INDIKA: Self-described as a “subversive, self-endeavourus, multi-meta-layered, nun-perspective, conscience-driven, action answer seeker”, INDIKA is really just a very interesting and pretty walking simulator (which its trailer denies it is... but it is).

I suspect we have a bit of a Hideo Kojima situation on our hands with this one, where writer/director Dmitry Svetlov wanted to make a movie more than a video game. The world of INDIKA is beautiful and full of sights that you may have even seen before, but the world's tone makes everything feel uniquely dark. You've seen a giant fish, but in INDIKA, catfish the size of skyscrapers hang from hooks in a vast, grim, autonomous cannery. They're loaded into what looks like normal tuna cans, only these are the size of a small car and you'll use them for a stacking puzzle. How one begins to eat from these cans, you and Indika will never know.
The word “bleak” applies to almost everything you'll be seeing in INDIKA, from the vast, foggy, barren landscapes to the dismal, misshapen, near-empty cities.
However, Kojima games are beloved not just for their insane storytelling, but because the gameplay, while sometimes too infrequent, is usually very good or at the very least, interesting.

So it looks good and the atmosphere is perfect for a story, but is it a good “game”? I do not think so. Again, it's a walking sim, that's like automatically capping how good it can be. The occasional puzzle is barely even a speed bump and the switch to retro graphics when delving into Indika's past is interesting but always short-lived -- as is this entire adventure. Really, there's not much for you to “do”. If you try the demo, you've seen all you'll be doing (and some things, like its chase, you won't be doing again).

Were it to be a movie, I think they've already got an incredible director of photography. Even how the opening credits are shown is something I've never seen before. Almost every cutscene has a filmic touch with shots that feel inspired by an Aronofsky or Lanthimos picture. I enjoyed Indika's story and her crisis of faith; I was successfully hooked and wondered what would happen to her, her captor, and her personal demon. Indika starts asking some pretty important philosophical questions on her journey and I was quite proud of her for even considering it.
I liked the touches added to make her so meek and vulnerable: her gaze is always downward and dodgy and if you stand still, she picks or nibbles at her cuticles and nails. Left clicking will have her wipe away at her forehead, right clicking and she'll cross herself. Interestingly, there are moments where if you have Indika cross herself – like under a painting of Jesus – you're rewarded with experience (and you are not told this). Unfortunately, the game isn't lying when it tells you “Don't grieve over lost points, they're useless anyway”.

...but it was all too brief. This story can easily be completed in one sitting if you are unemployed and there's no replay value. While the ending is painfully relatable for anyone who has ever been in need of some serious introspection, it's also pretty abrupt and maybe a hair lackluster for a video game. There's also no skipping of cutscenes, so if a lengthy one plays and you quit? When you come back, you're watching all that again. Pretty frustrating stuff.

It's definitely interesting and I'm glad I gave it a shot, but I guess I'd be sure to say that when you go into this, you won't get too much of a “game” out of it. It's a bit of a ride but definitely feels like playing a movie, there's almost no “need” for players to interact. Some of the dark humor here reminded me of “The Crying of Lot 49”, too, not totally sure why.

I think I can sort of recommend it. Maybe get it on a good sale.