Playing Kafka
Charles Games · 2024 · Adventure, Surreal, Point & Click, Story Rich, Interactive Fiction
PC
This game is free to play. Get it on Steam →
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About Playing Kafka
The definitive Kafka videogame
Although you did nothing wrong, you were arrested one morning. You arrived for work, but you don’t recognize your assistants. And your upbringing left you with a pervasive sense of guilt. Welcome to Playing Kafka, an adventure about the alienation of modern society as well as unresolved family issues. The game adapts three works of the famously absurdist writer and was created with leading Kafka experts.
Can you manage to win an unfair trial? Is the job even real? Can you escape your father’s crushing presence? How do you move forward, when all solutions are obfuscated by a web of unclear rules and machinations…
You face an opaque legal trial and are slowly sucked into a web of perplexing bureaucracy. It is up to you how to approach the vague, but insidious accusation – choose who to ask for help and how to talk to judges, procurators, and others as the judgment is slowly closing in on you. Does it even matter if you’re innocent?
Drawing inspiration from Kafka's unsent confession to his father, this chapter delves into their tense relationship. Try to find the right words that helped Kafka come to terms with his upbringing. See Franz struggle to connect with his father in scenes from the past. Is there any hope of reconciliation?
You arrive at a snow-laden village to work as a land surveyor, but you quickly find that nothing is as it seems – locals talk about the village Castle in hushed tones and each day brings more questions than answers. Will you ever be accepted by the forever out-of-reach Castle?
The game was developed to commemorate the centenary of Kafka’s death and was developed in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, Prague.
The Chinese language version was initiated and supported by the Czech Centre Taipei.
Although you did nothing wrong, you were arrested one morning. You arrived for work, but you don’t recognize your assistants. And your upbringing left you with a pervasive sense of guilt. Welcome to Playing Kafka, an adventure about the alienation of modern society as well as unresolved family issues. The game adapts three works of the famously absurdist writer and was created with leading Kafka experts.
Can you manage to win an unfair trial? Is the job even real? Can you escape your father’s crushing presence? How do you move forward, when all solutions are obfuscated by a web of unclear rules and machinations…
- a fully voiced branching story, based on Kafka’s The Trial, The Castle and Letter To His Father
- atmospheric puzzles, fateful decisions and a drag and drop gameplay that makes characters and environments come alive
- approximately 1.5 hour of story in an ever-changing setting
You face an opaque legal trial and are slowly sucked into a web of perplexing bureaucracy. It is up to you how to approach the vague, but insidious accusation – choose who to ask for help and how to talk to judges, procurators, and others as the judgment is slowly closing in on you. Does it even matter if you’re innocent?Drawing inspiration from Kafka's unsent confession to his father, this chapter delves into their tense relationship. Try to find the right words that helped Kafka come to terms with his upbringing. See Franz struggle to connect with his father in scenes from the past. Is there any hope of reconciliation?You arrive at a snow-laden village to work as a land surveyor, but you quickly find that nothing is as it seems – locals talk about the village Castle in hushed tones and each day brings more questions than answers. Will you ever be accepted by the forever out-of-reach Castle?The game was developed to commemorate the centenary of Kafka’s death and was developed in cooperation with the Goethe-Institut, Prague.
The Chinese language version was initiated and supported by the Czech Centre Taipei.
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Three short, well-made recreations of Franz Kafka's novels that capture his bureaucratic hellscapes accurately.2 found this helpful
this is a free game, and its a good one at that. tne game is inspired by an author and takes part of 3 storys, where the last story in unfinished becouse of the author themselves who was unable to finish it in there time alive. the voice acting is amazing, the art style great just as great as the music. the first story is about getting arrested for a reason unknown to one. the seoncd, you write a last latter to your father the third, the one where im still confused on but still liked, you got hired, but theres no jop?
I married the bad bih and lived happy ever after some where far away (It's klamm mistress)
I played the first one, and I could really feel Kafka's presence in it. The atmosphere was fantastic. I'll definitely play the other two once I finish reading the books.
A decent way to spend some time. I don't know what would've happened if i chose frieda
A masterfully bleak experience. Elevated by full voice acting, this game traps you in a brilliant, inescapable labyrinth of bureaucracy. It perfectly captures the pure absurdity and existential dread of The Trial and The Castle. A short, free, and profoundly unsettling tribute to great Franz Kafka.
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