It isn't every day that a video game is based on a famous piece of literature. Sure, we get an Alice in Wonderland game every now and then, and the occasional sad Wizard of Oz game drops from the sky onto our collective heads to bum us out. But a game based on something as obtuse as Kafka's Metamorphosis? Unheard of.
But here we are in 2020, a year when anything is possible. Today marks the release of Metamorphosis, a new...adventure? action? philosophy? starvation? game by developer Ovid Works. Look, I'm not saying that Metamorphosis isn't good fodder for a game. Video games are based on wild premises all the time. But this particular novella is so dark and weird that I'm fascinated to see what sort of game can be derived from it.
For those not familiar, the original novella Metamorphosis follows the sad tale of salesman Gregor Samsa, who one day wakes up to discover that he has been transformed into a large insect. The rest of the book details his growing isolation from his family, desperation to transform back, and eventual starvation and demise. Good stuff.
The game looks a little cheerier than the original story, with the above trailer giving the sense that some super dark humor will be at play.
Metamorphosis is available today on PS4, Switch, Xbox One and on PC at Steam and GOG.
