When comparing Grim Fandango Remastered vs Machinarium, the Slant community recommends Machinarium for most people. In the question“What are the best Android games without in-app purchases/paywalls?” Machinarium is ranked 17th while Grim Fandango Remastered is ranked 48th. 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
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Inspired by the day of the Dead holiday, Mexican folklore and film Noire
Grim Fandango is self admittedly inspired by the Day of the Dead Mexican holiday as well as Noir style films.
Pro Challenging
Compared to modern point and click Grim Fandango actually requires the player to pay closer attention to details or even take their own notes. While this may not be everyones cup of tea, for long time point and click adventure game players it is a refreshing change back to the norm.
Pro A world of depth
The world is immersive and the characters feel like real people.
Pro Stellar writing and voice acting
While the art design and music come together to create a cohesive world oozing with atmosphere, the near-Pixar quality voice work and writing breath life into the characters in way few other games have managed to achieve.
Pro Improved controls and UI
The controls were remastered to feel like more modern point and click adventure games I instead of the tank controls that turned so long time gamers off. From fully enjoying the game. The UI was cleaned up and made easier to use
Pro New commentary track
The current remastered developers have added a new commentary track from the original key developers to the game.
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 Improved controls and interface
The controls were remastered to feel like more modern point and click adventure games I instead of the tank controls that turned so long time gamers off. From fully enjoying the game. The UI was cleaned up and made easier to use
Con Some puzzles are obtuse
While the quality of puzzles is generally fantastic, there are a few offenders that may force players to resort to a "hail Mary" strategy of clicking anything and everything in hopes of stumbling on the solution.
Con No tutorial
A missed opportunity with this remake is the chance to finally add a tutorial.
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.