Have You Played... Unmechanical?

Have You Played? is an endless stream of game recommendations. One a day, every day of the year, perhaps for all time.

Unmechanical has gone so forgotten that even I, despite adoring it back in 2012, had entirely forgotten what it was about. Although I'm also old and stupid. What it is about is playing a little floating robot, with a tractor beam for a bottom, trying to solve a series of physics puzzles in a madly charming 2D puzzler.

What's most notable about this little four hour gem is what a pleasure it is to control your character. Floaty games can often frustrate, especially if they're going to make a fuss about bumping into things. None of that nonsense here, with a wonderful sense of weight and balance. And indeed gorgeous little "oofs" when he harmlessly bumps the sides.

It's a really rather beautiful thing too, the Unreal engine put to great use with a combination of mechanical and organic materials as backgrounds, and the fun pleasure of dropping metal girders into rusty cogs to see them ca-lunk to a halt. It's a morsel of a game, and sadly there's no sign of what would be a very welcome sequel. Developers Talawa have since released an iPhone project with the bile-inducing name Peppy Pals. However, they do appear to be working on the intriguing-looking A Song For Viggo.