Developer: Ovid Works
Publisher: All in! Games
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4, Switch
Tested on: PC
Metamorphosis – Review
Metamorphosis is a term that’s made widely popular by M.C. Esscher (not to be confused with a rapping MC), and Salvador Dali. Both these artists use surrealistic transformations where especially Esscher literally showed transformations which transformed a bird into a fish frame by frame, presented in a single art piece. Metamorphosis brings us these surrealistic aspects and transformations as well, as your point-of-view on the world changes.
Story
Metamorphosis starts with a story about Gregor (You) and Joseph (your friend and business partner). You awaken in a room after a night that was simply too much to handle; hungover and all. To exit the room, you have to find a key and you start wandering the house soon after. As you wander, there’s something changing around you. Before you know it, you turned into a bug. To find out more you are tasked with finding “The Tower”, and that’s about as logical as Metamorphosis will present itself. It’s not at all what you would expect, and it’s great to see a game that is not afraid to bend some rules of traditional gameplay by doing so. This is because, no matter how weird it all gets, the game still calmly explains what you should do without getting into boring text or details too much. You do this by talking with other bugs, and if you feel lost you can simply press TAB to get an overview of your current area. It’s a well-produced balance between mystery and clear communication.
The logic and rhetorics of Metamorphosis have a lot of an Alice in Wonderland air hanging around them. Not only can you find these vibes in the environments, such as mushrooms, but also in the chaotic and sometimes funny conversations and situations you get to observe. As an example, at one point you might try to crawl your way up using books and shelves, while your friend Joseph is having a conversation with police officers about a certain absurd mix-up involving who did what and why. It makes no sense but it’s highly enjoyable the same way some British Monty Python bit would play with your brain. To have a story that actually does have some form of progress and logic, while at the same time offering you a fresh of breath air in the dank basements of the game development industry, is elevating.
Graphics
Metamorphosis has some great graphics thanks to the highly creative and colorful environments. Since you play as a bug, everything is enlarged. This includes dusty areas where no human eye would come, meaning you find many lost trinkets and such to wander by. Matchboxes, spoons, leaking sewage, nothing seems to be off limits. Nothing is weird when you are a bug and the first sensation of seeing your two front legs moving as you jump and run is something to enjoy and savor. You run quite fast but will occasionally stand still to just soak in the environment, providing a good replication of what it could be like to run around as a bug. Only the NPC models, such as Joseph and others, might look a bit stiff at times, but this not thwart any enjoyment you get out of playing.
Sound
The sound is also as lovable as the other elements. There are conversations in the human voice going on, but also your bug voice seems to fit. The coarse crackling of you talking about a certain goal has subtitles, but sometimes it almost seems understandable what you are saying without those. Accompanied by a variety of mysterious background tracks, Metamorphosis combines these things with the scurrying of a small creature to create something that’s on the edge of magical. It has the allure of an animated movie with high standard quality.
Gameplay
Metamorphosis is mostly a platforming game that includes some small puzzles. Mostly, because it’s not that hard to actually get to the next platform or survive when dropping down to something else. That’s why it can also simply be classified as an adventure game. The goal is simply put: to get further into the linear story that’s set out for you to follow. You do so by solving issues one by one. This might be finding a way to turn something around (a crank handle, a clock) or by simply platforming your way towards a location. While doing these things you also get to talk to other bugs who have valuable information or their own issues that you get to solve. Solving these just so happens to get you ahead as well.
This way Metamorphosis plays a bit casual, making it quite relaxing. Metamorphosis tells you to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Most puzzles exist of jumping on top of a button, running a rotary object, or walking on a wall using sticky stuff on your paws. Maybe this feels annoying because the game doesn’t provide that much of a challenge this way, but really the game provides enough interesting environments and situations that just keep you curious. You will want to know what’s around the next corner, and that’s more than enough reason to figure out what the next puzzle solution is, no matter how simple.
Conclusion
Metamorphosis is great because of its original and unique take on a game. Essentially you get to run around as a bug trying to find out what happened to you, and the puzzles might repeat themselves a bit on the way to your goals. This does not take away any of the charms that ooze through this game though, as the environment is rich and whatever happens around you simply tickles your brain. Metamorphosis might just be the most original (AND well-produced) piece of 2020, and that’s why it’s very lovable.
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