The Caligula Effect: Overdose
By David Chapman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Repetitive, bland look at complex emotional issues.
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What’s It About?
THE CALIGULA EFFECT: OVERDOSE is an updated remake of the original PlayStation Vita exclusive The Caligula Effect. The game's central focus is emotional trauma and the ways we cope with the pain it causes. After an encounter with a mysterious being called "μ" ("Mu"), you begin the first day of school as a second-year student at Kishimai High School. But things take a disturbing turn as you learn that nothing is what it seems. You quickly discover that nothing around you is real. The entire city is a virtual creation designed to offer people a life without pain, without anger, without sadness. It's a fantasy, and you're not alone in your realization of this. Together with the other students as a part of the "Go-Home Club," your goal is to defeat μ and her "Ostinato Musicians," freeing yourself and your fellow students from this false paradise ... and learning to cope with the personal turmoil that brought you here to start with.
Is It Any Good?
Escapism can be both a blessing and a curse, but this game attempts to bury its problems deep and pretend they don't exist without dealing with serious topics in the best way. The Caligula Effect: Overdose has something oddly inspiring about learning to harness emotional pain to turn it from a weakness into a strength, but it's also strange that the game's story sometimes treats such heavy topics as death, abuse, bullying, and more with an almost cavalier attitude. In the story, the characters exist in this virtual world to escape the personal and emotional traumas they've suffered, but even after learning their secrets and facing what brought them to Mobius, these issues feel like they're just swept under the rug.
Even putting aside the psychological aspects of The Caligula Effect: Overdose, there are some difficult issues for the game to overcome. For starters, the game's repetition is almost mind-numbing. The entire adventure is set in an incomplete virtual city, with most events happening on the high school grounds. Most interactions are with students that, outside of the main cast, look and act like filler. You're meant to build bonds with these characters, but they've got no real personality to bond with. In fact, the texting feature is just a series of pre-programmed and random questions, which never come together like any actual conversation. The game's combat system does feel like something genuinely unique, with players choosing their party's actions, adjusting the timing, and even seeing the potential outcome before locking everything in. It's an interesting system with a lot of potential that it never quite lives up to, leading to fights that wind up feeling overly long and drawn out. It adds to the game's overall feeling of repetition and monotony, making The Caligula Effect: Overdose an experience that will make you want to escape back to the real world as much as the rest of the Go-Home Club.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about addressing and coping with emotional issues. What are some ways parents can identify if their kids are dealing with emotional issues? What are some safe and positive ways that kids can address their mental health?
What are some good ways that kids can make new friends and build lasting relationships?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: NIS America
- Release date: March 12, 2019
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Topics: Adventures, Friendship, High School
- ESRB rating: M for Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Violence
- Last updated: October 22, 2021
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