Hello, RPG Codex! This morning, new Codex member MediantSamuel did a cheap game giveaway. Looking over my wishlist, I elected to request the Philip K. Dick-inspired Californium, a title I've been wanting to add to my library, but one that didn't make sense to spend money on with a backlog like mine.
Having received the gift, I would have felt quite the jerk if I didn't actually play it, so I fired it up this afternoon and enjoyed the hell out of it beginning to end. For no special reason, I was inspired to share my thoughts on the game with my beloved Codex, in full review format, no less. Thanks for reading! Get this game!
What is Californium?
This game, which to some might barely be called a game, can be looked at two ways: first, as a short (<4 hours), quirky first-person “hidden object” style puzzle adventure; second, as the surreal story of a failed science fiction writer and drug addict who discovers a bizarre new means of coping with his crumbling life.
Wait, what, euhhhh, what's, ... what ...
Gameplay:
The basic format is that of a traditional first-person mouselook game in which one navigates and lightly interacts with a 3D environment. Spoilers follow.
The gameplay is on the whole very easy. Solutions to the many puzzles are sometimes quite obvious, and other times require more experimentation, but are always very solvable. Though they progress in difficulty as the game goes on, I never found myself stumped for more than a few minutes at a time. If I can blow through this in an evening, anyone can.
Is it fun, though? Yes. Often, the very format of a puzzle will change somewhat from the last; so while they are not headache-inducingly hard, they do require enough mental exercise to keep one engaged. You can't play through this in your sleep.
1960s Los Angeles.
Graphics:
Californium is very stylized visually. The environments are colorful, blocky, low-detail 3D, very evocative of the late 60s. Meanwhile, the characters are flat, motionless, messy 2D cutouts, a style which greatly clashes with the backgrounds. This style is pleasingly reminiscent of underground comics of the time, but made the people I met seem lifeless and distant at first compared to the vibrant world around them. My immediate interpretation was that, to a depressed drug addict, other people are indeed flat and lifeless obstacles, bereft of anima, making this a legitimate stylistic choice, and this was actually validated later in the game. A harsher view of course is that the developers simply went cheap instead of paying for decent character art or animation. The reader may make up his own mind on this point. Regardless, the visuals are lush and expressive, and the sense of incongruity quickly fades as one gets used to the setting.
No comment.
Sound:
Voice acting and direction is good. The actors deliver, and clearly understand their lines and character contexts, even when the script gets downright zany. I found most characters sympathetic, and only disliked them when they were clearly written to be disliked, never because the actors annoyed me. There are technical issues at times when a voice track will skip or not sync up properly with subtitles, but the rough veneer of the overall presentation made these scratches not a big problem for me.
Music is excellent, beautifully establishing a sluggish, jazzy, addled background, except for a few busier tracks towards the end of the game that are perhaps too intrusive. The minimal sound effects are bassy enough to make it feel like something is happening, and give some nice feedback to the gameplay. Overall, the music and sound design contribute well to the psychedelic atmosphere.
Californium has something for every Codexer.
Writing:
The writing and story will be the make-or-breakers as to whether you like the game. This is another area in which I want to spoil as little as possible, so instead I'll repeat the setup: science fiction writer Elvin Green hasn't sold so much as a script for a soap commercial in a long time. The game begins with him typing out disturbing poetry, and moments later, his wife slips a Dear John letter under the door. At rock bottom, he receives another message of a different kind, and strange possibilities begin opening to him, maybe even a way out of this failure of a life.
The amount of text in the game is minimal, taking place almost entirely in sparse dialogue, which delivers the linear but twisting story colorfully, quickly, and effectively. Surprisingly for such a short piece, the game explores subtextual themes of personal loss, friendship, wish fulfillment, loyalty, greed, hope, forgiveness, and responsibility. Phew!
Bottom Line:
Played hard-headedly as a “game” to be “beaten”, Californium leaves something to be desired. Experienced as a trippy story across a colorful mental landscape, I found it to be rich, thought-provoking, and more than worth my time, with enough “game” to keep my attention from wandering. If you sneer at “art” in gaming, or are uncomfortable with ambiguity, stay away; if a four-hour trip through a modern Wonderland intrigues you even slightly, don't miss this.
Available on Steam and GOG, and elsewhere.
Having received the gift, I would have felt quite the jerk if I didn't actually play it, so I fired it up this afternoon and enjoyed the hell out of it beginning to end. For no special reason, I was inspired to share my thoughts on the game with my beloved Codex, in full review format, no less. Thanks for reading! Get this game!
This game, which to some might barely be called a game, can be looked at two ways: first, as a short (<4 hours), quirky first-person “hidden object” style puzzle adventure; second, as the surreal story of a failed science fiction writer and drug addict who discovers a bizarre new means of coping with his crumbling life.
Wait, what, euhhhh, what's, ... what ...
Gameplay:
The basic format is that of a traditional first-person mouselook game in which one navigates and lightly interacts with a 3D environment. Spoilers follow.
Yes, describing the meat of gameplay is itself something of a spoiler. Read the rest of the review first and then decide if you'd rather figure it out yourself. I found it rewarding to decipher the gameplay on my own.
Okay. The game toys with the concept of reality itself, and your task is to look for inconsistencies in the world around you. A book wiggling strangely on a shelf, a light flashing behind you, or a billboard that changes its message from a certain angle will naturally draw the eye and invite investigation. Closer examination reveals a “button” which, when pressed, adds another puzzle piece to the local picture. Press all the “buttons” in an area and the story advances. Perspective and other tricks factor in, making this much more than a simple pixel hunt.
Is it fun, though? Yes. Often, the very format of a puzzle will change somewhat from the last; so while they are not headache-inducingly hard, they do require enough mental exercise to keep one engaged. You can't play through this in your sleep.
1960s Los Angeles.
Graphics:
Californium is very stylized visually. The environments are colorful, blocky, low-detail 3D, very evocative of the late 60s. Meanwhile, the characters are flat, motionless, messy 2D cutouts, a style which greatly clashes with the backgrounds. This style is pleasingly reminiscent of underground comics of the time, but made the people I met seem lifeless and distant at first compared to the vibrant world around them. My immediate interpretation was that, to a depressed drug addict, other people are indeed flat and lifeless obstacles, bereft of anima, making this a legitimate stylistic choice, and this was actually validated later in the game. A harsher view of course is that the developers simply went cheap instead of paying for decent character art or animation. The reader may make up his own mind on this point. Regardless, the visuals are lush and expressive, and the sense of incongruity quickly fades as one gets used to the setting.
No comment.
Sound:
Voice acting and direction is good. The actors deliver, and clearly understand their lines and character contexts, even when the script gets downright zany. I found most characters sympathetic, and only disliked them when they were clearly written to be disliked, never because the actors annoyed me. There are technical issues at times when a voice track will skip or not sync up properly with subtitles, but the rough veneer of the overall presentation made these scratches not a big problem for me.
Music is excellent, beautifully establishing a sluggish, jazzy, addled background, except for a few busier tracks towards the end of the game that are perhaps too intrusive. The minimal sound effects are bassy enough to make it feel like something is happening, and give some nice feedback to the gameplay. Overall, the music and sound design contribute well to the psychedelic atmosphere.
Californium has something for every Codexer.
Writing:
The writing and story will be the make-or-breakers as to whether you like the game. This is another area in which I want to spoil as little as possible, so instead I'll repeat the setup: science fiction writer Elvin Green hasn't sold so much as a script for a soap commercial in a long time. The game begins with him typing out disturbing poetry, and moments later, his wife slips a Dear John letter under the door. At rock bottom, he receives another message of a different kind, and strange possibilities begin opening to him, maybe even a way out of this failure of a life.
The amount of text in the game is minimal, taking place almost entirely in sparse dialogue, which delivers the linear but twisting story colorfully, quickly, and effectively. Surprisingly for such a short piece, the game explores subtextual themes of personal loss, friendship, wish fulfillment, loyalty, greed, hope, forgiveness, and responsibility. Phew!
Played hard-headedly as a “game” to be “beaten”, Californium leaves something to be desired. Experienced as a trippy story across a colorful mental landscape, I found it to be rich, thought-provoking, and more than worth my time, with enough “game” to keep my attention from wandering. If you sneer at “art” in gaming, or are uncomfortable with ambiguity, stay away; if a four-hour trip through a modern Wonderland intrigues you even slightly, don't miss this.
Available on Steam and GOG, and elsewhere.
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