| The Franz Kafka Videogame | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Denis Galanin |
| Publisher(s) | Daedalic Entertainment |
| Composer(s) | Jonathan Geer |
| Engine | Moai |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android |
| Release | Windows
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure, puzzle |
| Mode(s) | |
The Franz Kafka Videogame is an indie adventure game inspired by the writings of Franz Kafka. It was developed by Denis Galanin.
The protagonist, K., gets a sudden offer of employment. This event changes his life, forcing him to make a distant voyage. To his surprise, the world beyond his homeland appears to be stranger than he thought.
The Franz Kafka Videogame features gameplay similar to Denis Galanin's previous game. The player interacts with the world through a simple point and click interface. The goal of The Franz Kafka Videogame is to solve a series of puzzles and brain teasers. The puzzles are sequentially linked, forming an adventure story. The game contains no inventory, and the solving of puzzles mainly consists of clicking onscreen elements in the correct order. Solving a puzzle will immediately transport the player character to the next screen.
The Franz Kafka Videogame was developed over a period of 2.5 years by Denis Galanin.
The game was fully improvised throughout the entire period of development. [1]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | PC: 64/100 [2] |
| OpenCritic | PC: 66/100 [3] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Riot Pixels | 80/100 [4] |
| Adventure Gamers |    [5] |
| Digitally Downloaded | [6] |
The announcement of The Franz Kafka Videogame in 2013 attracted the interest of such non-video game media as Time, [7] NBC News, [8] NY Daily News, [9] etc.
On review aggregate OpenCritic , The Franz Kafka Videogame had an average 66 out of 100 review score with 10% approval rating based on 10 reviews. [3]
On review aggregator Metacritic, the game received a 64 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Critics praised the visual style, while criticizing the short length and confusing puzzles. Riot Pixels said the game was "a beautiful nightmare, cozy and purple like A-minor." Renata Ntelia at Adventure Gamers said it was "a pleasant little puzzle game that will evoke a lightweight nostalgia for people that have prior knowledge of its namesake’s work," but argued that "its limited gameplay ultimately doesn’t provide anything more than a couple hours, at most, of surreal diversion." Harvard L. at Digitally Downloaded called it "a game which is often confusing and unintuitive, but it gets away with it under the guise of being true to its source material.
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Intel Level Up Game Developer Contest | The Grand Prix (Game of the Year) | Won | [10] |
| Best Adventure/Role Playing Game | Won | |||
| 2017 | The Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Song/Score - Mobile Video Game | Won | [11] |
| TOMMI Award | Best PC Game | Nominated | [12] | |
| TapTap Game Awards | Best Visual Art | Nominated | [13] | |
| 2018 | The Pedagogical Media Prize | Best Educational Games for Adolescents | Won | [14] |
| 14th International Mobile Gaming Awards | Nominated | [15] |
Myst Online: Uru Live is an open source massively multiplayer online adventure game developed by Cyan Worlds. The game is the multiplayer component to the 2003 video game Uru: Ages Beyond Myst. Like Uru, Myst Online takes place in 2000s New Mexico, where an ancient civilization known as the D'ni once thrived. The D'ni had the ability to create portals to other worlds or Ages by writing descriptive books of the Age. Players uncover clues and solve puzzles together; plot developments were added via episodic content updates.
Odyssey: The Search for Ulysses is a video game released in 2000, developed by In Utero and Cryo Interactive.
Alice in Wonderland is an action-adventure video game published by Disney Interactive Studios. Based on Tim Burton's 2010 film of the same name, it was released in the same week as the film for the Wii, Nintendo DS, Microsoft Windows and Zeebo, with the soundtrack being composed by video game music composer Richard Jacques. The Wii, DS, and PC versions were released on March 2, 2010. The DS game is completely different from the Wii and PC versions.
Hamlet or the Last Game without MMORPG Features, Shaders and Product Placement is an indie adventure game based on William Shakespeare's Hamlet. It was developed and published by indie game developer Denis Galanin.
Anodyne is an action-adventure video game developed by Analgesic Productions. After a nearly year-long development through developers Melos Han-Tani and Marina Kittaka's last years in college, the game was released on February 4, 2013, for Windows PC, Mac OS X and Linux. An Android version was released as part of a Humble Bundle on October 15, 2013. The PlayStation 4 version of the game was released on September 9, 2018, the Xbox One version was released on September 21, 2018, and the Nintendo Switch version was released on February 28, 2019. The Anodyne soundtrack was also made available for purchase at the game’s initial release, including all of the music in the game as well as a few bonus tracks.
Cradle is a 2015 science-fiction first-person adventure game on the topic of transhumanism, developed by Flying Cafe for Semianimals.
Albert & Otto is a 2D puzzle-platform game developed and published by K Bros Games. The game will release as four stand-alone episodes, with the first episode titled "The Adventure Begins" releasing on October 28, 2015, for Microsoft Windows and OS X. The game was released for Xbox One on January 10, 2018, and for the PlayStation 4 on January 16.
Forever Worlds, or Forever Worlds: Enter the Unknown, is an "adventure satire" video game developed by Canadian studio Hexagon Entertainment and released in 2004.
Old Man's Journey is an adventure video game developed and published by Broken Rules. The game was released for Android, iOS, macOS and Windows in 2017, the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 in 2018 and the Xbox One in 2019.
Strange Brigade is a cooperative third-person shooter video game developed and published by Rebellion Developments. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 28, 2018, on August 1, 2020 for Stadia, and on June 15, 2021 for Nintendo Switch. In the game, the player fights against different mythological enemies and solves puzzles.
Typoman is an independent video game developed by German indie studio Brainseed Factory for Nintendo Switch, Wii U, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC, and mobile. The game follows a hero named HERO who crafts words to alter the environment around him.
We Were Here is a franchise of cooperative first-person adventure video games, created by the Dutch studio Total Mayhem Games.
There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is a 2020 puzzle adventure video game developed by the French company Draw Me A Pixel and released for Windows and macOS on August 6, 2020, on Android and iOS on December 17, 2020, and on Nintendo Switch on April 14, 2021. It was inspired by creator Pascal Cammisotto's previous 2015 game jam-winning entry There Is No Game, which he developed under the alias KaMiZoTo. It has been considered a sequel or expansion to its predecessor.
Metamorphosis is an adventure video game with platforming elements, inspired by the imagination of Franz Kafka. The game was developed by Ovid Works and published by All in! Games on August 12, 2020. Metamorphosis is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Aer: Memories of Old is an indie action-adventure open world video game developed by Forgotten Key and published by Daedalic Entertainment. It was released on October 25, 2017, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on August 28, 2019, for Nintendo Switch. The game's story revolves around a girl named Auk who can shapeshift into a bird. Set on floating islands, the main character must solve puzzles, discovering ruins left by an ancient civilization. The game received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its aesthetic and world but criticized its short length and overall lack of action.
Unsighted is a 2021 indie video game developed by Studio Pixel Punk and published by Humble Games for the Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PS4. The game is a Metroidvania adventure game in which the player and all non-player characters exist within a time limit, with the player required to find and allocate 'meteor dust' to characters to maintain their survival. The game was designed by Brazilian developers Fernanda Dias and Tiani Pixel, who cited the Metroid and Legend of Zelda series as influential to the design of the game. Upon release, Unsighted received generally favorable reviews, with critics praising the innovation of the game's use of time as a narrative and gameplay mechanic, its visual presentation, and combat.
Supraland is a Metroidvania-styled video game developed by Supra Games. The game was originally self-published for PC and left early access on April 5, 2019. Ports for the eighth generation of video game consoles, with Humble Games as publisher, were released on October 22, 2020. Players assume control of a toy figurine and explore a series of themed areas within a child's sandbox.
Lego Bricktales is a puzzle adventure game developed by ClockStone Studio and published by Thunderful. Lego Bricktales was released for Windows, macOS, Linux, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on 12 October 2022, and for Android and iOS on 27 April 2023. A virtual/mixed reality version was released for Meta Quest 2, 3 and Pro on 7 December 2023. Lego Bricktales received generally positive reviews.
Denis Galanin is an independent game developer and children's picture book author. He is best known for the creation of several award-winning art games such as Hamlet and The Franz Kafka Videogame.
The Intel Level Up was a series of annual video game competitions organised by Intel to support independent video game development, with winning games receiving monetary rewards in addition to the award. The first competition, titled the Intel Game Demo Contest, was held in 2006. It was restarted in 2009 as the Intel Level Up Game Developer Contest. The competition has not been held after 2017.
