Whispers of a Machine
reviews and complaints

This isn't a review but since I submitted a support request a month ago and never got a response, I'm posting a comment here. I loved “Kathy Rain" and so far I've enjoyed this game. However I hit a bug that crashes the game every time, even after reloading my saved game. (Slight spoiler so stop reading if you haven't played yet.) In the junk yard I entered the refrigerator. The game crashes with: “Null pointer referenced ‘room_afterFadeIn'". I'm happy to help troubleshoot further if the developer wants to respond. See SUP-2447.

This game is a solid point and click with a good story. Some of the mechanics (when it's time based) are irritating on mobile just because the ui is so small, it can be hard to click the right spot, so definitely died a few times in those scenes due that. Hah! But, the game was fun and had me thinking about deeper things for sure. The only other bummer is I pegged one of the antagonists from the second I met them; would have liked a bit more of a mystery, but the story is good and well written all the same, even if it was somewhat predictable.

I had a great time with this game. Total playtime was probably about 15 hours or so to complete by my estimate. Definitely worth the price in my opinion. I think the difficulty was perfect. I was able to complete it without looking at any hints, although there was definitely a handful of spots which made me have to put take a step back and reassess the situation in the game for an idea of what to do to progress. I think that's where the fun comes from in this game. I highly encourage players not to jump to quickly to look at hints. I promise you that if you think logically and revisit the areas that are open to you that no puzzle was obscure enough to need a hint to pass.

Pro tip: You can speed up traveling across the screen to enter a different area by double tapping on the area or door you're trying to enter. It'll teleport your player there instead of waiting for the animation of her walking all the way to the area. Didn't learn that until I was nearly done with the game.

I'm an old school point and click adventure game fan, and though I'm happy to see classics like Broken Sword and Day of the Tentacle ported over to iOS, they honestly just don't play as well as they do on the PC. Moving around is a pain, choosing actions is a pain.

Whispers surprised me by remaining point and click but streamlining the gaming process beautifully so that you're actually focused on the game and not how cumbersome it is to play.

Which is great, because it's an engrossing game. Investigating as Vera is a lot of fun, and it does feel like an investigation rather than a spooky thriller, which a lot of detective games try to be. I want to solve mysteries, not tiptoe around fearfully.

I just wish the empathetic options (you gain different abilities depending on your responses to people, which gives you completely different ways to solve puzzles) weren't quite so...sappy. There's a point where you try to determine what a piece of graffiti depicts, and the empathetic option is “two flowers hugging". You can be a good people person without stepping right out of Sesame Street, y'know.

In any case, definitely worth the purchase!

Very enjoyable and interesting. On the plus side it was so thoughtful and a fresh experience. On the other hand I couldn't help but think that it could have been better if they didn't do the branching. Just gave it be one longer game? I didn't really see the point is the versions of same game.

I played through twice and found second time was just zipping through it. I saw two endings and found a third slightly different one on-line. I am ok with that part it's more the playing through with different abilities that I found to be more of an experiment than a good mechanism.

YOUR GAME IS AMAZING, it's so much fun but there is a problem my save file gets corrupted it says there was a script error but then I can't play my safe file anymore this happens after I leave the recycling center and talk to the kids but after I stop talking and walk away at glitches and crashes when I try to go back and pull it up and it says script error.

This game is phenomenal. The story is well written and isn't obvious. The abilities add a special uniqueness to give you multiple play throughs without being too repetitive. The graphics are clean. It plays excellent on an iPhone 12. My only complaint is that it's not a well optimized port: the game runs fine but it eats into your battery life like crazy. It's be great if that could be addressed (and I tried playing on the lowest graphic setting). If you like point and click adventure games, mysteries, and a hint of sci fi, then definitely give this a shot.

After playing, I noticed Dave Gilbert's name in the credits. That would have clued me in that this was going to be a great game and done right. A true traditional mystery point and click. ...and that it was.

The augmentations are genius. On top of that, the game plays based on what you do and say, so it plays different ways with different clues and objects for different people and thus different results. You could play again and choose differently. Did I mention the augmentations are genius? You'll find out what that means.

There's even interactive action scenes with other characters. This game is a bargain and a must play for traditional point and click lovers.

I enjoyed playing this adventure game so much! All of the puzzles were organic and I also loved the augmentation abilities. It really added another layer of gameplay that didn't deter from the story at all. Good characters, though I really wish we got to see more of the backstory between Vera and Alex. It would have made the decision at the end of the game that much more powerful and conflicting. I would play the sequel if one was released! Thank for making this game. Not many out there with this level of detail. Great graphics as well. It was just enough detail to be beautiful, yet it still had that 90s retro look to it as well. I will always continue to support games like this for the rest of my life.

If you are interested in point and click games, this is an absolutely wonderful gem. Just realized it's the same people who made Kathy Rain (also another epic point and click). Voice acting is spot-on and really immerses you in the game. Story is intriguing. “augmentation" system is nifty. Puzzles not overly difficult to figure out. It's insane to me that more people haven't rated/played this game. Worth every penny, I would've payed $10 and been happy.

Jason

How is that the games fault? It's supposed to be a puzzle to figure out on your own - it's s point n click, it's always been this way.

And I have the energize power too and I was able to get past the part your talking about. I'd help you out, but rating a game a bad score because you can't figure out a puzzle that is meant to challenge you is irrational. So I guess you'll have to figure it out yourself.

I really liked the storyline of this game, it is very compelling. I did really like the fact that tools you receive throughout the game are based on your choices. I also enjoyed the tools that you do get in the game. For instance, the scanning tool is a very cool concept. Overall it was a great game. Although I had an overall positive experience with this game, I do have a few critiques. I did have a game save issue one time. I had closed the game out once, and when I came back I had lost progress. Also, the controls of the inventory are annoying on an iPhone bc when you try to drag them to interact, the phone backs out of the game to where you can view the current app and all other apps that are open. So you have to tap the game after almost every time you try to drag an inventory item. That is very annoying. I also am not a fan of repeating dialogue or pixel graphics (lower quality graphics) I've become spoiled to higher quality graphics with other P&C adventure games I've played. If you can get past the things I've mentioned, then this is a great game.

Whispers of a Machine is perhaps one of the best adventure games I have played in a while. The gameplay is creative in the way that the decisions alter Vera's augmentations.

Yes, the graphics may look “pixelated," but they appear beautifully hand drawn in my opinion. Kathy Rain was a good game too. Please release more games like this, or even subscriptions/episodes.

This game is excellent. I was immediately swept up into the story and spent a lot of time guessing who the killer was only to be surprised in the end. I played the main character pretty even keeled, but the options are there to play differently. I wish there were more games like this. Very fun and entertaining. About 3-5 days of gameplay depending on your free time.

Yet another fantastic modern point-and-click along the lines of Wadjet Eye Games. The story is suspenseful and fast-paced, never boring. The characters and world are unique. The moments of humor are welcome in a serious situation. My only complaint is that a few of the puzzles are laughably absurd, but a quick walkthrough visit fixed everything.

A really fun little point and click adventure with great replay ability. The writing was fantastic, it has a really interesting conservative vs progressive ideology narrative and you can choose your own adventure (THANK YOU writers for staying neutral and not forcing us to take the leftist path, very refreshing)

Overall highly recommended for point and click fans, the puzzles were just hard enough and I throughly enjoyed playing.

I am constantly searching the AppStore for actual point and click adventure games, not the hidden object and arcade games bizarrely classified as “adventure." This discovery was so spectacular that I stayed up all night to finish it!

The concept that distinguishes Whisper of the Machines from typical adventure games is that there are multiple solutions for the integrated puzzles and ultimately completing the game, guided by your responses to a choice-based narrative and the specific supplementary skills that you acquire.

Your heroine is a homicide detective with chemical-based “augmentation technology" that gives her superhuman capabilities. “Smart scanning" helps you search for and analyze clues in the scene, like DNA. [NOTE: This is NOT a hidden object game!]

You can greatly increase your strength for short periods of time, and you can monitor physiological functions of your witnesses to determine if they are lying. The additional abilities you receive are determined by whether your conversational responses skew towards assertive, analytical, or empathetic.

Your role as an investigator definitely draws you into the story, which is richly written and based in a world that survived and rebuilt after an apocalyptic event.

Graphics have a retro feel but are not pure pixel. The controls are intuitive and smooth. Gameplay is essentially linear and lasts about 5-6 hours. The somewhat short duration of the game and the absence of a teleportation map/device are my minor complaints.

If you're a fan of the same genre, here are my favorites that have been ported to the iPad (in no particular order):

- Edna & Harvey series
- Broken Sword series
- Yesterday series
- Enigmatis series
- Broken Age
- Lost Within
- Runaway series
- Bik: A Space Adventure
- Journey Down series
- Cognition series
- Syberia series
- Hollywood Monsters
- In Fear I Trust
- Agatha Christie: The ABC Murders
- Bertram Fiddle series
- Blackwell series
- Fran Bow series
- Life Is Strange
- Return To Grisly Manor
- Miss Fisher series
- Day of the Tentacle
- Deponia
- Fetch: A Boy and His Dog
- The Whispered Word
- Nelly Cootalot and the Fowl Fleet
- New York Mysteries series
- Paranormal State: Poison Spring
- Secret Files series
- The Wolf Among Us
- Lost Horizon series
- Last Express
- Gemini Rue
- Beneath the Steel Sky
- Silent Age

Pros:
- interesting story with ambitious back-story
- cool mix of features to play with as the main character
- fun characters to interact with
Cons:
- some parts are too difficult. I play lots of similar games and this is the first time I had to check the solution online multiple times. And the solutions would have been too complex to figure out. Hints or more balanced difficulty throughout the game would help a lot
- some controls are annoying to deal with even on a big iPhone
Overall I would recommend it but be prepared to check for some solutions online.
I will definitely check out the next games from the team.

Just finished this game - highly recommended! Not many point and click adventure games that are 17+. This one has great story, superb voice acting, and good music. Some parts are challenging, but there are enough subtle hints to get you to the next step if you pay attention. I wish the game was much longer because I didn't want it to end! My only complaint is that the game should save at the end before you get to make a decision so you can reload from there. Would love a sequel with Vera!

This game really is PHENOMENAL!

Only reason for my 4 ⭐️

My iPad mini 6th Gen (2021 Model) is up to date with iPad OS 16.5 This game is constantly crashing, it's a spontaneous bug - I can't track it, so I can replicate it, but here is what I have identified:

• Crashes as soon as I continue a saved game or start new game

• Crashes if I play (a saved game or new game) within 10 minutes

• Crashes if I play (a saved game or new game) within 2 minutes

• Crashes if I play (a saved game or new game) an hour later or so

• During first crime scene, after you scan the victim with smart mode, as soon as you tap the scan tool with the victim's bio (the scan tool called Karl) the game will crash

A very sporadic bug. I know it's 2023 and this game was released awhile ago, but PLEASE FIX. This issue ruins what I would describe an immersive *experienceof being a future detective.

APPLES -> VISION PRO:
I actually want to play this game on my vision pro when it buy it, the Vision Pro has eye tracking (i use my eyes to make selections) and finger pinching gestures (my forefinger and thumb touch each other) and this is how we interact with apps - this game will be right at home.

HERE ARE MY TROUBLESHOOTING ATTEMPTS:

- Rebooted my iPad
- Closed out the game, then relaunched game
- Uninstalled game & Reinstalled the game
- Powered down iPad and turned back on iPad

Severely disappointing in contrast with other games of this type. No real challenge or cleverness in the design. Too much focus on gimmicky gadgets & skills. Very repetitive tasks and boring trial & error vs thinking & puzzle aspect. Trying to make a strictly linear game but with only one action to progress in a somewhat open world design like this is a result for disaster. Not even halfway through and already bored. Rarely do I get this bored with games or disappointed enough to write a review.

Very disappointed that the developers released this for all devices when the game is not even supported on all devices. Resoltutions 16:9 and up such as the iPad Pro have issues with the graphics being out of focus, not sharp, and just doesn't look good overall. Not an enjoyable experience!

I was loving this up until getting hopelessly stuck at Lennart's murder. There is no hint system. All online walkthroughs have other powers that allow them to solve this easily. I have “energize", which is apparently useless- it said it retracted the gears, but nothing changed. Pipe is useless. For hours I've been trying everything I have on everything there is, to no avail.
Too bad I'll have to give up due to a complete lack of help- there's not even a help email on the website.