Metamorphosis review — Between angels and insects

One morning, when Gregor Samsa wakes up from troubled dreams, he finds himself transposed into a video game adaptation of Franz Kafka’s famous film. Metamorphosis. While the game has very little to do with its source material, it certainly has a lot of charms. The visuals are excellent, the sense of scale is wonderfully executed, and the events presented are generally fun. Still, the game may feel a bit rote, plus it’s rather short and the narrative runs unsatisfactorily. Either way, there is plenty to enjoy Metamorphosis, provided you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Out of bed and in drawers

Even if Metamorphosis is very candid about where it is inspired, it bears little resemblance to the famous story from which its name is taken. As Kafka’s story begins with Gregor Samsa waking up in his bed to find that he has transformed into a gigantic insect, that doesn’t happen in the game. Instead, Gregor gets up as I do. imagine he does it every day. In the first two minutes, everything seems perfectly normal. But it doesn’t take long for him to turn into a little bug.

The story of Metamorphosis focuses on Gregor being led to the headquarters of an organization called Tower. He was told that was the only way to become human again. The first part of the match takes place at the house of his friend Josef and Gregor even tries to get his attention. Josef is chased by two policemen for unspecified reasons, but Gregor must concentrate to get to the Tower. Most of the story sees him find his way and acquire the documentation that will allow him to enter.

Metamorphosis 6

The dialogue is well written and the story itself is quite engaging, although most of the tasks you’re supposed to complete in order to progress may seem a bit superficial. Metamorphosis takes you to some really interesting places including an elderly lawyer’s law office, a large bug town, and the tower itself. But the story unfortunately ends anticlimactically. There are two endings that you can select through an ever popular binary choice mechanism. But both endings are too brief and don’t do much to hammer home the themes of the game or put a satisfying conclusion to Gregor’s story. Honestly, the game feels pretty rushed, with a major endgame event being treated as a “That’s it?” More punchline than anything else.

Crawl on all fours

I hesitate to refer Metamorphosis as a walking simulator, but that’s basically what it is. However, this label alone does not give it enough credit. You can also think of it as a guided puzzle platform. The game is played in first person and you can usually see your front paws. Since you are a bug, you move as such too. Gregor can jump quite high and climb steep slopes. The controls are for the most part tight and the game does a pretty good job of making you feel like a bug. You will also be able to walk in various puddles of liquid that will allow you to climb walls or objects by holding a button down. You can’t walk backwards, however.

There are puzzles to be found in Metamorphosis but they are generally very simple. Most of the time, you will be using your legs to move the gear back and forth. There are a few other literal puzzles, but they are extremely rare. The platform is pretty solid, however. The most common challenge in the game is that you will have to navigate the environment, carefully jumping on objects to move. These sections are certainly enjoyable, even if the game is in first person.

bug crawl

Most of the time, however, you’re just going to be heading from point A to point B. You can press the Tab key at any time, which will zoom out and show you the entire area you’re in. Where you are. “Are supposed to go is then highlighted for you and you just need to figure out how to get there.” Due to the way the camera zooms out, it can be a bit difficult to tell which direction to go. In larger areas, navigation can be unpleasant because of this.

Do all the things!

It doesn’t help the things that most of the game feels like a recovery questline. You have to get something to progress. Naturally, that means you have to talk to other bugs, find one that needs a favor, do a separate task for them, and then you can move on. A solid two-thirds of Metamorphosis focuses on these kinds of jobs. But at least most of the situations and locations are unique and interesting enough to keep the game palatable.

For example, at some point you need to get a certificate. You go to a lawyer to acquire it, then make a detour to a nightclub for insects. Then you must then go deep into the lawyer’s office. All the locations in the game are populated with other bugs, which you can tell a lot about. They often have fun things to say too, so they’re worth interacting with.

Metamorphosis environments

The world of Metamorphosis are what steals the show in the end, however. While the game is far from a state-of-the-art marvel, the environments are all excellent. Everything is suitably cartoonish, but twisted and Burton-eque. Everything has a real sense of place and a commendable attention to detail that makes the world a joy to inhabit. And the game really makes you feel tiny when you walk past huge books and machine parts. One area has papers flying through the air. If you fall you will land on one of them and it will drop you where you were before.

Change (in the house of flies)

Metamorphosis is an entertaining experience. It controls itself well, looks great, and has a story that will grab your attention. However, the plot that really doesn’t go anywhere and the overall lazy conclusion dulls the experience. In addition, it is extremely short. It’s easy to complete the game in about two and a half hours, which I couldn’t help but be disappointed with. I think the game is worth a visit due to the wacky world and dreamlike visuals, but don’t expect it to keep you busy for long.

Gregor Samsa himself

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