We don’t usually cover downloadable games, preferring instead to stick to the stuff you can buy in shops. More fool us for that decision too, since it means we nearly missed out on a real gem – Machinarium.

Czech indie outfit Amanita Design is responsible for this delight, they’re also the team behind the Flash masterpiece ‘Samorost’ – be sure to check parts I and II of that out at http://www.amanitadesign.com/ when you get a spare mo’.

But back to their latest opus, Machinarium, which follows the gentle travails of an instantly adorable little robot as he wanders a rusting metallic metropolis in search of his girlfriend. The action is mostly point & click and the puzzles in each of the lavishly rendered screens are simultaneously humourous and completely, er, hatstand. Fortunately there’s a useful hint system for every challenge, or even a complete solution when you become totally dumbfounded. Players need to complete a short shoot ‘em up section in order to qualify for such assistance, though.

We should also highlight Machinarium’s soundtrack which bleeps and pulses ambiently throughout. And a special mention goes to the game’s awesome illustrative style – it’s confirmedly two dimensional, but who cares when it looks this good!

Machinarium is out for PC and Mac on October 16th priced $17 (around £11) and is up for pre-order via Machinarium.net right now – there’s a 5 MP3 soundtrack bonus for those who do. Otherwise a short but hugely enjoyable demo is available through sites like Bigdownload.com and Fileplanet.com. We urge you to give it a look.