The Kalyma Files

Uncover a tragedy filed as a footnote.

The Kalyma Files is a narrative investigation game where you play as an archivist piecing together a decades-long secret. In 1964, a storm, a cracked crate, and a handful of invisible pellets quietly poisoned a Greek island harbor. The official record calls it a "chemical spill." The truth is buried in classified memos, medical reports, tourist brochures, and handwritten notes—a truth of bureaucratic indifference, silent suffering, and a contamination that never truly left.

Gameplay: You are presented with disordered documents from across 60 years—from classified NATO cables to a child's school essay. Your task is not action, but analysis. Connect the dots. Tag documents with key themes like COVERUP, VICTIM, and SCIENCE. Solve cases by assembling the minimum required evidence, revealing the tragic narrative layer by layer. There are no jump scares, only the creeping horror of a check-box, a stamped "CLOSED," and a Geiger counter's persistent, forgotten hum.

Inspired by the chilling short story "Radiation on the Aegean," this game translates its atmosphere of quiet, administrative dread into an interactive experience. It's a mystery where the villain is a filing cabinet, and the stakes are measured in white blood cell counts and the weight of official silence.

Features:

• Archival Investigation: Examine over 20 unique documents, each a piece of the puzzle.
• Tag-Based Deduction: Use six core tags to categorize evidence and build your case.
• Non-Linear Narrative: Discover the story in your own order, uncovering connections between 1964 and the present day.
• Atmospheric Storytelling: Immerse yourself in a tale told through the dry language of memos and the heartbreaking margins of personal notes.
• A Thoughtful Mystery: A slow-burn, literary experience focused on the cost of secrets and the resilience of truth.

For players of Return of the Obra Dinn, Her Story, or anyone fascinated by the stories hidden in plain sight, within manila folders and official stamps.

Note: this game was developed using AI, including storylines and visual elements. You can read more about the process here.

Press M to mute background music.