When does Machinarium get good?

Hooks you almost right away. In the first 2 hours 1 in 6 reviews are negative (17%); after 5h it's 1 in 35 (3%). Fully opens up by hour 4.

How many players finish Machinarium?

44% of players who start reach the ending.

All games

AdventureIndie

Machinarium

Oct 16, 2009 Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive

Hooks you almost right away

Gets good by 3h almost every game dips in hours 2–3

Fully opens up by 4h rated like by long-time players

Reach the ending 44% of players who started

Started playing 61% of owners

Steam reviews 95% positive of 21,285

What the data shows

In the first 2 hours 1 in 6 reviews are negative (17%); after 5h it's 1 in 35 (3%).
Fully opens up by hour 4.
The opening is criticised less than in 79% of games we track.
44% of players who start reach the ending.
The biggest drop-off is between “BACK IN TOWN” (Enter Machinarium) and “FREE ROBOT” (Free yourself and jail mates): from 92% to 77% of starters.
Only 61% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.

When it gets good

Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.

before it gets good opening up fully opened up

Based on all 21,373 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 298 reviews: 5.1h for positive, 3.5h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.

Where players quit

Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (60.9% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.

Started playing 100%
SURVIVOR Escape the scrapyard 100%
BACK IN TOWN Enter Machinarium 92% −8
FREE ROBOT Free yourself and jail mates Most players quit here 77% −15
PET CATCHER Bring the dog to the lady 66% −10
BOARD GAME MASTER Win the tic-tac-toe game 62% −4
MUSIC LOVER Help the musicians 55% −7
VIDEOGAMER Win all console games 48% −7
PLUMBER Flood the Blackhats 54% +5
DEACTIVATOR Disable the bomb 47% −7
DEBUGGER Repair the brain 45% −2
RESCUER Rescue Berta 45%
ESCAPER Escape Machinarium 44%

story milestone ending biggest drop-off

Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.

All achievements (12)

story milestone ending side

SURVIVOR Escape the scrapyard 100%
BACK IN TOWN Enter Machinarium 92%
FREE ROBOT Free yourself and jail mates 77%
PET CATCHER Bring the dog to the lady 66%
BOARD GAME MASTER Win the tic-tac-toe game 62%
MUSIC LOVER Help the musicians 55%
PLUMBER Flood the Blackhats 54%
VIDEOGAMER Win all console games 48%
DEACTIVATOR Disable the bomb 47%
DEBUGGER Repair the brain 45%
RESCUER Rescue Berta 45%
ESCAPER Escape Machinarium 44%

Steam page Updated: 2026-10-18.