Metamorphosis

A lot of games can be described as Kafkaesque, but the new game Metamorphosis has a leg up on the competition. In fact, it has six legs up. This sophomore release from Polish developer Ovid Works is a loose reimagining of Franz Kafka's century-old novella about a man who turns into an insect. That's a cool setup, but does this first-person adventure live up to its literary potential, or is it a bureaucratic nightmare? Let's journey into the secret world of insects and find out.

Have you ever had one of those nights where you partied so hard that you don't know where you are the next morning? That's the least of Gregor's problems right now, because not only has he woken up in a strange bedroom, but he's also rapidly turning into a cockroach. Unlike Kafka's 1915 book, however, our hero isn't willing to just lay in his room and wait to be fed, so he sets out on an epic journey through the miniature (and often unseemly) world of talking insects.

That's right, the bugs that crawl around your house speak English. They also have their own cities, stories, religions and even social clubs. These are all things our newly-birthed cockroach learns about on his way to this mythical great tower that will supposedly be able to turn him back into a full-sized human. But getting there is going to be tricky, because not only do you need to navigate a world not created with tiny insects in mind, but he'll also need to file the right paperwork and make sure he gets everything filled out properly.

But don't let the bureaucracy get you down, because Metamorphosis is really just a 3D platformer at heart. As a cockroach, you'll need to use books, drawers, toys and all kinds of everyday objects to get from one part of the level to the next. Gregor is able to not just run and jump, but also stick to walls and ceilings for a limited amount of time. This allows him to find multiple ways to each destination, giving the player a nice sense of exploration and discovery through what could often be looked at as linear paths.

I went into this game expecting a lot of platforming and puzzle solving, two things that are part and parcel for this type of first-person adventure. What I got was a whole lot of platforming and almost no puzzle solving. Sure, you'll occasionally have to connect a cord or run a fetch quest for a fellow insect, but none of this is especially taxing and the game will always tell you where Gregor needs to go next. Every time it looks like you'll need to go through some elaborate process to turn off a fan or get important intel, it turns out being something really simple. You'll just need to jump on the "off" button or push over an apple. Easy.

This is one of the reasons why I found myself disappointed by Metamorphosis. I liked going on the journey with Gregor, but the emphasis on platforming made the game feels too straight-forward and maybe even a little shallow. Every time it flirts with making you use your brain, there's usually something pointing you towards the right answer. And because the platforming is so effortless most of the time, I found that I was speeding through each part of the game without really appreciating what was going on.

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That's a shame, because there's some interesting world building in Metamorphosis. There are large portions of the game that take place on the other side of the wall and floor, where insects have created their own cities and civilizations. This is where we're introduced to a number of colorful characters, some of which will have you running missions. This is little more than an excuse to show off the world the developer's have constructed, but it's fun seeing bridges created with matchsticks and entire nightclubs tucked away inside a record player. It's a shame that the game is in such a hurry to push us towards the disappointing final act, which is largely centered around the nightmarish hellscape that is bureaucracy. It makes sense to the Kafka theme, but it takes away from the insect's world that they spend so much time making us care about.

It doesn't help that Metamorphosis looks like a mid-tier PlayStation 2 game. There are moments sprinkled here and there that hint at a better-looking game with a more focused art direction, but so much of the insect's world is dark and ugly. You'll run into blocky characters, muddy colors and all kinds of repeating textures and objects. If you had told me that this was a remastered port of some hidden gem from 2002, I would have believed you. But as a brand-new release in 2020, Metamorphosis looks dated in all the worst ways.

While not a direct retelling, this game is clearly inspired by the works of Franz Kafka. Perhaps that's why it's so disappointing that the story and gameplay is so surface level. People are still arguing over the many interpretations of the 105-year-old novella, yet this game all but spells things out for the player. Metamorphosis is neither dark nor surreal enough to feel authentic and doesn't offer enough variety to be a compelling adventure. This is a big missed opportunity.

With a great set-up that involves a man quite literally turning into a cockroach, Metamorphosis attempts to bring a Kafkaesque nightmare to modern consoles. Unfortunately, by singularly focusing on 3D platforming, this ugly and linear adventure game comes across as simplistic and shallow. This is a short, repetitive and ultimately unsatisfying journey that is never as deep or compelling as the material it's attempting to mimic. Kafka deserves better than a slightly above-average 3D platformer.