Machinarium 2 Announced After 17 Years: Josef and Berta Return

Did you ever think you'd see a Machinarium sequel? It's been 17 years since the original wordless tale of love in a crumbling robot city captured our hearts. Amanita Design has kept busy with gems like Botanicula, Chuchel, Creaks, and Phonopolis, but they never even hinted at more Machinarium. Until now.

So why return to that rusty, beautiful world after all this time? CEO and designer Jakub Dvorský put it bluntly: "We're not getting any younger, and the world seems to be ending, so if we were ever going to make Machinarium 2, now is the right time." Dark? Sure. But you can't argue with the logic. He also thanked every player who waited patiently all these years, saying they couldn't have done it without them.

The new game picks up right where the first left off. Having escaped the city, Josef and Berta crash-land in a hidden valley populated by two robot tribes: one in the Elektrona monastery and the other in the city of Oilton. Both tribes face a grim future as their power slowly runs out. This time, you can play as both Josef and Berta, swapping between them at will, and they'll need to work together to solve the game's point-and-click puzzles.

The distinctive visual style of Machinarium is back, maybe a little sharper than before, but still gorgeous. And crucially, so is composer Tomáš Dvořák, aka Floex, whose soundtrack helped make the original so memorable. Dvořák told us he never expected such a huge response to the first game's music. "I was simply trying to have fun and enjoy the creative process—and I believe that is the exact same approach I need for the sequel," he said.

For Dvořák, Machinarium 2 isn't really a sequel at all. Instead, it's "a beautiful project [that] provides a great opportunity to create a specific kind of music... the visuals have an incredible influence on the music universe I create." He set a few goals to differentiate the new soundtrack: it's "more melodic and musical," achieved with "more simplicity, which is actually the hardest part." And yes, time has passed: "I feel the new music is more mature, simply because I am older." Aren't we all?

As for the real reason Amanita opted to return now, Dvorský says it was more of a vibe than a rational decision. "I tend to make these kinds of decisions more intuitively than rationally," he explained. "I just had this feeling that the world of the robots was knocking on the door, asking to come out again." That excitement grew, and now here we are.

Machinarium 2 doesn't have a release date yet, but you can wishlist it on Steam and GOG. In the meantime, Amanita's previous releases—including the original Machinarium—are on sale until October 15. So, are you ready to dive back into the robot city? What do you think about a sequel after all these years?