Câi & Darren: Code Calamity

Câi & Darren: Code Calamity is a game about two college professors who use programming to solve puzzles and battle errors and warnings. When the Calamity Virus breaks free from its 100-year seal and disrupts the computers at the MAD program, Darren and Câi descend into the basement’s basement to stop it. Darren specializes in Swipe, while Câi uses Brew, and you can switch between them at any time.

Explore the basement

The interconnected overworld consists of indoor areas with environmental challenges that change as you progress. Some areas begin locked and open when you solve nearby Terminals or advance the story. Câi and Darren can each interact with specific Terminals, so you must switch between them to solve the puzzles tied to their respective systems.

Reprogram Terminals

Terminals control basement systems such as conveyor belts, doors and gates. To manipulate them, you reprogram each Terminal using Brew or Swipe. The languages share similarities but have different syntax: Swipe is written more naturally, while Brew is more symbolic. Their subtle differences test your attention to detail and understanding of basic programming logic.

Battle with chips

Contact with the Calamity Virus’s errors and warnings starts a battle. You use Battle Chips, which can damage enemies, strengthen defenses or restore health; some chips also carry risks or drawbacks. Peter gives you a set of chips at the start of the journey.

When you choose Attack, the game draws five chips at random from your deck and assigns each a random label from A to D. Chips with the same label can be used together in one turn to stack their effects. You can choose which chips appear in battle from the pause menu by toggling each between TRUE and FALSE; chips set to FALSE are excluded.

Buy more supplies

During the adventure, you meet Nick, a clumsy professor who lives in the basement’s basement and sells extra Battle Chips and Items as a side business. You can return to him at any time to buy chips for battle.