So I need to blog about Kairo, because the computers and tunnels post reminded me of this strange and beautiful game.
Kairo is what I can only describe as a surreal Brutalist walking sim puzzler. Yes, as in “the more conk they crete, the more Brutalismer it is” Brutalism. I hope you like concrete textures and cubes because Kairo has a lot of that. It’s also among the handful of games that I think have irreversibly altered my brain chemistry (positive).
Kairo came out in 2013, so I wasn’t that young and impressionable at the time, but something in this game definitely struck a chord with me. It’s relaxed, contemplative, minimalistic. Scenic despite the simplicity of it, calming despite the starkness around you. Take a look at the Steam page linked above for some screenshots to get a sense of the visual style. (I used to have a bunch of screenshots I used for desktop backgrounds at one time but they seem to have vanished, so I unfortunately am not including images in this post.)
It’s a lot of simple, geometric, Brutalism-adjacent structures in various coloured light washes. But it’s... pretty in its own way. I think this was the piece of media that helped me come around to this sort of aesthetic. Previously, like the computers-and-tunnels post, I liked a grungier, more complicated feel to my industrial spaces, a la the Half-Life games. Bit Kairo... Kairo was serene.
The sound design, too, reflects this calm starkness of everything. The soundtrack is super ambient and synthy, usually calming and occasionally spooky. There are only two tracks I could even say come close to being “intense,” those being the menu theme and one particular area that seems designed to put you a bit on edge. The artist Wounds does a great job of conveying the empty, otherworldly vistas of Kairo. (It’s great reading music, too. Check it out here.)
I was rapt when I first found it, though it certainly helped that a favourite YouTuber at the time was how I discovered it. (Playlist here, KurtJMac’s run is commentated but he’s pretty lowkey overall.)
The puzzles range from extremely simple perspective/movement puzzles to moderately challenging password puzzles, excluding two notably obtuse examples - one where you have to memorize a series of notes and play them back in a room very far away, and another that (ideally) requires you to collaborate with other players to reveal the whole solution. Both of these thankfully are optional, and can be looked up online now that the game has been out for ages. Both, I believe, are also required for the game’s secret (not “true”) ending.
I’m not sure what else to say other than give it a try/watch it. I really cant recommend it enough, honestly. It’s very cheap on Steam and isn’t terribly long, complicated, or hardware-demanding. (Though if you do play it, I recommend turning off the visual-noise filter in the settings. It’s easier to look at and looks better without it.) Kairo is less a game and more a powerful vibe, I guess? It’s a walking sim with some puzzles in it, but it has a very unique feel to it. On reflection I think it’s due for a comeback; it has a lot of the “liminal space” feel that internetizens seem to be going nuts for lately, but predates it all by a clean decade.
It’s near and dear to my heart, and a game I come back to every now and then for a chill pick-me-up.
