Whispers of a Machine Reviews

a hearty thumbs up from me

Man, it was a great story and told in a brilliant way. I liked how in many cases you didn't have just one solution to a puzzle and how your choices directly affected how you could solve puzzles later on. Voice acting was also really good

Binged the Kathy Rain games before moving onto this game. All of them are solid, fun point and click adventure games. While I haven't gotten very far in Whispers of a Machine, I still see the same positive beats and notes from Kathy Rain and has similar vibes. My review is basically telling people to go play all their games. That's it. That's the review.

Nice story. Nice game flow. Overall a pretty good experience.

I would love a sequel to this game. The puzzles are pretty straight forward but the story and mystery of the game were really entertaining. I liked all the characters and I enjoyed how the game discussed two different ideologies without giving a clear right answer. I don't usually like point a clicks that are mostly detective work; mainly because I find that the game play and puzzles are usually just talking to people over and over again, but the addition of abilities that change based on your personality was refreshing and kept the puzzles interesting. Can't wait to play other playthroughs later on because of it.

3/5 - Average It has some interesting gameplay mechanics, however I felt that they didn't exploit all of them to their full potential. Same for some of the characters. The story was interesting though, nice world building. Some puzzles were too hard or there was not enough clue about what to do next.

Reviewing (mostly) every game (or DLC) in my library, part 247: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆☆☆ (6/10) [i]Whispers of a Machine[/i] is a slow-burn cyber-noir mystery that tries to blend classic point-and-click gameplay with modern RPG mechanics like branching dialogue, multiple approaches to puzzles, and player-shaped personality stats. It's a thoughtful little game with a few clever tricks and a quiet, dystopian tone, but ultimately, it feels too sterile and undercooked to fully land. The ingredients are all here: a grieving agent, a collapsing world built on the ruins of runaway AI, and a tech-assisted murder case that spirals into something larger. But somehow, even at its most intense moments, the game rarely stirs any emotional response. It’s all so subdued, so muted, that it feels like you're watching someone else play a detective instead of being one. I mean, it's functional. Thoughtful. But ultimately, too quiet to leave a mark. 🏘️[b] Pros:[/b] [list] [*] Clean pixel art and moody color palette. The visuals aren’t flashy, but they’re atmospheric. Subtle lighting and environmental detail help set the tone. The UI is intuitive, and item interactions are mostly smooth. There’s a calm, methodical aesthetic to it all that works well for the genre. [*] Augment-based puzzle design is a neat concept. Depending on your personality traits—empathy, assertiveness, or analysis—you unlock different bio-augments like biometric scanning, enhanced strength, or voice mimicry. These let you approach puzzles in different ways. It’s not wildly reactive, but it adds some flavor and light replay value. [*] Puzzles are mostly fair, even easy. The game rarely falls into moon-logic traps. Most challenges feel grounded, and the solutions—while simple—fit the logic of the world. If you enjoy methodical deduction and using your tools creatively, there’s some satisfaction to be had. The game does help you out as well, giving you notes of people to see and topics to ask about. You are rarely stuck. [*] Efficient pacing. At around 4–6 hours, it doesn’t waste your time. There’s not a lot of fluff or backtracking, which is refreshing for a point-and-click game. [*] Competent voice acting. Vera’s actor gives a quietly reserved performance that matches her role as a grief-stricken investigator. The supporting cast is hit-or-miss but generally serviceable. [/list] 🧍[b] Cons:[/b] [list] [*] Emotionally sterile from top to bottom. Vera is written as deliberately detached, which makes sense for a hardened agent with a traumatic past. But when everyone feels flat and robotic, it creates a lifeless atmosphere. The mystery doesn’t pull you in, and the world doesn’t feel lived in. It’s clean and functional, but soulless. It’s hard to care. [*] Writing is fine, but not gripping. The game often tells instead of shows, especially when it comes to worldbuilding. Dialogue is utilitarian and plot-focused, with little charm or wit to make the setting pop. There’s very little sense of discovery or wonder—just exposition and polite small talk. [*] The town is... extremely basic. For a game that wants to explore a society in the aftermath of technological collapse, the setting feels weirdly small and empty. There are only a handful of locations and characters, and almost no sense of culture or history. It's like being dropped into a half-finished world. Yeah, there was some lore dumps in the Museum, but it could just be another town in the middle of nowhere. [*] Replayability is overstated. The game advertises branching dialogue and multiple approaches, but these don’t lead to meaningfully different outcomes. Your personality path determines a few puzzles and dialogue options, but the story arc is the same. Once you’ve seen the ending, there’s little incentive to return. Still, the protagonist remains eerily dry. [*] Character development is minimal. Most of the supporting cast feel like delivery devices for information or clues. There’s no real relationship-building, and few of them leave a lasting impression. Even your own character’s arc is subdued to the point of vanishing. [*] Low tension, low stakes. Despite the premise (a murder tied to rogue AI cultists in a post-tech society), the game rarely feels tense or urgent. The pacing is so even-keeled that even the big reveals land with a shrug. It’s hard to feel like your choices matter when the tone never changes. [*] Augments are more gimmick than game-changer. While the ability to use strength, voice mimicry, or scanning adds a layer of interaction, it’s rarely used in a way that feels meaningful. You’ll probably use each tool a few times and then forget about them. They don’t shape the narrative as much as advertised. [/list]

In a game where choices matter, the developer decided to have one single save game. The dev's reason? They have a particular dislike for a gameplay style: to prevent savescumming. You don't savescum, but after finishing the game wanted a way to play other choices? Too bad: there's not a way to do that in game without either playing the entire game over again or creating a vast save archive system manually. If that doesn't sound like your thing: pass this one up, even if you're a die hard point and click enthusiast.