KAIRO

The controls are responsive and well-suited to touch devices, but more importantly, Kairo brings something fresh and unique to the platform -- there's nothing like it, to the best of my knowledge, on the App Store. We need more games like it.

Here in touchscreen form, navigating the angular architecture from the game's first person view point can be finicky. [May 2013, p.89]

Strong atmosphere and artsy, minimalistic presentation make Kairo's puzzle-adventure gameplay a fascinating experience, though it lacks the structure and direction that many players come to expect from the genre.

While the beauty and evocative nature of Kairo’s world has survived the transition from its original PC form to iOS unscathed, the controls have not. Movement is flighty and unwieldy, and in desperate need of a sidestep.

Kairo is the kind of game that should please most old school adventure game fans. Especially those who enjoy semi-obscure puzzles built around a series of rules they have to figure out on their own. However, thanks to the useful hint system even less puzzle savvy players can enjoy themselves without getting frustrated.

Kairo will definitely appeal to some, as it brings something new. Like Myst/Riven without the story, but if you manage to let yourself be immersed the experience can be just as rewarding. Sadly the wonky controls, strange puzzles and at times ugly level design do their best to take you out of the experience.

An abstract, atmospheric exploration adventure near-ruined by a breathtakingly ill-conceived iOS port.