from the experience of actually enjoying the game.
Pro The well-designed gameplay mechanics avoid making the game boring to the player
Unlike most point-and-click games, objects of interest in Machinarium light up only when the main character is close to them; this completely changes the way the game is played. In point-and-click games where this is not the case, the gameplay is usually reduced to aimlessly flailing the cursor around waiting for something to light up.
Machinarium on the other hand completely avoids this, keeping levels interesting and the player interested to the game.
Cons
Con Developer has given up
Almost shut down 3 months ago, now the guy running the community is the only one doing anything
Con Few players
Very few play this game.
Con May feel pay to win
Collecting cards in the game can be difficult as no single card can be purchases, you can only get cards in packs that either cost real money or earned in game currency, which takes time and grinding to earn. This is exasperated by the fact that there is no secondary market where people can sell cards.
Con Items may be difficult to find due to similar colors
At points in the game there are needed items that blend in too well with their surrounding making it quite difficult to actually see them.