Californium
- February 17, 2016
- Nova Production
- 3h median play time
Get on Steam"Californium" is a single-player historical simulation game that offers an intriguing story and unique atmosphere, paying homage to sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick. As struggling writer Elvin Green, you'll navigate a journey of self-discovery amidst drug-induced hallucinations, failed relationships, and a fading career, all while questioning your grasp on reality. With excellent visuals and a good soundtrack, the game delivers a sensory trip that challenges your sense of reality.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and visually appealing art style that captures the psychedelic atmosphere reminiscent of Philip K. Dick's works.
- The narrative is intriguing and filled with references to PKD's life and themes, providing a rich experience for fans of his literature.
- The sound design and voice acting contribute to an immersive experience, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
- The gameplay primarily revolves around tedious hidden object mechanics, requiring players to find symbols that can be frustratingly difficult to locate.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs and performance problems, which can disrupt the experience and lead to frustration.
- The lack of a save feature within chapters can be inconvenient, forcing players to replay sections if they exit the game or encounter issues.
- gameplay89 mentions
- 11 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been widely criticized for its simplicity and repetitiveness, primarily revolving around a single mechanic of finding and clicking on hidden symbols, which many players found tedious and frustrating. While some appreciated the atmospheric storytelling and unique themes, the overall consensus is that the gameplay lacks depth and variety, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging experience. Despite its artistic merits, the game is often described as a walking simulator with minimal interactive elements, leading to a disconnect between the narrative and gameplay mechanics.
“The gameplay is straightforward; you're hunting for omega sigils with a set of gimmicks to figure out.”
“Gameplay flows naturally; when characters speak to you, there is no static dialogue screen, so you could walk away and not listen; even loadings and separate levels taste like turning a page, instead of tearing the immersion.”
“The game mechanics are simple (find the sigils and click on them -- that's basically it!), but the overall tone and theme are very engaging.”
“And sadly, the gameplay felt like someone wanted to gamify quality assurance.”
“Too bad the gameplay is based on one of the worst ideas I've encountered: you have to click on symbols that appear in each area, and making them visible requires trial and error positioning.”
“Beautiful work of art that captures the atmosphere of a bygone era and a disillusioned mind, but ultimately hampered by tedious and oftentimes frustrating gameplay.”
- story74 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is a surreal and psychedelic exploration of a faltering writer's encounters, heavily inspired by Philip K. Dick, but it often lacks coherence and fails to resolve its intriguing plot threads. While the atmosphere and art style are praised, many players find the narrative difficult to follow, with significant portions of dialogue and story potentially missed due to design choices. Overall, the story is seen as an interesting concept that struggles with execution, leaving players with a mix of fascination and frustration.
“The story follows a faltering writer with a drug problem through confrontations with the landlady, his publisher, an immigrant restaurant owner, and a narc, among others, and then the game changes as his reality changes.”
“The story is intriguing, even if the script is a little bloated and lacking in good humor when the tone calls for it.”
“The style is incredibly strong and original, the story is mind-blowing and the suspense grabs you to the end and leaves you breathless.”
“However, the fact that talking to NPCs is half of the game, but you can miss out on a lot of dialogue and story by interacting with the environment or talking to other NPCs and having NPCs disappear, is one of the stupidest design decisions I've ever seen.”
“It sets up a bunch of loose plot threads and pays off none of them.”
“The story still makes absolutely no sense, and comes across as someone trying their hardest to be so unbelievably pretentious that they've just regurgitated a bunch of half-baked, over-the-top, artistic claptrap.”
- graphics36 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and colorful 70s-inspired aesthetic, with many reviewers highlighting the beautiful art style and level design. However, some players noted issues such as asset flickering and a lack of optimization, which detracted from the overall experience. While the visuals are considered a strong point, opinions vary on whether they compensate for gameplay shortcomings.
“The graphics are simple, but the developers used their possibilities nicely to create 4 unique worlds with different looks and different feelings in graphics, music, sounds, story, and characters.”
“Visually, I was impressed and liked the aesthetic the designers went for with its 60's inspired psychedelia.”
“The art style is beautiful and the storytelling is unique, and for that, I can recommend it.”
“Absolutely not optimized for Mac: even in low graphics, the game is slow as hell...”
“The graphics options are not impressive; I hate when a game only has one overall graphic slider. It would be much better if we could change everything separately, maybe I want this type of anti-aliasing or this type of texture quality, etc.”
“The graphics are very stylized, drenched with pastels and primary colors, and the NPCs are all doom-era sprites with only a front.”
- atmosphere24 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique, trippy art style and immersive settings that evoke a rich sense of 60s sci-fi and a disillusioned mindset. While the voice acting and overall aesthetic contribute positively to the experience, some players feel that the gameplay mechanics detract from the potential of the atmospheric storytelling. Overall, it is recommended for those who appreciate atmospheric games, despite its gameplay limitations.
“This one has an impeccable style, interesting settings (all three) and great atmosphere.”
“Rich, stylish, trippy and dripping with atmosphere of both the 60s and the 60s sci-fi (modern folk refer to these qualities as 'weird').”
“However, this is a game that you play for the story and the atmosphere, so the gameplay itself serves mostly as a vehicle here.”
“Intriguing story, fantastic artwork, engaging monologues, a thick almost suffocating atmosphere.”
“Lovely art, well voiced in English and a strange, heavy druggy atmosphere.”
- music17 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its immersive quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with a varied soundtrack that complements the surreal visuals and narrative. Reviewers noted its effectiveness in creating suspense and emotional depth, while also appreciating the unique soundscapes that reflect the game's psychedelic themes. Overall, the combination of music and art direction contributes significantly to the game's engaging experience.
“The music in the game is great, it fits this sort of game, and I'm happy that there's a varied amount of music, not just the same 2 or 3 songs playing over and over driving you insane.”
“The art direction is outstanding and the soundtrack mesmerizing.”
“The music destroys my heart and the narration reminds me of when I was hallucinating from withdrawing from my antidepressants for a month before getting back on them again.”
“The soundtrack is fitting to the suspense and increasing dread the player is likely to feel as they dive deeper into a rabbit hole of diverse realities.”
“Californium is very immersive, with its unusual design and eerie soundtrack.”
- stability5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with users reporting frequent and sometimes game-breaking bugs, such as erratic mouse movement and visual glitches. While some elements of the gameplay intentionally incorporate glitches as a theme, the overall experience is marred by these technical problems, detracting from its potential enjoyment.
“Unfortunately, the game is quite buggy; sometimes fatally. The first time I booted the game, the mouse kept moving to the left.”
“Some parts were kind of buggy when you walk around and interact with the environment.”
“In essence, Californium is a walking simulator where the sole gameplay element revolves around finding glitches in your reality: items flickering in and out of existence, TV sets sending out secret, subversive messages only you can hear.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by tedious and frustrating gameplay, with players expressing dissatisfaction over repetitive tasks and puzzles that detract from the overall experience. Many found the search for sigils particularly laborious, leading to requests for refunds and a general sense of disappointment with the game's immersion and conclusion.
“Beautiful work of art that captures the atmosphere of a bygone era and a disillusioned mind, but ultimately hampered by tedious and oftentimes frustrating gameplay.”
“Requested a refund because it is tedious looking for sigils - especially with the low framerate on a late 2013 MacBook Pro.”
“This becomes a bit tedious; even for a $10 game and not immersive.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for its unreasonably poor performance, leading to discomfort during gameplay and unexpected demands on system resources.
“The unreasonably poor performance makes everything worse, and the movement made me slightly nauseous.”
“It was very demanding performance-wise on my computer, which was surprising to me.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its dark undertones, though some reviewers feel it could be more pronounced. Additionally, there's a playful irony in the censorship of Philip K. Dick's name, which adds to the overall comedic experience, making it enjoyable for fans of his work despite the game's simplicity as a walking simulator.
“It's pretty funny that PKD's name is getting censored in these reviews.”
“The dark humor is present, though a bit lacking, but aside from that, this is a super-simple walking simulator that will be a hell of a ride (or more like a trip) for anyone who loves the work of the troubled writer-genius, Philip K.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers limited replayability, as it can be completed in just a few hours, leaving little incentive for players to revisit it. Overall, users feel that the lack of content and depth diminishes its replay value.
“This game is short in gameplay, content, replayability, and commentary on Philip K.”
“The game itself can be finished in a couple of hours, and I can't really imagine there to be much replay value.”
- character development1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that while the game's graphics and character design may not be impressive, the focus on character development remains a key aspect, suggesting that players can still find depth and growth in the characters despite the visual limitations.
