Steam Double Feature Review: Heavy Burger & The Franz Kafka Videogame

Why are these games being reviewed together, given that they’re galaxies apart in terms of gameplay?

Why not?

Truth be told, I got them for next to nothing via Fanatical bundles. Often when you buy a bundle via Fanatical (and I can’t recommend them enough, the same goes for the Humble Bundles), you are presented with the option to pick up a few mystery games for a dollar or two more.

It's a great upsell, and I almost always opt for these. You’re usually not told what the games will be until they’re purchased, and that’s fine with me. It lets me check out stuff I would probably never purchase otherwise. They usually work out to something insanely cheap, like ninety-five cents each.

Heavy Burger was slightly different in that this particular bundle let me choose from eight or so games after I paid for the pack. All it took was a glance, and I was sold. Twin-stick shooter! Retro! With Data East arcade game characters!

Hell yes.

While I’m glad I got it, for sure, I should have glanced harder. I probably still would have gotten it, it’s that compelling. But my haste and enthusiasm led to a slight disappointment when I launched it.

As it turns out, it’s technically a twin-stick shooter. Everything I ticked off is there. But it’s really more of a two-player capture the flag sort of game. I was all fired up to play a new Smash TV or something, and I feel this one could have been so much more.

While there are enemies, and you do shoot them, the object is to make it to your designated exit with some acquired loot and prevent your opponent from doing the same. This usually results in a lot of back and forth as one player drops the treasure and the other acquires it.

Given that I spend 90% of my time playing games alone... Okay, 99%. My son doesn’t care about anything other than Fortnight, Among Us, and Little Big Planet. It’s just not nearly as fun as it could be. You can play it by yourself, but it doesn’t feel like that sort of game. Even if I can manage to con my wife into playing a game, she is definitely not adept at fast-paced shooters.

Having said that, I’m sure this is an amazing game for parties. It supports up to four players, which is great. I just don’t have four friends who play games. I’m not sure I have four friends.

Looking beyond that, this is a quality release in all respects. Not only is it available for the PC but the Nintendo Switch as well. Of course, this budget game would cost you a ton of money to play four-player on the Switch if you don’t already have a drawer full of joycons or whatever they’re called. I’m not saying it’s worth all that, unless you’re particularly, erm, fanatical. But if you do have multiple controllers and physical, local friends, it’s definitely work picking up.

In every other possible way, I love this game.

The premise is a bit like the movie Wreck-It Ralph. Each level is set in a real arcade game, with accompanying actual graphics. When you make it to an exit, you start over in a new one. It’s not only a retro throwback, which I am a total sucker for, but every level is wildly different in terms of design. They’re all an arena of some sort, but the Lock-N-Chase one is an actual maze from the game, for example. Burger parts crush you in the Burger Time level. The Side Pocket screen forces you to dodge pool balls on a table, Bad Dudes presents you with… bad dudes.

It's a great concept, but it would be better with a lot more levels. Although I’ve never made it all the way to the end, your opponent’s arcade games are the same as yours. There is a lot of variety here, but even more would put this one over the top.

Of course, if it was purely a single-player shooter, I would play it a lot more. You can’t have everything, obviously, and I am still glad this game exists. If it played like more Robotron and Smash TV, it would be in my daily routine.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/922250/Heavy_Burger/

A hundred and eighty degrees in the other direction is The Franz Kafka Videogame.

I suppose it can also be considered retro, in a sense, in that it’s a period game set in the early 1900s Europe and the United States. But even that’s a stretch. This game is the opposite of Heavy Burger in all respects.

It’s a puzzle game. I’m not a huge fan of puzzle games. But it’s also very surreal and somewhat sophisticated, so it balances out.

The all-time, ultimate puzzle game, to me, is a now ancient one for the Amiga, PC, and Macintosh called The Fool’s Errand, by a fellow named Cliff Johnson. It was so impossibly difficult that I suspect few people finished it. Not that they didn’t try. I know someone who played it extensively for a year or two. But, back then, there was no place for tips, hints, and the like. It was just you, your mouse, and some cunningly difficult brain teasers.

The puzzles were so hard, it sometimes seemed like they made no sense at all. They did, but only after the fact. It was maddening, at times. Not enough to make you want to quit forever, but endlessly challenging. It just never let up on you once you started playing.

But this isn’t a review of The Fool’s Errand. However, Cliff has thoughtfully put both Mac and Windows versions online, and if you're seriously looking for a challenge, you can stop looking now. https://www.fools-errand.com/

The Franz Kafka Videogame, despite the somewhat unimaginative title, shares some similarities with FE. It’s difficult, sometimes to the point of being frustrating. At least until you fall into its weird groove. And, let’s face it. If you’re playing a game based on Kafka, you’re in it for the weird.

Nothing is timed, so it’s largely a game of trial and error, and exploration. The first level is a great example of what’s in store for you, here. There are only about eight objects to click on, and nothing seems to work or make sense. Truly Kafkaesque. This trailer does far more for the game than I could ever do with words.

But, and this is a huge difference between this one and FE, there are two sets of clues available to you. They’re in a menu, so if you don’t want to ever look at them, you won’t be bothered by anything getting spoiled for you. Better yet, they’re only doled out one at a time, and you have to wait a bit to get them. And they’re clues, not solutions. The first vaguely points you in the right direction with something cryptic. The second gives you more information, and that’s usually enough to solve the puzzle. It often results in you sort of kicking yourself for not picking up on it sooner.

It's a big plus, because I suspect a lot of people will need them.

The art style and general story are icing on the surreal cake. Everything is gorgeously drawn, cartoony and very old school looking. Like, nearly Victorian old school. It really looks and plays like a labor of love, and this feels like a game that should be encouraged. It flies in the face of almost everything else out there. It’s all very relaxing if you’re not too caught up in progressing. The sort of game you might play over a cup of tea.

If I had to level any criticism of it at all, it’s that there is no feedback when you mouse over anything. You will do a lot of clicking on various bits of background detail to no avail. It probably can’t even be considered a design flaw, just a part of how it works. I suppose if everything was highlighted, it would be easier, and the goal of this game is never to be easy. It does impart a feeling of accomplishment when you start to solve puzzles without using any clues. If you like weird, slow-paced, and challenging, this is definitely the game for you.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/392280/The_Franz_Kafka_Videogame/