One of the goals I have for myself as I review so many indie games, each with different goals and design philosophies behind them, is to try to see them through as ideal a lens as possible. Not to ignore issues or sidestep concerns, but to at least attempt to see them in their best intended light. While sometimes that’s allowed me to encounter some unexpectedly great titles that just have never been in my wheelhouse, most of the time the further I’ve needed to extend my understanding, the more likely it is that the gameplay experience just doesn’t work very well.

In the case of Caligo, in my mind the best generalized description I can give is that it’s a philosophical walking simulator… which already gets it off to a shaky start. It very clearly has a desire to make you think, and absorb the environments you walk through that range from serene to quite disturbing, with some periodic characters talking to you in order to try to reinforce those themes.

The primary problem is obviously what sort of “game” this is meant to be, and whether the average person will enjoy it. There’s really no gameplay to speak of, aside from walking along the course that has usually clearly been plotted for you, periodically running into small bits of art you’ll be able to pick up. There are no puzzles or things for you to really involve yourself with in any meaningful way, you’ll just be a tourist of sorts walking through different spaces and taking them in. Could some people find this interesting? I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt to imagine that yes, there are people who could find this diverting for a small number of hours, possibly going through it twice in the hopes to catch something you missed the first time. For everyone else though? No matter how understanding I can be it’s hard not to encourage you to give it a pass.