Metamorphosis from Polish studio Ovid Works and publisher ALL IN! GAMES is a first-person puzzle adventure on PS4. Learn more in our Metamorphosis review!

 

In Metamorphosis from Polish studio Ovid Works and publisher ALL IN! GAMES, you will play as a character named Gregor in a first-person adventure. For reference, the game is inspired by a novella written by Franz Kafka. Oh, and you wake after mysteriously being transformed into a bug! You must, therefore, set out on a journey to solve the mystery behind this transformation. Warning: if you have any phobias related to insects, I would steer clear of this title!

 

Gregor must journey through this now much larger and more difficult to navigate world, in a journey to discover the reason behind his bizarre transformation. The nooks and crannies of his living quarters make up the majority of the environments in the game. There are also a few psychedelic insect-inhabited areas to visit. These areas have a hand-painted aesthetic to them and are much grimmer than the human world portions of the game. You’ll have to travel through these locations as you journey to The Tower, where, if all goes well, your humanity may be restored.

 

The controls in Metamorphosis are pretty standard for a first-person experience. Your movement and camera are controlled by the two analog sticks. There is a sprint mechanic that you can toggle with the L3 button or by holding down one of the trigger buttons. There is also a wall-crawling mechanic that is controlled with the other trigger. You can grab objects, including spinners – which are used to solve puzzles – with the Square button, and you will jump with the X button. There are instances where the camera becomes a bit problematic and can make things difficult to see from an insect’s point of view, but that’s the one thing that might work against you.

 

There are some well-thought-out puzzles throughout Metamorphosis, and you will complete them to gain access to new areas or to try and gain the attention of other humans to let them know what’s happened to you. There is a map with a pretty good wayfinding gameplay mechanic, so it’s pretty difficult to get lost while playing the game. But there are some instances where the map is not very helpful, and it is up to the player to figure out their next objective. This can lead to some backtracking or approaching every NPC, hoping for a meaningful line of dialogue.

The game also features a number of platforming sections, and in some areas, you will need to make the most of the aforementioned wall-crawling gameplay mechanic. On that note, I did want to mention that the wall-crawling does feature a few limitations. You cannot crawl upside down, and crawling up walls consumes some of your resources, so you’ll need to step in a sticky substance to refill it. Thanks to this, the wall-crawling is not overused and never feels repetitive.

 

The game is a well-paced experience 3-4 hours experience, with a very attainable Platinum trophy for trophy hunters out there. There are collectibles to find, and some trophies that can be missed on your first playthrough, but there is a chapter select that allows you to go back and pick up any collectibles – and trophies – you may have missed the first time. Metamorphosis combines the grim underworld with a pedestrian human world for a unique journey that you should check out on PlayStation 4.

Disclaimer
This Metamorphosis review is based on a PlayStation 4 copy provided by ALL IN! GAMES.