Indika Review: Talk of the Devil

Once in a while a game comes around that I find myself having a hard time explaining. Maybe it’s unique or weird or unlike anything I’ve played before, and Indika is absolutely one of those games. 

Indika from Developer Odd Meter is a (mostly) third-person, story-driven adventure game set in a strange, alternative Russia. You play as Indika, a young nun who is normal and unassuming by most definitions, except for the fact that she happens to have the devil speaking to her in her head. As you might imagine, the other nuns are pretty off-put by the young woman and the convent decides to send her on an errand outside, setting the game’s story in motion. 

Move From Here to There

Nothing about Indika’s adventure can be considered typical nor can it really be compared to others in the genre. Indika may remind players aesthetically of titles like A Plague Tale: Innocence or Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, but because it does so many things that are different, I’d be remiss to say it’s like anything that’s come before it. At the forefront, Indika plays like an adventure game. The character Indika has been tasked with delivering a letter on the convent’s behalf and sets off on this journey alone, only to be met with obstacles nearly right away. 

This alternative Russia is bleak, cold, and any kind of civilization you find is rundown or abandoned with an overlay of snow. The people are strange and damaged, as are the animals. Eventually you’ll meet Ilya, an escaped convict suffering from a horrifically diseased arm. Ilya claims that he is a prophet of God and that is the only reason why the disease has not yet killed him. His goal is to reach a town called Spasov in order to pray before a sacred object and heal himself, per god’s request. Indika offers to help him on his way. The unlikely pair venture through the frozen countryside solving puzzles in order to progress, all while getting to know each other. 

If Thy Right Hand Offend

Towards the beginning of the game, the puzzles are very simple. You’ll have to pull a lever to move a platform or push a box to climb higher up. Unfortunately, the more you progress the more puzzles you’ll encounter. To say they were “challenging” would be an understatement. As a lover of games like Portal, a head-scratching puzzle doesn’t bother me, but unfortunately Indika’s puzzles are convoluted and frustrating at the best of times, not necessarily because of difficulty, but because of game mechanics. In more than one instance, I was forced to restart a chapter over because a box or ladder would get stuck in the wrong position. I even had to start over after getting myself trapped in a corner climbing over freakishly large cans of fish. 

I enjoy games that offer players a good challenge and I don’t wish for every puzzle game to have a hint system, but having your only help be an NPC who incessantly yells “that doesn’t look right” or “how does that help us?’ is enough to make any puzzle game expert want to pull their hair out. Puzzle games will often give players small indications of what they’re meant to do or where they’re meant to go. The “yellow paint” or “yellow tape” method is utilized in loads of titles, but there is none of that present in Indika and that is likely to cause players to get tripped up more than once during the game’s short 3-5 hour playtime. I’d like to mention that it was eventually satisfying when I was able to solve those puzzles, but I didn’t have time to celebrate because I’d been caught up in another frustrating puzzle just five minutes later. 

Another big disappointment in terms of gameplay in Indika, is the lack of puzzles that feature, what I believe, is the most unique and interesting part of the game. During certain times the devil inside Indika’s head is able to manipulate the world around her causing “rifts” or “tears” in the world. When this happens the world goes dark and red, forcing Indika to pray in order to bring the world back to normal. During Indika’s Steam Next Fest demo back in February, I couldn’t wait to see how the game would utilize this mechanic for even more puzzles in the main game, but this mechanic ends up only being used a handful of times. If there had been more of those types of puzzles and less of the others, they certainly would have been much more satisfying to solve. 

He Sits to Judge the Living and the Dead

Speaking of the devil themself, this character takes much more of a backseat role in the story than I was expecting. Not to say that that’s a bad thing, but it certainly felt like the devil would play a more prevalent role here. Instead, players get to learn about Indika’s life and Ilya’s plus their goals and motivations. There are even short sections of the game that transport the player to the past where they can play as a young Indika, before joining the convent, in a gorgeous pixel art style. This pixel art shows up elsewhere as well, when gathering “points” to level up Indika. These points, more or less, mean absolutely nothing, but add an unexpected, humorous element to the game. 

And Indika can be humorous and fun. The story tackles serious questions about life, morality, religion and more. It can be really brutal and gruesome one moment and silly and funny the next. And that seems to be something that Odd Meter really wanted to accomplish with this title. The team states on their Steam page that they want to “put aesthetics at the forefront” and Indika bleeds with unique aesthetics. It’s dark and gloomy while also being fun and playful. Its graphics are realistic with pixel graphics sprinkled in. Despite its flaws, you can’t say that Odd Meter hasn't created one of the most strange, unique and interesting games on the market today with Indika. 

Breakdown

Game: Indika

Developer: Odd Meter

Publisher: 11 bit studios

Availability: PC

Reviewed on PC

Pros:
+ Beautiful realistic graphics with unique pixel art sprinkled in

+ Memorable characters and story

+ Very funny as well as heart-warming moments

Cons:

- Puzzles break the game more often than not forcing players to replay previous sections

- The best puzzle mechanic is only used a few times

Final Thoughts

Indika feels like a challenge to get through. With its main mechanic being its puzzles that break the game quite often, it might prove difficult for casual players to complete. But, if you’re looking for a game that you’ll want to tell your friends about as soon as the credits roll, this will be the perfect title for you. It’s unique, strange, funny, and unlike anything I’ve played before. If you can make it through, it’s worth the short, one time journey.

Review by Becca Smith