Metamorphosis

I’m a bit conflicted with this game.
On one hand, it’s a game that features a story inspired by Franz Kafka’s works with basic platforming mechanics and simple puzzles. I do enjoy these types of games. That’s exactly how the game is advertised and that’s exactly what you get. This is why I’m not giving it a thumbs down.
On the other hand though, I expected a different experience than what I got. Before playing this game, I read Franz Kafka’s “Metamorphosis” and know of his other works that the game is clearly inspired by, “The Trial” and “The Castle”. The common theme among all of these stories is a feeling of powerlessness and anxiety when faced with higher influences out of your control. That’s what makes Kafka’s stories so special. It’s what makes them “kafkaesque”.
In my opinion, the plot of this game is evidently NOT kafkaesque. Yeah, the character you play as is turned into a bug by mysterious forces, but he has a ton of personal agency throughout the story, making steady progress toward his goals even though he got turned into a bug. The main character doesn’t really struggle throughout the game. This is VERY unlike Kafka’s “Metamorphosis”. In fact, not much is similar between this game and Kafka’s story, really only that the main character shares the same name and got turned into a bug. It shares much more similarities with his other works, but I was expecting more “Metamorphosis” in this game given that they have the same title. This was pretty disappointing. But again, there was nothing that explicitly said that the story would be kafkaesque, so I can’t blame the developers and I guess it would be hard to tell a kafkaesque story through the video game medium since progression and character agency is typically a part of playing games.
Having said all that, I’d recommend this to those that want to play a simple puzzle game that features a lot of Kafka references, but don’t expect much more than that.
100% Achievement Completion Perspective:
Most achievements are story related. There are some multiple ending achievements, but you can also replay any chapter you want after beating the game. There is one collectible-finding achievement that wasn’t that fun to get because the collectibles don’t unlock anything, so it felt like a bit of a waste.

I like unique games that presents itself to stand alone as something special thinking outside the box. This game was just that for me. Enjoyed the game play. Games are made to tell a different story that takes you from the everyday life of routine. Immerse yourself as a bug to escape.

The game is around 2 hours long so the price is pretty high for what you get. The story is good though, so get the game on sale.

I really enjoyed this game, its surreal, clever, funny and has a beautiful soundtrack. It takes inspiration from Kafka’s "The Trial" and "Metamorphosis", bringing them to life in a unique light while not losing touch with the Kafkaesque themes of existentialism, absurdism and morality.

Leni/10

Guy turns into a bug and tries to find his way back into human form.

Very enjoyable 1st person platforming and exploration with some witty dialogue along the way. It's a good 9+ hrs for the completionist, very much worth the price.

It's the most Kafkaesque parkour platformer ever made, though it's also probably the only one that's ever been made. "Metamorphosis" mostly works as a game, though it's a tad too easy. The real allure is just seeing how Kafka's works are reinterpreted into video game format, and while I would say the results are overall mixed, this is still a pretty good game. It's based off of "The Trial" and "Metamorphosis" as you play as Gregor Samsa in Metamorphosis but witness the events of Josef K in "The Trial." These are two completely separate characters in Kafka's books, but here they are intertwined in a story that should be "Kafkaesque" but ends up being kind of convoluted nonsense. The transition of Gregor Samsa becoming a bug is well done. You never see him as a bug, but when you look down you will see his insect legs as a part of you. In the book he is human-sized, as turning into a bug is a metaphor for adulthood. Here he is literally a tiny insect who goes around Josef K's house as he is investigated by the police for a crime he has no idea he committed, which is the plot to "The Trial." Kafka's metaphors of tragic comedic irony are not very easy to interpret and I don't think the developers really understood that "Metamorphosis" is not really a story about a man turning into a bug, but I digress. As you progress you talk to other insects and climb up furniture and basically try to get a certificate so you can reach a tower to turn back into a human.

The puzzles are fun to solve, but they are also very simplistic. I really like that the dialogue and exposition often occurs in the background while you are playing, such as you running across the desk as the bug while Josef K talks to his lawyer. Occasionally you will do something to break the dialogue like hit a bell or drop a stamp and this will transition well into changing their animation and behavior. There's also a bug city and a level that is like a huge printing press. It's well done but I wish the game was harder. Most of the puzzles just solve themselves. I would've preferred more "Kafkaesque" puzzles like a puzzle in the beginning of the game where you receive a letter stating a key is well hidden when in reality it's in the exact place it was hidden before. Maybe more of that sort of comedy but with more difficulty and confusion.

The game only takes a few hours to complete and 100% completion adds a few hours. There are two endings, but they're anticlimactic and totally nonsensical, especially if you've read the books and know how these stories end. There are also references to other Kafka stories like "The Hunger Artist" but the characters are so different it barely matters. I liked it but I will probably never play it again because it's just too simplistic and easy to really be all that compelling, even though I was mesmerized the first time I made my way through it.