It is not often that companies take inspiration from novels with unusual stories to make video games. The Metamorphosis is one such game that has taken inspiration from Franz Kafka’s novel of the same name. The game creates an enchanting fictional world that piques the curiosity of every gamer. Despite showcasing real locations and a puzzle platformer design, The Metamorphosis offers a gripping narrative that tends to be confusing as well.
All those who have read the novella will notice that in the book, Gregor Samsa wakes up one day to discover that he has turned into a giant insect. However, the makers have included Gregor’s gradual transformation in the introduction of the game. A person plays the game with the character of Gregor Samsa, but the fictional character does not turn into a giant insect. The basic idea of the game is to move around and navigate in a world from the outlook of a cockroach.
‘Do Things Just Like an Insect’
The player gets to do things just like an insect. Crawling over pencils, desks, books kept on tables, the character of Gregor has to search for a way forward. This game also shows how Gregor falls into the ink of a letter and enters a void. After entering a void, the cockroach climbs over giant letters. During the game, just like the situation of a normal insect, Gregor crawls on a toast and gets trapped in butter. The consequence of this troublesome situation sees a human pick up the toast and take a bite of it. Gregor gets a closeup of the man’s throat. The human chokes on the cockroach and spits him out. From there, Gregor lands on a shelf and eventually continues on his way.
The Metamorphosis Takes a Dark Turn
One of the dark points of the game is that during Gregor’s transformation, the changing human crawls through hallways with hanging pictures that mock the main character as he passes them. As the game progresses, the faces in the photos start to match Gregor’s brand-new insect form. These faces transform into appalling exoskeletons with weird eyes.
The Metamorphosis also has a lot of challenges that show Gregor conversing with other insects. We also see Gregor perform a few tasks to move forward in the game. Since Gregor has turned into an insect, and the area created in the game is vast, navigating through the game becomes a tedious task. Even though there is a map available for every area, it is of no use until the sense of navigation comes into the picture. The gameplay also showcases mindless wandering around to search for another clue.
The Makers Could Have Done Justice to the Story
The Metamorphosis has a short game time and could have done justice to the story. Therefore, it is safe to say that the makers of the game have not done justice to the story of the book. However, the fate of the game will be decided over the years as people download it and play. If the reviews work out in favor of The Metamorphosis, it will be evident that the unique adaptation of the novel was successful. This game is available for gamers on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Titled Die Verwandlung initially in German, The Metamorphosis is a novella authored by Franz Kafka, a German-speaking Bohemian novelist. The short novel was first published in the year 1915. The novella revolves around the story of a salesman Gregor Samsa who one day wakes up as a gigantic insect. Initially, Samsa thinks that the transformation is temporary and starts to think about the consequences of the sudden Metamorphosis.
Jackson Henry. I’m a writer living in USA. I am a fan of technology, arts, and reading. I’m also interested in writing and education. You can read my blog with a click on the button above.
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