Step into the first-person haze of a science fiction writer unraveling in Berkeley, 1967. Californium delivers an indie adventure simulation of Elvin Green's descent through acid comedown, breakup despair, and career collapse. Hallucinations warp memories of his wife and editor, blurring reality with tempting alternate worlds amid drugs, booze, insomnia, and writer's block.
This casual psychedelic trip challenges players to probe glitches in a crumbling matrix, inspired by Philip K. Dick's visions. Navigate sensory distortions and identity quests in a world where voices lure you toward surrender. Fans of mind-bending simulations drawn to existential distress and reality-shattering experiences will connect with its raw, hallucinatory core.
Taking the form of wacky shenanigans and a first-person experience of a bad trip, Californium pays homage to sci-fi legend Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report, Total Recall, The Man in the High Castle, etc.) by transporting you into the life of a writer who is searching for his own identity. Will you find what’s behind the simulacra ?
Berkeley, 1967. Experience the perils of coming down off acid, a post-breakup bout of depression, and the anguish of a dying career: Welcome to the life of Elvin Green, a science fiction writer in deep distress. Get ready for a sensory trip that will derail your sense of reality and replace it with powerful hallucinations. You spend your time and money on drugs and cheap alcohol, and are plagued by insomnia and struggles with blank page syndrome. Vague memories of your wife Thea and your editor Don bleed into each other. Everything you thought was real starts to crumble.
It would be so simple to give in to the promises of alternate realities, each one more attractive than the next… Will you let these ever-present voices take control of your mind?
Californium plunges you into a psychedelic world, leaving you searching for glitches in the matrix.
Darjeeling, Nova Production and ARTE France are proud to present this downright love letter to the world of Philip K. Dick. Experience counterintuitive art direction by Olivier Bonhomme (Homo Machina), an exhilarating soundtrack by Xavier Thiry, and an incredible performance by actor Paul Bandey in the part of the mysterious Theta.
