INDIKA (PC) Review

INDIKA is a difficult game to review without delving into spoilers, as it’s short and focussed entirely on the physical, spiritual, and philosophical journey its titular “heroine” experiences. There is enough gameplay diversity and a handful of chapter-specific achievements/trophies to encourage a replay, but that first playthrough is going to be the most impactful as the story beats, philosophical questions, gameplay sequences, and surreal audiovisual elements all come together.

In simple terms, INDIKA is a linear and cinematic third-person adventure game that funnels you from chapter to chapter, between dialogue-heavy exploration sequences and puzzle-oriented gameplay sequences, always bookended by stylish, weird, sometimes humorous, and often touching cutscenes. I was most reminded of Firewatch and What Remains of Edith Finch – games in which the characters, narrative themes, and storytelling techniques are the focus, but also games that still offer enough mechanical depth to keep you engaged for their brisk runtime.

The game follows Indika’s journey through an alternate-history Russia near the end of the 19^th century – a time when rampant industrialisation is spreading, Tsars still reign, and paranoia about potential war with Western powers is everywhere. She’s a young woman desperate to find purpose as a nun, despite her apparent worldliness, a clear preference for rationality over blind faith, and a subversive voice in her head that may be Satan himself. A rare excursion away from the monastery to deliver a letter brings her into contact with Ilya – a young prisoner sporting a gangrenous arm, the belief his survival must god’s doing; and a quest to seek salvation with an organisation known as the Kudets. Despite his dislike for dogs, Indika – still looking for her own salvation – choses to help him escape instead of leaving him to die.

The opening chapters lean into weird and humorous encounters, with plenty of fourth-wall-breaking moments that both highlight and mock traditional gameplay mechanics. You trudge between objective markers, perform repetitive tasks, and even gain experience that allows you to select perks in a completely useless skill tree with choices like more pain, grief, or feelings of repentance – all while a catchy MIDI-style soundtrack ramps up in the background. It’s great for trailers and grabbing your attention up front, but INDIKA pushes those elements to the background in later chapters for a more grounded story of two people, both of whom have had their youth stolen from them, trying to make sense of their life choices, how that has influenced their beliefs, and what purpose they serve.

I found it a gripping, well-paced, and relatable story, but INDIKA is no walking sim that’ll bore you between story beats. The opening chapter is, again, not particularly representative, as you’ll soon find yourself fleeing soldiers in a motorised scooter, outwitting a monstrous dog in a dilapidated paint factory, navigating a storage yard using a container crane, dodging rotating racks of drying fish, and solving no end of logic- or sequence-puzzles using ladders, crates, elevators, and the like. There are two notable highlights: the first are traversal puzzles when Indika is fighting with the voice in her head through prayer, in which the environment literally rips itself apart and pulls back together again; the other are the flashback sequences presented as 16-bit-style isometric or side-scrolling games. Oh, and it’s not just spectacle as INDIKA does a great job of matching environments and gameplay sequences with the chapter’s narrative themes.

What INDIKA does have in common with many narrative games is that it’s easy to play and the mechanics rarely get in the way of the pacing – unless it’s by design. The controls are relatively simple with few inputs – though I’d suggest a gamepad over mouse + keyboard – and INDIKA has frequent checkpoints during sections she can actually die. Aside from a moment or two where I wasn’t sure where to go, the puzzle or chase sequences never outstay their welcome and Indika or Ilya will hint at what to do. Each chapter is usually 10-15 minutes with maybe 2 or 3 gameplay sequences but, if you do want more gameplay, you can always light votive candles and find collectibles on Russian Orthodox Christianity for XP towards the skill tree.

Bringing everything together is the incredible presentation that prioritises style and storytelling, yet never at the expense of the gameplay. There are clear interaction icons and HUD elements when needed, while distant lights or heat sources guide you through harsh industrial environments that are improbably large and feature desaturated colours, making Indika and Ilya feel tiny and insignificant in comparison. Animations can feel a little stiff but the cutscenes have great direction and showcase both the detailed character models and impressive material physics. I played with English voice acting and they made every performance feel believable – no matter how ridiculous the situation. Given how light it is on hardware requirements, INDIKA is not pushing technical boundaries, but it is confidently and consistently stylish in a way few games manage.

So, to end where I started, INDIKA is all about experiencing her journey, discovering more of her and Ilya’s complex past, watching them question established dogma and their own beliefs, and hopefully find purpose – all without the game ever feeling preachy or judgemental. As one of the increasingly rare games designed to make you think about your own beliefs while playing it, INDIKA comes highly recommended. On the other hand, if you like to pretend games aren’t influenced by personal, spiritual, or political beliefs, maybe look elsewhere.

INDIKA was reviewed on PC using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It will also be available on Xbox Series S|X and PS5 soon.