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The closest game to play while waiting for Machinarium 2 is Samorost 3, followed by Botanicula and the short, paper-crafted adventure Papetura. They share the qualities that make Amanita Design’s games distinctive: unusual worlds, observation-led puzzles, expressive animation and a story that does not depend on conventional exposition.
Amanita Design announced Machinarium 2 on October 8, 2026. Its official Steam page says the game is not yet available and does not provide a release date, so the recommendations below are games you can play now rather than substitutes with a confirmed connection to the sequel. The sequel’s announced features include returning characters Josef and Berta, with the two playable and switchable; those are announced details, not hands-on-tested conclusions.
Quick answer: which game should you play first?
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- Closest overall match: Samorost 3. It is another Amanita Design exploration adventure built around observing strange environments and solving puzzles.
- Warmer and funnier: Botanicula. It keeps the studio’s hand-drawn, puzzle-led identity but moves into a colorful, nature-based and more comic setting.
- Most tactile and compact: Papetura. Its world is handmade from paper, and the official description calls it a short atmospheric adventure.
- Most direct preparation: replay Machinarium. It is the only choice that returns you to Josef’s established world before the sequel arrives.
- More from the same developer: explore Amanita Design’s catalogue, including Creaks and CHUCHEL, if you want more experimental puzzle adventures.
The table below separates what is documented by the games’ official store descriptions from editorial judgments about mood and similarity.
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- The Art Of Point-And-Click Adventure Games 3E /Books
| Game | Puzzle emphasis | Mood | Visual construction | Reading and dialogue considerations | Length information | Availability information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samorost 3 | Environmental observation and exploration | Strange, whimsical and contemplative | Hand-crafted illustrated environments | Best for players who prefer visual communication to heavy exposition; the cited description does not quantify text | Not stated in the cited description | Official Steam listing; check the live page for current platform and price details |
| Botanicula | Point-and-click exploration and puzzles | Colorful, gentle and humor-filled | Hand-drawn natural settings | Store tags identify it as family-friendly; the cited page does not give a dialogue count or reading-time estimate | Not stated in the cited description | Official Steam listing; check the live page for current platform and price details |
| Papetura | Compact environmental interaction | Quiet, fragile and atmospheric | Physical-material-inspired paper world | Designed around visual atmosphere; the cited page does not publish a reading-load measure | Explicitly described as short | Official Steam listing; check the live page for current platform and price details |
| Machinarium | Point-and-click puzzles and environmental logic | Melancholic, steampunk and atmospheric | Hand-drawn robot world | Story-rich tags are listed, but no numerical dialogue measure is provided | Not stated in the cited description | Official Steam listing; check the live page for current platform and price details |
“Closest” in this guide means closest in developer, genre language and atmosphere, not that the games use identical puzzle mechanics or have the same length.
1. Samorost 3: the best first choice for Machinarium fans
Samorost 3 is the strongest starting point because it comes from the same studio and uses the same broad design philosophy: a small character moving through unfamiliar environments, with progress coming from careful observation and interactions rather than combat or conventional action systems. Its official Steam description calls it “an exploration adventure and puzzle game from the award-winning creators of Machinarium and Botanicula.”
Why it feels like the right bridge
The Amanita connection matters more here than a superficial “2D adventure game” label. The recommendation rests on shared authorship and genre: Amanita Design is responsible for both games, and both are presented as exploration-and-puzzle adventures. That gives Samorost 3 the best chance of matching the rhythm that Machinarium players usually seek—look closely, test an environmental detail, notice a visual clue and try an interaction that initially seems decorative.
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Who should choose it
- Players who want another Amanita Design game before Machinarium 2.
- Players who enjoy puzzles embedded in environments instead of isolated menu challenges.
- Players who prefer relaxed exploration and visual discovery over timed action.
If your priority is matching the studio’s approach rather than matching a particular color palette, start here.
2. Botanicula: a lighter, warmer Amanita adventure
Botanicula is an official Amanita Design release listed on Steam as released May 7, 2012. The store description presents it as a humor-filled indie adventure from the makers of Machinarium and Samorost. Its listed tags include point-and-click, exploration, puzzle, hand-drawn, colorful, family-friendly and atmospheric.
Rank #2
- Lost & Alone invites you to explore a breathtaking vast and open world in this epic & dramatic Point & Click Adventure Game.
- Classic Point & Click Adventure Escape game with breathtaking HDR scenery, intriguing puzzles, and a mysterious storyline that will captivate you from the beginning...
- Embark on the Adventure of a lifetime in the vast, and open land of Lost & Alone. Collect items and artifacts on your quest of discovery & solve riddles and bewildering puzzles along the way...
- Stunning HDR Scenery will blow your mind - gorgeous areas to explore with so much eye candy with the visuals!
- Find notes & clues, and put the pieces together while exploring a massive world with over 100 scenes of beautifully photographed imagery.
What changes compared with Machinarium
The biggest difference is tone. Machinarium is associated with melancholy, rusted machinery and a steampunk robot setting. Botanicula moves toward a playful natural world and a more openly comic mood. That makes it a good choice when you want Amanita’s visual inventiveness without returning to a somber industrial atmosphere.
The store tags support the description of a hand-drawn, colorful, atmospheric point-and-click adventure. They do not prove that every puzzle works exactly like a Machinarium puzzle, so treat the similarity as tonal and structural rather than mechanical identity.
Who should choose it
- Players looking for a gentler game after a dark or emotionally heavy adventure.
- Families or mixed-age players who value the family-friendly store classification.
- Anyone who wants humor and visual surprise while keeping exploration and puzzles at the center.
Botanicula is the best alternative when “more Amanita” is the goal but “more robots and steampunk” is not.
3. Papetura: a short, tactile visual wildcard
Papetura is the outlier in this list, and that is its strength. Its official Steam description calls it “a short atmospheric adventure game, with unique world handmade entirely out of paper, and beautiful fragile music.” The same description says the project was inspired by Machinarium, classic games, Studio Ghibli and paper sculpture.
Why the material matters
Most point-and-click comparisons focus on drawing style, but Papetura gives you a physical construction idea: the world is made from paper. That changes how environments read. Edges, folds, silhouettes and small moving pieces become part of the visual language, so examining a scene is as important as solving an interaction.
The paper construction is not evidence that the puzzle systems duplicate Amanita Design’s systems. The useful comparison is the emphasis on atmosphere, visual craft and a compact adventure format.
Rank #3
- Do you love Mystery Games, Adventure Games and Classic Point & Click Adventure and Puzzle Games, because if you do this daring Mysterious Adventure will enthrall your senses.
- Stunning photography & professionally designed imagery will delight lovers of Adventure Games!
- Interwoven story with peculiar and tricky puzzles!
- Built in Hint System, Map, Compass, and Diary notes to help you on this Adventure!
- Solve Riddles, Puzzles, collect inventory, and solve the mystery of Sycamore Hill!
Who should choose it
- Players who want a clearly short experience rather than an open-ended commitment.
- Players who notice texture, lighting and handmade visual detail.
- Players who prefer quiet, fragile atmosphere to broad comedy or steampunk drama.
Because Papetura is explicitly described as short while comparable durations are not established for the other games here, it is the safest recommendation when available time is your main constraint.
4. Replay Machinarium: the direct route to the sequel
If you have not played Machinarium recently, replaying it is more useful than searching for a perfect substitute. The official Steam listing identifies it as an Amanita Design adventure and tags it with point-and-click, puzzle, hand-drawn, robots, steampunk, atmospheric, story-rich and single-player descriptors.
What a replay gives you
A replay refreshes Josef’s world, the visual rules of the original and the kind of environmental reasoning that made the game a reference point for later atmospheric adventures. It also gives you a fixed baseline: you can distinguish what belongs to the original from what the sequel eventually changes.
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How to make a replay worthwhile
- Play without immediately consulting a walkthrough so that environmental clues remain meaningful.
- Note recurring interaction patterns, visual signals and how the game communicates objectives without conventional exposition.
- After finishing, read the sequel’s current official listing again for updated availability information rather than assuming an announced feature has become a final specification.
This is the right choice for players who want continuity, not merely a similar mood.
5. Other Amanita Design games to consider
Amanita Design’s Steam developer catalogue includes Creaks, CHUCHEL, Samorost 3, Botanicula and other adventure releases. The catalogue is useful when you want to stay with the developer but change the tone or presentation.
Rank #4
- Over 110 Gorgeous HDR Scenes from many places around the world, sewn together to bring you one stunning game.
- Beautifully crafted music and sounds immerse you into a whole other world.
- Captivating new storyline that builds up into an improbable twist ending!
- Includes a Map System, Hints, Answers & other tips and tricks to help you along the way!
Creaks
Consider Creaks when you want another Amanita title but are ready for a different setting and puzzle emphasis. Use the current official listing to confirm its availability and system details before buying; this guide does not assign it an unsupported length or platform.
CHUCHEL
CHUCHEL is a further option for players attracted to Amanita’s comic side. It belongs in the “more from the studio” group rather than the closest Machinarium substitutes, because the evidence available here does not establish identical puzzle structure or atmosphere.
Phonopolis
Phonopolis is a relevant newer Amanita point-and-click game to monitor. Availability, supported platforms and pricing were not established in the information used for this guide, so check its current official listing before making a purchase decision. Do not treat an appearance in a catalogue or a mention in a recommendation list as proof of a specific regional release.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to choose by the experience you want
If environmental logic matters most
Start with Samorost 3. Its official description explicitly combines exploration and puzzles, and the shared developer makes it the most defensible match for Amanita’s observation-led approach. Replay Machinarium instead if you want the exact established rules of Josef’s world.
If mood matters most
Choose Botanicula for colorful humor and a natural setting. Choose Papetura for quiet, fragile atmosphere. Choose Machinarium for melancholic steampunk and robot imagery. These are editorial mood distinctions drawn from the official descriptions and tags, not promises that every player will experience them identically.
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If visual construction matters most
Papetura is the clearest choice because its world is explicitly handmade from paper. Botanicula and Machinarium are identified with hand-drawn presentation, while Samorost 3 is recommended for its related Amanita exploration language rather than a claim that its rendering process is identical.
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If you want minimal reading
None of the cited store descriptions provides a measured dialogue count, reading time or “no-dialogue” guarantee. These games communicate heavily through visual design, but you should check the current store page and player-facing accessibility information if reading load is a deciding factor. Do not infer a complete absence of text from a game’s visual style.
If you have only one short session
Papetura is the only recommendation explicitly described as short. The available descriptions do not establish comparable durations for Samorost 3, Botanicula or Machinarium, so avoid treating them as interchangeable time commitments.
A practical playing order before Machinarium 2
- Replay Machinarium if its characters and setting are the reason you are excited about the sequel.
- Play Samorost 3 to move from the original into Amanita’s broader exploration-and-puzzle vocabulary.
- Try Botanicula when you want the same developer’s craft in a warmer, funnier natural setting.
- Finish with Papetura when you want a compact, visually distinctive adventure while continuing to wait.
- Use the Amanita catalogue for Creaks, CHUCHEL and other releases if you want to extend the run without assuming they are direct substitutes.
This order moves from continuity to related design language, then to tonal variation and finally to a short visual experiment.
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Machinarium 2 has been announced, but its official Steam page currently says it is not available and does not publish a release date. Any countdown, launch window or pre-order claim should therefore be treated as unverified unless it appears on the current official listing.
Store prices, regional editions, supported operating systems and inventory can change. The descriptions used for the recommendations identify official Steam listings for the named games but do not establish a permanent price, every supported platform or availability in every country. Check the live store page for your region immediately before purchase.
The same caution applies to Phonopolis: its inclusion here signals relevance, not a verified current release record. A current official listing is the proper authority for its status.
Common mistakes when looking for a Machinarium substitute
- Choosing only by “point-and-click” tags: the genre label does not tell you whether a game is melancholic, comic, tactile, text-heavy or short.
- Assuming every Amanita game is a sequel-like experience: shared authorship supports a design-family comparison, not a shared story or identical mechanics.
- Treating announced sequel features as tested facts: Josef and Berta being playable and switchable are announced details; final implementation and quality remain unknown until release.
- Using an old price or platform list: storefront information changes by region and date, so verify it on the current listing.
- Expecting a confirmed playtime: the available descriptions explicitly establish only that Papetura is short; they do not provide comparable durations for the other recommendations.
- Assuming visual storytelling means no reading: the cited pages do not provide a formal reading-load or dialogue-free guarantee.
Final recommendation
Start with Samorost 3 if you want the closest currently available continuation of Amanita Design’s exploration-and-puzzle sensibility. Pick Botanicula for a lighter and more colorful variation, or Papetura for a short, paper-built atmospheric experience. If the anticipation is specifically about Josef, Berta and the robot world, replay Machinarium and treat every detail about the sequel as provisional until Amanita Design publishes more information.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
