Adding to the addictiveness and the charm is the phenomenal art style. The entire world is an intricate, hand-drawn robo-dystopia, with each screen representing a small chunk of handcrafted beauty. I found myself staring and spacing out in between puzzles, just taking in the whole bleak, cartoon-y world. It’s vaguely reminiscent of Revolution’s cyberpunk adventure Beneath a Steel Sky and the first thirty minutes of Wall–E, the former in gameplay and overall world, the latter in storytelling and tone.

The soundtrack is phenomenal, with arrangements of sound effects and background melodies that perfectly complement the bleakness and the playfulness that Amanita’s visual artists have created. It’s as moody and oddly endearing as the silent storytelling, relying on gesture and sketchy “thought bubbles” instead of dialogue or cutscenes. There’s a great deal of humor and warmth that comes across thanks to the animation and character design. Despite the darkness and sadness of the cluttered cityscape, and the utter lack of dialogue, I found myself laughing surprisingly often.

Aside from the lameness of the tutorial minigame and the occasional obtuse puzzle, this is indie gold. A fantastic, rewarding, deeply satisfying adventure with one of the most beautiful game worlds you’ll see this side of a team Ico game; it’s a rare must-play.