Klaus, at the first glance looks like a generic platformer, another indie game put together from a handful of basic assets, designed to be a simple cash grab. In the end, majority of recent indie releases have been just that. Also, the inflated price of £15.99 which many indie developers have set for their monstrosities, was suggesting that Klaus, might be another disappointment, just like the Super Toy Cars or Tachyon Project. But thankfully, Klaus isn’t a game; it’s an experience that many, even the most self-indulgent developers fail to create. Klaus starts in the basement within which the titular character wakes up. Confused and full of doubt, you press on, slowly learning title’s mechanics. But with each and every step you take, Klaus narrates not only his progress, but matters that are important to every human being. And soon enough, his words, become part of the simplistic, yet charming scenery. In fact, huge amount of Klaus’s success comes from its design.
Many platformers throw one mechanic after another into the mix, resulting in a game that is neither pleasurable nor entertaining, as by the end the player has to input a twenty button long combination, while shaking the controller, and swiping on the DualShock 4’s touch pad. However, Klaus is not like every game. It introduces new mechanics constantly ensuring that it challenges you to overcome new and exciting, obstacles. But once such has reached its limits, it is abandoned into obscurity, or is turned into a challenge that doesn’t concern Klaus at all. For example, early on in the game, you need to move yellow platforms using the touchpad and right the analogue stick to move Klaus from point A to B. However, within a handful of levels this mechanic becomes a rarity, as new forms of environment traversal are introduced, but now you as a player, are challenged to deliver keys to Klaus by using said platforms, as such are usually contained within walled off areas which he cannot physically reach.
All in-game puzzles grow in complexity as you make your way through each and every chapter, however, the most complex and challenging puzzles are the ones which require help of game’s second character, K1. K1, is a gigantic simpleton which with both his name and appearance resembles Klaus. His black trousers, ripped yellow shirt (which he uses as a cape), and torn red tie all match Klaus’ attire. And the meaning of K1, quickly becomes obvious to the player.
When you first meet K1 eye-to-eye, you find out that he’s not an average being, he only talks using simple phrases, and expresses his emotions using grunts, which themselves are played through the DualShock 4’s speaker. Initially, K1 is a liability, he’s just a baggage which both you, and Klaus, need to carry around in order to make progress. In a way, he’s like a randomly assigned classmate you need to work with during a group project that sits around, does nothing, and in the end passes all thanks to your effort. However, your perception of K1 changes rather quickly.
Initially, like I’ve already stated K1 is a liability, and when he leaves a level using a door which is only accessible to him, both you and Klaus feel relieved. No longer do you have to hold R1, to have him follow you, neither are you required to make the same jump twice as K1’s jumping mechanic differs substantially to the one that is assigned to Klaus. But as I’ve finished one level simply by controlling Klaus, I started worrying about him. At that point I knew that the ‘Office’ wasn’t a pleasant place, and that simple and naïve K1, may not make it on his own. And as I’ve started assuming the worse, I read a line of white text saying ‘’What if he got hurt?’’, and at that point I understood that I’m not playing Klaus, but Klaus is playing me.
The above example of playing on player’s emotions is extremely simple and trivial, when it comes to the grand scheme of things, as this particular title challenges human philosophy on a plethora of levels. Levels much more complex than worry for another person, or simply interpersonal relationships.
Klaus, just like any other game, leads you to the optimal goal, the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel, but instead of giving you the answers, it hands you over more questions, questions which grow in difficulty at a breakneck speed. First you’re asked about whom you are and why are you there? And Klaus is unsure of where he is, and the only thing he knows is the name which someone gave him, as it is tattooed on his arm. And in reality, we are all like Klaus. We are known by the name given to us by a third-party, and no matter how much we know about our surroundings, we can never be sure of where we are in life, as each and every door we open, just like Klaus, may serve us with an endless amount of outcomes. Meeting K1, is also something that many can relate to. As there are millions of people who disregard each and every new person they meet due to their appearances or initial impression. Only to regret their actions once they’ve lost such individual, as their qualities might have taken a very long time to surface, sometimes too long for one to notice that the ‘simpleton’ might have been their only true friend.
Following chapters, further expose Klaus’s emotions, but by that time the game is not about Klaus, it is just about you. As soon as he begins to question his existence, and the choices which he has fictionally made in his life, you start to feel uncomfortable in your own skin, ‘’Klaustrophobic’’, one could say. About three hours in, within one of the later chapters, Klaus starts to challenge player’s control of his actions, suddenly snaps, and reverses all in-game controls. And at that point I snapped too, because in my mind, now filled with self-doubt and regret dating all the way back to 2002, I could not let others control my life, especially a tiny digital man sporting a yellow shirt. And as soon as I noticed that he has started to control me, I turned the console off. For a minute I thought I was insane, I just had an argument with a tiny digital man because just like he, I started to regret every choice I’ve ever made. And at this point I also realised, that Klaus, is one of the best games I’ve ever played.
Many will surely question the score which I’ve now officially assigned to this particular review, but I couldn’t give Klaus any other score. If it was just a really good platformer, which it is, I would’ve probably given it an 8, simply because it does enough to topple all the other platformers currently available on the PlayStation 4. However, unlike all the other games of the genre, it is not challenging your skills as a player, it challenges you as a person, and for every hour which I’ve spent playing Klaus, I’ve spent at least two thinking about it.