Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 11
  2. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Apr 3, 2016
    80
    [Californium] did get challenging at times, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t rage quit once or twice, but in the end the reward for finishing was worth it.
  2. 70
    The debut title from Darjeeling in an ambitious one, but somehow it misses the target. Considered as a pure homage to Philip K. Dick, it's even too didactic; as a first-person interactive adventure, it's pretty basic and repetitive. But if you're a fan of P.K.D., you'll find some interesting and fascinating stuff.
  3. Feb 17, 2016
    70
    Californium is a video game UFO. A very good game about sci-fi and Philip K. Dick life. It's a strange experience with lot of psychedelia. When you play it, you just want one thing: to open a k.Dick book.
  4. Feb 17, 2016
    70
    What if the ideas and the themes of Philip K. Dick’s novels become a videogame? The result might be Californium, a first person-adventure with a simple and extremely linear gameplay but with great storytelling and an inspired setting.
  5. Feb 25, 2016
    68
    Californium is a pitch perfect visualization of the death rattle of the hippie dream, a glimpse into worlds locked behind the liquid dreams of acid. It is also suffers from design and pacing flaws that take away from the overall experience and limit its audience.
  6. Apr 17, 2016
    65
    Californium is an overdose of style hindered by a terrible gameplay concept.
  7. Mar 15, 2016
    63
    It's a complex game, and surely not a mainstream one. If you're looking for something different, and you are interested in Philip K. Dick's works, you might find something really interesting here.
  8. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Apr 12, 2016
    60
    Beautiful Californium is designed for anyone who just wants to escape anywhere from reality. Philip Kindred Dick would be proud. [Issue#262]
  9. Feb 19, 2016
    60
    Starts strongly, but soon fades into a slog through samey puzzles and ever-weaker environments.
  10. Mar 15, 2016
    55
    Californium is only here to deliver the report: life is a pixel hunt, and there is no hint line.
  11. Mar 29, 2016
    50
    An interesting concept about a writer declining into a madness unfortunately suffers from a poor storytelling, boring pixel hunting, and at the end it’s only a waste of time.
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  1. This is a smart, gorgeously presented game, novel and peculiar, and as I mentioned at the start, with a lot to not quite say. I’m not convinced by the ending, I think it aims for too much “Ahhhh but ahhhhhhhh” and not enough, “Oh.” But the journey toward it had me intrigued, and the game’s final sequence is utterly stunning – level design you won’t have seen elsewhere.
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 10 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 10
  2. Negative: 3 out of 10
  1. Jun 27, 2018
    7
    A very peculiar walking simulator, although not for all the tastes. I found the mechanics a bit boring, however, the atmosphere is amazing.