The Franz Kafka Videogame Critic Reviews

A beautiful nightmare, cozy and purple like A-minor. It's definitely the best Kafka-based game of this spring.

The Franz Kafka Game is an interesting attempt at representing Kafka’s narrative style in an interactive medium. It’s not always going to be fun to play, but it’s a memorable experience which relies upon witty writing and clever design rather than technology or rewards systems. This is a game which is often confusing and unintuitive, but it gets away with it under the guise of being true to its source material. If you’re in a pensive mood and want to play something that’ll make you think, The Franz Kafka game will gently help you let go of reality and embrace the absurd.

A weird and pleasant puzzle game, which delivers a nice challenge. Too bad that game is rather short, and the difficulty level has some ups and downs.

The Franz Kafka Videogame is a smart, beautiful and challenging game. However, its very short duration makes it feel like it has wasted a lot of potential.

As frustrating as the puzzles were, I still appreciated the game overall. I commend the developer for taking on such an odd corner of literature and creating a unique story inspired by a Bohemian author. The art and music are so well done that I hope to see more of what comes from this developer; furthermore, I hope to maybe see more of these themes explored in other games as well.

The Franz Kafka Videogame is a delicious mix between books and videogames, resulting in a unique and visionary work. The puzzles are decent, but not always clear, and usually require a deep knowledge of the author. Considering the "gestural" gameplay, we'd recommend you wait for the mobile version.

Quotation forthcoming.

It sounds more promising than it really is. With all due respect to the solo development effort of Denis Galanin the picture puzzles become redundant after a while – especially since they are almost void of Kafka’esque elements.

The Franz Kafka Videogame is a unique adventure game experience, filled with unique art style and accessible puzzles. However, a baffling story that goes nowhere and a dreadfully short length make the game simply adequate rather than surreal.

There are some ingredients there to be a good game, but this is not a game that completely honors Kafka. This did not turn out the way we hoped it would.

The Franz Kafka Videogame is a surprising point and click which celebrates surrealism more than the author himself. Its delicious visuals and tricky puzzles will delight those who do not look for a real Kafka tribute. Unfortunately, its length and simplicity will prevent it from staying in your memories for long.

While The Franz Kafka Videogame ends up feeling a tad pretentious in its use of Kafka’s name, the artwork and some of the puzzles are worth appreciating. Bits and pieces can be frustrating, and the short play time is a downside, but fans of experimental point-and-click adventures might still want to check this one out.

If you like puzzles, this may be for you. If you want some Kafka, stay away.

Regardless of its visual design, The Franz Kafka Game fails to deliver a satisfying experience. Literary devotees of Kafka may find plenty of Easter eggs that reward their esoteric knowledge, but the average player will likely find irritating puzzles that are only slightly palatable thanks to the game’s appealing aesthetic.

If The Franz Kafka Videogame has some appeal, overall, the vast lack of content makes it look more like a smartphone enigma game, rather than a real PC game as you can beat it easily in under 2 hours.

The game encapsulates the frustration and confusion that I have often heard Kafka’s work draws upon. Unfortunately, these things work about as well in a videogame as a dollop of jam does in a classic novel. I’d avoid unless you really like the author.

The Franz Kafka Videogame offers a highly surreal taste of the renowned author’s works in a linear puzzle-oriented experience, but lacks enough depth to truly do them justice.