The Franz Kafka Videogame

Forget everything you think you know about puzzle games: here’s one that will take you into unknown territory and put those brain cells to work! Throughout this series of surrealist scenes, you play as Dr. K, a psychologist specialising in phobias and depression, who finds himself stuck in inextricable situations. A great game even if you’ve never read any Kafka.

If you’ve never read anything by Franz Kafka, and just opening a book makes you come out in a rash, then The Franz Kafka Videogame is probably the only way you’ll get to experience the joys of Kafka’s world. In this somewhat crazy point ‘n’ click puzzle game, packed with references to the famous Austro-Hungarian (or Czech... depending on who you believe) author who died in 1924, you are immediately greeted by an image of Magritte’s “The Son of Man”.

And so the scene is set. In this succession of scenes imbued with a delightful surrealism, you play as Doctor K. (of course), who the devs say is a cross between Woody Allen and Pierre Richard, and who is a psychotherapist specialising in the treatment of phobia and depression.

Your lonely adventure takes place in 1920s Bohemia, with a plot device that Kafka would be proud of: your character is press-ganged into taking a job in the USA. Which is where your woes begin...

Developed by Denis Galanin, aka “mif2000”, and published by Daedelic Entertainment, The Franz Kafka Videogame is likely to prove a severe test of your wits and your aesthetic taste. While the puzzles do get increasingly difficult, you’ll be relying primarily on your own imagination and powers of deduction to get ahead.

Make sure that you carefully analyse the puzzles and mini-games, or else end up lost in a labyrinth of questions with no answer. For example, you will have to interact with the background, memorise series of symbols, and solve puzzles to find some of the answers.

One last tip before we go: forget all you think you know about puzzle games, The Franz Kafka Videogame will take you off the beaten path and put your brain cells to work!

The game is definitely worthy of your time, winning Intel Level Up 2015 Game of the Year and Best Soundtrack at HMM 2017!