INDIKA is a spiritual journey that is more than meets the eye.
INDIKA is a dark story-driven third-person game that takes you through an alternative Russia at the turn of the 19th century. INDIKA was developed by Odd Meter a small independent studio that operates out of Kazakhstan. They have previously released SACRALITH: The Archer`s Tale in May 2018, a VR-only Bow and Arrow shooter. The publishers, 11 Bit Studios, have previously published games like Anomaly and Frostpunk.
INDIKA is incredibly story-driven and filled with different puzzles to play through. The story revolves around a young nun called India who goes on a journey of self-discovery in a world where religious visions clash with the cold but harsh truth of reality. Indika seems like a normal, ordinary nun when you first meet her. She, however, shares a special connection with a demon.
INDIKA starts off with a pixel puzzle of a girl falling, you have to move her towards points and collect them as you fall. When you get to a specific amount it switches to a cutscene where you discover Indika was at an evening prayer and accidentally disturbed it leading her to being thrown out. In the monastery, Indika isn’t liked by the other Nuns because she is different. She is eventually tasked with delivering a letter to the Danilov monastery.
Unfortunately, the trip was slated to go wrong from the beginning. From the moment she leaves the monastery grounds she is faced with different puzzles and hardships that she comes across. But her journey isn’t just about the present.
She goes through many different flashbacks that take the form of 16-bit puzzles which contract greatly with the almost hyper-realistic landscape that Indika had been walking through previously. While the cheerful almost upbeat music that is played during the flashbacks seems out of place it really helps bring together what makes INDIKA unique.
Each flashback brings insight into Indika’s past while you play through her present. Although throughout the gameplay her thoughts and even her innermost desires are narrated by a Narrator who seems to enjoy taunting Indika and her beliefs whenever he can. It doesn’t take much to figure out that the narrator is the demon that is plaguing her although he seems more like an inner demon rather than a true demon.
He’s witty yet sharp and asks her questions that would really make you think. Indika throughout her travels is stuck in an ongoing conscious battle between her reality and her desires. In a way, the game plays on the notion of having both a devil and an angel on one’s shoulders.
Even the environment keeps very little logic to their structure, when going through the ruins of a city amidst cliff lines, it almost gives a feeling of As Above, So Below because, for every step you take going up, you dive deeper into Indika’s internal struggle. Everything beyond the walls of the monastery is almost comical yet dream-like.
The game’s environment leans into more video game logic with this, such as at the fishery with fish the size of small houses and large cans that are as tall as Indika. There are times when INDIKA does feel a bit like a walking simulator as you explore the world around you and solve puzzles.
One thing that does seem almost strange is that in some of the environments, a lot of the animals are overly large. Much like the monstrous fish in the fishery. You run from a large dog, one that at first almost could have been mistaken for a bear if it wasn’t for the more canine look. This is mostly a chase scene where you have to keep an eye on the environment as one misstep could lead to a tragic end for our heroine.
Although not everything spans out as a walking simulator especially when the narrator’s voice becomes too much for Indika and reality begins to shift and warp, although his more witty rants happen during this time. While you can use this to easily navigate the ruined landscapes, Indika can start praying and have reality shift back to normal although to cross the environmental puzzles there are times when you have to bear with the ranting to navigate it.
The story takes on a new turn when she meets an injured soldier named Ilya who had saved her from a bad situation. Although much like everything else in the game, he isn’t all that he seems as he does end up kidnapping her at first. Throughout the journey, they form an unlikely bond.
Much like Indika, Ilya also hears a voice although he says the voice he hears is the voice of God. The two often banter with each other and Indika’s skepticism comes out as she questions some of Ilya’s beliefs, especially about what he believes is God’s plan. That isn’t all they speak about as they often share different parts of their past.
Throughout the journey, Indika comes to trust Ilya, despite her doubts about his beliefs. He gives her a glimmer of hope that she could be cured, that the voice she hears could be silenced, although the narrator does tend to like chiming in at the worst possible moments. In a way, the journey the two of them travel on seems to be one of redemption, as they seek a cure for their afflictions. However, it becomes all too clear that destiny and fate had other plans.
INDIKA does its best to portray a teenage girl in an alternative nineteenth-century Russia. Although it does hint at sexual violence, scenes are rendered in a way that shows the unpleasant yet sobering aspect of an otherwise whimsical scenery that Indika has to walk through.
The most interesting aspect of the game is the collectables. As you walk there are many things that Indika can interact with and pray to which gives her points to collect. However, the game repeatedly mentions that the points are… pointless.
They have no real value outside of a skill tree that has skills such as ‘guilt’. In a way, this shows that no matter how hard Indika tried, no matter how much she prayed or how religious she was her fate much like Ilya’s was unchangeable.
The graphics of INDIKA are stunning combining a realistic world with beautifully drawn 16-bit pixel art. The environmental design is beautiful and sets the stage for a dark story. The pixel art isn’t too bright and over the top but it makes up for it with beautiful pops of colour throughout its design.
The Sound Engineering was just as well executed as the graphics. The sound effects and music ran together seamlessly although the more electronic-based music runs rampant in the demon’s realm it doesn’t take away from the game.
The voice acting in INDIKA is extremely well done, the actors do a fantastic job of portraying the characters and the emotions they go through, and the narrator is both witty and sarcastic which adds an almost comedic aspect to an otherwise incredibly dark game. The music can become repetitive in some cases, such as when you’re stuck on a puzzle.
Overall, INDIKA is a beautifully crafted story-driven adventure that is definitely not a game for everyone. While it is a short game to play through, there are times when the darker themes are highly prevalent and overwhelming and times when the game seems a little too quiet.
