Indika is weird, shocking, and charming. It made me query its actuality virtually as typically as its titular protagonist, a younger nun laid low with the Satan, doubts her religion. This odd journey from its aptly named developer Odd Meter might lack some design polish, however the fascinating story at its core instilled sufficient religion in me to see it by means of to the tip.
The sport unfolds in early Nineteenth-century Russia. Indika is handled as an outcast at her monastery, and, for some motive, she’s usually taunted by the voice of Devil himself. The story doesn’t delve into how this sacrilegious relationship started, and that’s advantageous. The Satan is extra of a storytelling machine; a logo of Indika’s need to be particular person, contrasted by her rising skepticism and pragmatism within the church’s inflexible viewpoints on morality and sin. This battle involves a head when Indika finds herself in an unlikely partnership with Ilya, an escaped prisoner together with his personal robust non secular beliefs.
Because the pair bond over in search of a divine treatment for his or her respective illnesses – Indika’s demonic presence and IIya’s wounded arm – the third-person journey sees them trek by means of areas reminiscent of abandoned factories and frozen wilds. Alongside the best way, gamers resolve environmental puzzles and, on very uncommon events, evade threats. The obstacles themselves are respectably designed and diversified, typically centered on Indika inexplicably working heavy equipment like a carry to maneuver and stack big cans or manipulating the huge gears of an industrial elevator. Much less pleasing moments, reminiscent of fleeing a pursuing wolf in an annoying trial-and-error escape sequence, seem not often, fortunately.
The gameplay turns into most attention-grabbing when the Satan’s affect overwhelms Indika to the purpose the world round her turns hellish pink, and the atmosphere is ripped aside right into a distorted model of itself. This results in comparatively easy however thematically attention-grabbing navigation puzzles as gamers swap between this hellscape and actuality by hitting a “pray” button to seek out the correct path. These are neat segments that I want occurred extra typically than the small handful of instances they do.
Poking round environments results in hidden collectibles, from non secular artifacts to “indecent” publications, that reward factors, which manifest as literal big pixelated gems that seem in entrance of Indika. This weird visible flourish is a wild distinction to the in any other case lifelike artwork route, and these factors degree up Indika through a two-pronged talent tree of level modifiers (themed on concepts like Disgrace, Guilt, and Repentance) that impression the story much less actually than it seems.
That is simply an instance of Indika’s strangeness. Overt video game-y parts reminiscent of quirky, chiptune melodies and flashbacks that unfold as playable 16-bit platforming sequences are sprinkled all through the expertise. Whether or not or not this method has any thematic significance is unclear (maybe symbolizing the comparative simplicity of Indika’s childhood), however, on the very least, it provides Indika a surreal and playful allure.
Every thing within the sport, from the unusual folks you meet to the bizarre digicam angles to its wild intro cutscene I received’t spoil, provides the sport a potent dose of absurdity that oddly works. Indika appears like a black comedy at factors, and maybe that’s the intent. It swings for the fences, and that pleasant boldness is mixed with poignant commentary concerning the wrestle of sustaining unwavering religion in a harsh, unjust world. Indika’s participating and, at instances, emotional private journey of self-discovery pulled me to a strong conclusion that, like most the whole lot else, leaves its interpretation as much as the participant.
The result’s an journey that feels thoughtfully conceived, humorous, and miserable suddenly, in addition to “off” in the precise methods. Indika is among the 12 months’s most affecting and memorable adventures, and its themes will follow me as I proceed to ponder their meanings.