Buy Kairo

Kairo is one of thise gems amongst the steam garbage I seem to keep running into. After playing antichamber, I absoultely had to play Kairo.

Kairo is a game in which you appear to be embarking into the depths of an ancient egypt-like machine that either uses magic or technology too far beyond you to understand. Either way, Kairo is one of those games that doesn't explain anything to you (though you have the option of hints, which don't help much) so it requires a lot of problem solving and logistics on your part.
Most of the puzzles are self-explanitory, and the ones that aren't normally are supplied with a stone or wall you have to look at. Once you find those, you then proceed to facepalm realizing how simple the complex-looking puzzle really is. Even so, the puzzles really are challanging, to the point where I actually had to look up a walkthrough for one of them because it didn't seem to be based on any rhyme or reason (and that I couldn't find any stones or walls to explain it) I'm sure you'll identify the one I'm talking about if you play this game.
The story is widely open to interpretation though. There were points in the story that sent a legit chill down my spine. Other moments had me scratching my head wondering what just happened. In order to understand it, you're required to fill in a lot of blanks.
Overall, despite it's cheap graphics and oddly slippery controls, Kairo is a game that you'll enjoy figuring out for yourself, and then be proud to finish.

Exploration based chillout game. if you want an experiance.. buy this game. relax enjoy. excellent music. atmosphere are every corner. and peace. discover the mystery of an ancient alien ruin.. and in doing so find a lost piece of yourself. Inde AA. Dava

I have enjoyed every moment with this game. I haven't quite finished it yet, but I'm confident in recommending it. To be clear, if you're looking for a fast-paced game with all the latest bells and whistles, this is not the one for you. The graphics and music are quite simple, and gameplay is as slow-paced as you'd like it to be. However, I disagree with those who call this a "walking simulator." It is very much a game. There are puzzles to solve as well as a story to uncover.

The puzzles are very well-designed. There is no dialogue and no text, yet somehow it's always clear what you're expected to do. Some of the puzzles are quite simple, while others are much more complex, but I haven't found a single one I couldn't solve with a little patience and logical thought. It's not too easy, but it's not too difficult, either. There was only one puzzle I needed hints for - and those hints are provided in the game menu. There are three hints for each puzzle, starting out vague and growing more specific, so you can get exactly the amount of help you need if you ever get stuck.

The story is revealed entirely through gameplay. When I first started playing, I didn't expect there to be much of a story. I was satisfied with the beautiful abandoned abstract architecture and puzzles. The first time I uncovered an unexpected plot twist, my heart skipped a beat, and every one I've found after that has led to even more amazed moments. I'm very picky about storytelling, and this is one game that does it perfectly without ever resorting to dialogue or verbal exposition.

Overall, it's a well-crafted game. Everything in it functions well and it all comes together to form a beautiful whole. It's not for everyone, but I think most people will find it enjoyable and well worth buying.

Forever Alone!!!

This game made my brain make the noise a deflating tire makes.

I very much enjoyed this game. I haven't played it for long but I feel the need to let others know to not be discouraged. It's like a dream.

Kairo is an abstract first person puzzle/exploration game where you work your way through a geometric world to complete what are initially seemingly arbitrary tasks to accomplish a goal which is not immediately apparent. It is obtuse, but stylistically so, and easy to get lost in. I recommend walking around and exploring before diving in too deep, but when stuck in any given room, you can go into the menu and choose up to three Hints to help point you in the right direction - this is the saving grace of the game, as they progressively give more direction without telling you what exactly to do, so you're never actually LOST, it can just feel like it at times.

The controls are a little "floaty" - they don't feel as tight as most other first person games, but due to a lack of combat that's not necessarily a problem, just takes some getting used to. The graphics are simple, but very effective - the spectacle is quite impressive.

In addition to the normal gameplay goals, there are a series of 18 runes to find hidden about the game, one "go back and find later" puzzle where, after you exit an area, something secret opens up which you can find, and three exceptionally hard "did you notice that one little thing elsewhere? Interpret it in this abstract way here!" puzzles which you might need to look for external guides for.

The game doesn't take too long (aside from those harder puzzles) - 3-4 hours should probably be enough to get through it.

I had a good time with it. It's probably not up everyone's alley, but if the above sounds interesting, check it out.

Kairo is one of the few games I've played that conveys a story without a single word. Through beautifully done, mysterious environments, and sometimes mind-bending puzzles, Kairo shines as one of the most inspired (and inspirational) games out there.

Probably, the strangest puzzle game I've ever played. You can find yourself in the world of amazing monumental architecture. Nobody will help you to get out of here.
7/10

Beautiful game! Great atmosphere and an intriguing mystery that's revealed silently through puzzles. Worth the five bucks for sure!

Beautiful architecture and environment, sometimes incomprehensible puzzles, and real cheap even at full price. Not perfect but certainly worth your time.

I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, some secret to uncover, some story to unfold – but it is just a long sequence of pretty, mostly empty, monochrome halls and spaces with more-or-less intriguing puzzles. The few "story-related" hints every now and then do not match the basic design, they feel like foreign objects artificially inserted and in no way constitute storytelling. Apart from that: both visual and sound design are adequate, sometimes even fascinating, but of course not on the same level as the "big" titles.

It took me a while to realise it's a building and not a sword.

A puzzler game with a deep story that's conveyed without speech or reading. A wonderful piece of explorable, challenging artistry, a stunning collection of esoteric architecture, and a delightfully peculiar journey.

Game: 7.0/10
Graphic: 7.5/10

100% Achievement : Easy | Medium | Hard | Very Hard

Atmospherically interesting and surreal puzzle game with some glaring flaws.

Let me first say I got this game for the fair price of 0.74$ and I think paying full price may also be a fair deal, depending on where your video game preferences lie.
Kairo sets the mood pretty early with it's ominous soundtrack and stark visuals. I found the grain effect and mouse smoothing (default settings) annoying so I had to turn them off straight away. I had extremely choppy/laggy mouse and keyboard movement which might be due to my weak computer but this game should not as demanding on the cpu as it is. Despite all that Kairo's atmosphere is enjoyable and the much needed hint system helps in teaching you what the level design won't. Towards the later segments of the game the puzzles lose some of their quality and the map design will leave most players wondering around without much enjoyment.

If you enjoy difficult puzzles and open ended mysteries Kairo will give you your money's worth

Follow http://steamcommunity.com/groups/West7 for more game reviews

I picked up this game on a whim when it went on sale some time ago, and while it's not very long (I completed it in three hours) it's unique enough to where I consider it merits a review of its own.

First off, let me nerd out at how good the ambiance is for a couple of paragraphs. The visuals are given sense by an excellent sound design, which kept me on edge for the duration of my playthrough; an achievement, considering the fundamentally abstract and calming nature of the setting. I didn't ever not feel like I was in an old, abandoned, alien place which might fall apart at any second, except when I finished the puzzle in the area and the whole place lighted up and started functioning again, but even then, the sense of foreboding was ever-present. Wide open areas get floaty synths that lurk just outside your hearing, punctuated by the slight pat pat pat of the character's walking, and inside areas each have a soundtrack that fits in well with what's around you. Going in blind, I half-expected the game to throw in some jumpscares at me at some point or another, but the actual gameplay was very deliberate and focused around the "narrative".

The game also shines in its visuals. You might be thinking, "Well, yeah, the game markets itself as a puzzle/exploration game, it's bound to have some nice environments", but some areas are unique enough to actually merit a "Holly ♥♥♥♥, this is amazing". This makes the actual gameplay suffer at times, though, as you're made to slowly walk up and down a ramp to press at buttons to try to figure the room's huge puzzle in an epic journey that was evidently designed to show off every possible angle of the room with no regards to how long it might take to get from one place to another.

The actual puzzles themselves, the main focus of the game, is where it's a bit lacking. For all the praise I might sing of its visuals and environments, it's a bit hard to justify some of the choices regarding their design. I found myself having to constantly check at the in-game hints and a guide I kept handy to figure out the worst of them. There's a special variety that I particularly loathed, which are the kind of puzzle that required you to move against a timer over pressure pads on the floor in a particular pattern, which was made very infuriating with the character's tendency to slide around as if the floor was iced over. I'd say this is the area of the game where it's at its weakest.

I mentioned the game's narrative with quotation marks earlier on in this review, and that is because it's entirely possible to ignore it and never know anything about it, as it's never actually presented to you. It's just "there", and it doesn't care if you pick up on it or not. It's perfectly fine with sitting alone above the dusty door-frame of the room you just dismissed as pure eye candy and never having anything to do with you. It's not terribly complicated or unique, but it gives a sense to your running around, so I do recommend you take the time to trying to figure it out.

Should you buy this game? If you can overlook that it's quite average as puzzle games go, and instead want to be awed by the amazing environments and architecture that it provides, sure, go for it. If not, you'll probably be wasting your money.

I should also mention that it runs excellently in lower-end computers. So there's that.

Kairo is PureFun - 9/10

Great Puzzles and Beautilful Architecture....
Love the Colors.... I made some great screen shots upload to Steam....

[embarassed]
This puzzle in a 3D world is great - and I used a guide for about 30% of the puzzles :P
[/embarassed]

I can't wait to see what comes next from this Indie Dude....

AddToCart....

Creepy & genial game w/ beautiful atmospheric sounddesign.
18/18 secret runs!

It's hard to decide whether to give this game a recommendation or not. I liked it, but this game is absolutely not for everyone. Its very artsy, which will be a turnoff for some. There are environmental type puzzles to solve -- and sometimes it is not at all clear what to do. The graphics don't get any better than the screenshots. The game has a science fiction vibe, but it's more of an atmospheric game; not a lot of plot as such.

If you like exploring, and like a sci-fi type atomosphere, and don't mind a game that is artistic rather than traditionally fun, you might enjoy the game. I did. But that was a long list of qualifiers.

Great Puzzle.
Great Atmosphere.
Great Sound.
Great walking/exploration game.
Great Price.

Game Deserves Gr8t :

8/10