Darkness Deciphered or Philosophical Purgatory?
Ever since the release of Dear Esther in 2012, the ‘walking simulator’ genre has continued to gain traction.
I remember at the time, the developers at The Chinese Room were not happy with the label given to their game, but over time many more have been released in the same spirit, so much so that they use the term in their marketing material.
If you’ve been living under a rock, it describes a game in which nothing is going to harm you, bereft of combat or anything in terms of actual gameplay, like platforming. Instead, you walk around beautiful environments, taking in an ever-evolving story as you go.
Caligo is a walking simulator; a game that examines and debates the human soul and a ton of philosophy.
Walking and Wondering
In Latin, Caligo means “darkness or dimness of sight”, which could either mean literally or something more symbolic in its translation.
Whatever, Caligo first dropped onto PC years ago, only now making its way over to console. The story puts you in the shoes of a protagonist teetering on the edge of a strange world, all before being guided through by a possibly unreliable narrator. You will go through beautiful places, lush and green, but also hellish worlds where great battles are frozen in time. There are also horrible prisons where torture and self-punishment seem to be the rules of the game.
The game is open to mass interpretation, especially in terms of the themes and the ideas of life that the creators and writers are trying to convey. The protagonist is almost weighing up his life, going through some of his memories, desires, and fears throughout the journey. There is a sense that he has done this before… many times, and seen these places before.
For me, this works well and I liked the storytelling and how Caligo is something that is more of a feeling and atmosphere than a straight-up story. There are two possible endings to discover, yet whichever you hit, you’ll find that the world stays with you long after you finish.
Of course, it’s that which some might find a bit obscure for their tastes, and there’s no doing that Caligo could be slightly guilty of self-indulgence a few times.
Simple Strolls and Hidden Secrets
The gameplay is as simple as pie – you just walk, and walk, and walk. It’s pretty obvious where you need to go and what journey you need to take in Caligo and you shouldn’t expect any changes to that formula, like a run button or the like. Honestly, a lack of ‘run’ is something that regularly annoys me with other games in the genre, but here, in this one, the route and level design is always intriguing and nothing feels dull enough that you would want to run through it.
There aren’t any puzzles to solve in Caligo either, and this isn’t any action to be had in terms of interacting with doors or levels or any such fun. There are, however, collectibles that you can interact with; hand-drawn paintings through the levels that you can and touch. Trying to find them all gives an element of replayability I suppose, but Caligo is only going to take you a couple of hours at most to complete, all before you decide whether to hunt another ending or not. It’s a good journey that plays out in that time, but be cautious of the lack of gameplay.
Visual Voyages and Auditory Atmospheres
The strongest part of Caligo is in the visuals. There is a good mixture of surroundings, with the magical realism of places like the forest and lighthouse levels. Then there are the more hellish places, where the game design does a good job of creating the worst places known to mankind; a frozen battleground of demons was one of my most favourite levels to wander through.
It comes with a decent soundtrack that fits perfectly with the relaxed gameplay, building and dropping at all the right moments. And Caligo is fully voiced as well, with the actors doing a decent enough job with the material given.
A Mindful Meander Through Darkness and Light
I like a good ramble. Walking along, looking at the sky, taking in the nature around me. It’s probably why I’m drawn to these types of games and experiences.
Caligo does a good job at taking you on a journey, but the lack of any other gameplay choices could be a bit off-putting. The themes of the narrative can be quite deep too, at times overplayed, however, Caligo is certainly a game that will stick in the mind long after play. For that reason it’s going to be intriguing to see what the developers come up with next.
Walk To These Links
Walk Through the Madness of Caligo on Xbox, PlayStation and Switch – https://www.thexboxhub.com/walk-through-the-madness-of-caligo-on-xbox-playstation-and-switch/
Buy Caligo on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/Caligo-Xbox-Series-XS/9PBN2WQQLKCP
