Discounted preorders for the next game from the makers of Machinarium are now being taken at GOG.
For a certain subset of gamers, “Amanita Design” is Czech for “awesome.” The indie studio specializes in quirky, beautiful point-and-click adventures like Samorost and Machinarium, which is perhaps the most wonderful videogame love story I’ve ever played, and is currently working on a new release called Botanicula.
In Botanicula, players guide a group of five tiny friends as they try to save the last seed of their home tree from an infestation of evil parasites. The game will boast a lush, surreal visual style and rich soundtrack, this one created by Czech alternative group DVA, and as usual for Amanita games, it will be all about exploration, solving simple puzzles and interacting with the bizarre cast of characters that inhabits the strange, giant tree.
Botanicula obviously isn’t for everyone but for gamers looking for something to relax with after a tough night of murdering dudes on Xbox Live or adventure fans looking for a change of pace, it’s definitely worth paying attention to. The great thing about it is that if the gameplay trailer and screens don’t convince you, an online version of Machinarium is available to play at no charge, so you can get a good sense of what Amanita games are all about. [Free versions of Samorost 1 and 2 are online as well but they’re pushing ten years old and starting to show their age.]
Preorders for Botanicula are being taken now at GOG.com for $1 off the regular price of $9.99. The GOG release will include 19 wallpapers, a “soundtrack demo,” avatars, design sketches, character cards and more, and is expected to be out on or about April 19.
