INDIKA
About This Game
FEATURES:
- Play a TPP adventure game that combines an imaginative story with a dark sense of humor
- Join a young nun Indika on her journey of self-discovery
- Meet the devil himself as Indika’s unlikely travel companion
- Explore the hidden depths of Indika’s soul while tackling unique puzzle elements
- Travel through surreal landscapes of Russia seen in a distorted mirror
- Uncover Indika’s troubled past in the form of 2D pixel art mini-games
MEET A NOT-SO-ORDINARY NUN
INDIKA is a third-person, story-driven game set in a strange world where religious visions clash with harsh reality. It tells the story of a young nun who sets off on a journey of self-discovery with the most unusual, horn-headed companion by her side.
On the outside, Indika seems to be a typical nun attempting to adjust to a difficult and monotonous monastery life. Humble and innocent in her appearance, do not be deceived as this young girl has also made a highly unlikely acquaintance—as she speaks with the devil himself.
Indika’s unusual connection with the Evil One leads her on an errand beyond the safe walls of the monastery. The world she discovers can only be described as a wild combination of comedy and tragedy straight out of the novels by Dostoyevski and Bulhakov.
ENJOY AN INDIE GAME WHERE EVERYTHING GOES
The subjects of religion and authority are prevalent throughout Indika’s journey and she’ll be faced with many questions along the way. Guide her to find the answers one by one before she can finish her life-defining odyssey.
Odd Meter is a small, independent studio formerly based in Moscow and now operating out of Kazakhstan. Its members put aesthetics at the forefront and aren’t afraid to tread the fine line of ethical norms. Their game is a great testament to that, as INDIKA constitutes an open challenge to the industry’s established approach to creating video games.
Chief 0
Finished the game, at first I was about to recommend it, but changed my mind towards the end. And its hard to tell why, without spoilers. But in short, in the end, it feels like radical critique towards traditionalism and culture, represented through a very depressing story. I personally like to study alternative views as a mature man, however you don't throw "Santa doesn't exist" into young kids for no reason, and actually there is a reason Santa exists for kids. Same with the other beliefs. They do help people make orienteers for good and bad deeds, without such orienteers, society would be much more evil. Now some people do that, but imagine EVERYONE taking what they want no matter the costs. Consider that, if you decide to play it. For me it feels, like authors broke the fairy tale, but didn't properly replace it with explanation about reality.
Steam User 130
The Strangest Anti-Nun Simulator
Well, I’ll give it this: INDIKA—a linear puzzle horror adventure game set in a surreal 19th century reimagining of dieselpunk Russia—is not only the strangest game I’ve ever played, but arguably the strangest story I’ve ever digested, regardless of medium. And, frankly, I’m still digesting it while reading this script, long after the credits rolled.
Four-Minute Video Review:
STORY
Play as the titular “anti-heroine,” Indika—a troubled nun with a troubled past and an unenviable present due in large part to the fact that all of her covenant sisters openly despise her. Why? Well, Indika’s chronic acts of blasphemous clumsiness sure as hell don’t help, and the game’s opening sequence is really just a long montage of you screwing up and getting punished with menial task after task. But it isn’t her fault! For poor Indika isn’t just uncoordinated, she’s possessed by the devil. And when Lucifer isn’t busy tormenting her with the strangest hallucinations you’ve ever seen, he’s busy filling her head with philosophical and existential doubt.
Now imagine lugging all of this emotional baggage halfway across Siberia when Indika is tasked with hand-delivering a mysterious letter to a faraway priest. The ensuing journey makes the game’s oppressive prologue seem downright jubilant by comparison, as the world outside the walls of Indika’s covenant is a bleak, Kafkaesque nightmare full of bizarre industries, werewolf dogs, and escaped prisoners, one of whom becomes Indika’s reluctant one-armed traveling companion.
There’s not much more I can say about INDIKA without dipping into spoiler-territory, so instead I’ll just say that the game’s story elements kept me consistently intrigued if a little offput. It’s not the easiest story to stomach as it grapples with some pretty challenging themes, but so did Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and I’m still thinking about that game years later.
GAMEPLAY & CONTENT
While INDIKA is first and foremost a linear story adventure, it does sport a number of inventive puzzles along the way. The game makes poetic use of Indika’s internal turmoil, occasionally giving you the ability to rip the world in two, in doing so opening up otherwise inaccessible passageways. Other puzzles ask Indika to manipulate giant objects via diesel machines, something she shows a natural proclivity for given her upbringing in a 16-bit bike shop. You heard that right—when Indika isn’t busy running from photorealistic monstrosities in the present tense, she’s probably daydreaming about quirky jumping puzzles from her 2D past. During these or when completing real-world objectives, Indika will collect intentionally meaningless nun points she can use to level up her ability to collect even more meaningless nun points.
Like I said, it’s a crazy little game that equal parts delights in and is horrified by the absurdity of existence itself. And, while stiff movement controls hold INDIKA far back from gameplay greatness, the game’s super friendly checkpoint system means you’ll never get the chance to grow truly frustrated, even as that massive fish knocks you into the smoker for the tenth time.
STYLE
As for Style, INDIKA is drenched in a desolate, dread-inducing atmosphere: blankets of white snow and the washed-out grays of mostly abandoned Russian architecture are only occasionally punctuated by the flicker of fire and Indika’s emerald-green eyes. These settings are further unsettled by harsh ambient sound design, but the whole vibe is often undermined by a silly retro 8-bit soundtrack that seems to exist solely for the sake of clashing with everything on screen. Hey, I get it—it’s an uncompromising art house game with a particular vision, but that doesn’t mean I have to like all of it.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, INDIKA kept me confused, depressed, horrified, and most importantly engaged for the duration of its six-hour runtime. While its story and gameplay elements both fall short of spectacular, it’s certainly the most interesting game I’ve played all year, and I can recommend it to the strong-willed for that reason alone.
I’m giving INDIKA an aggregate MEGA score of 3.46/5 (full scoring breakdown, from “Plot” to “Sound,” available in video form) and am happy to answer any questions you have about the game or my review.
Thanks for reading!
STEAM CURATOR:
Steam User 175
I feel empty inside. I'm going to call my mother and tell her I love her.
Steam User 88
If Nietzsche had been born nowadays, became a game dev and his buddies were Monty Python bunch, this would be the outcome.
Steam User 115
This NUN is FORKLIFT CERTIFIED
Steam User 50
What a strange, beautiful and horrifying game.
Steam User 53
Make Indika 2
Steam User 80
2 MIN Video Review
Written Review
Indika is a surreal story-driven game that made me feel a mix of emotions I have never experienced in a game before.
You play as Indika, a nun whose convent looks down upon and shuns. It's evident there's something not quite right about her, which his portrayed by a voice in her head that antagonizes her throughout her journey.
Everything in the game is done deliberately to really make you feel on edge, through the uneasy dialogue, strange happenings, and some of the most unusual and interesting camera angles I've seen in gaming. The game even has strange video game theming woven into it, via its UI, and level up system, further pushing forward the feeling of being out-of-place.
As for the gameplay. For the most part, you explore desolate locations, talk to companions, and solve simple puzzles. That's because the game at its core is a narrative-centric one, and everything else is a means of delivering Indika's unusual story, of which I found very intriguing, and incredibly uniquely portrayed.
Conclusion
The gameplay isn't its strongest suite, but that's okay, because it's a ride unlike any others. Indika's most compelling selling point by far is the fact that its story-telling devices are so fresh and original. I really haven't experienced something like this before. I would regularly be laughing, disturbed and intrigued all in one scene.
And if that sounds like something compelling to you, I'd recommend picking up the game!
It's a short experience, but definitely something very unique!