Infra is an atmospheric and completely non-violent first-person puzzle/adventure that deals with the issues of deteriorating infrastructure. The player controls an ordinary structural analyst through abandoned factories, forgotten tunnels and unsafe buildings in a dangerous, crumbling industrial city and its surrounding rural areas. Along the way, the player will be taking photos of structural weaknesses, solving environmental puzzles and unravelling a thought-provoking story centered around corruption and deception.
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I want to preface what I'm about to say with the fact that if you like puzzle games where you must entirely find the solution yourself without any hints then this is the game for you. There's more than enough of that to spend hours on.
With that being said, those of you who are like me and want some semblance of (video game) logic toward a conclusion in puzzles, Infra is a test of frustration. For the handful of hours I got through this, every puzzle I found was met with a sense of dread and calling it quits for the day.
The way puzzles are structured are fairly straightforward. You walk into a location, are met with infrastructure that's in serious disrepair, and need to fix it to progress. That's all the guidance you get outside of the odd note here and there. As such, puzzles are less about finding the correct solution and more about finding whatever it is the game wants. To me, that process is grating and makes me feel like I'm walking in circles finding that one thing I didn't interact with.
I completely understand why the developer did this. They wanted Infra's puzzles to feel as realistic as possible, at least within the ability to actually complete them. On the front of uniqueness, there's few games with puzzles quite like it. It's just not for me and, judging by the fact 35% of people have gotten just under halfway through the game, it's not for a lot of people.
Though outside of things that could arguably come down to personal tastes, the voice acting for this game is laughably bad. It's mostly due to Finnish voice actors not speaking their native language which isn't the fault of the actors themselves, but it does make any line delivered feel unnaturally wooden. I almost considered swapping the language at times and just reading the subtitles, which is tough since I tend to have a tough time putting subtitles to emotion.
For what it's worth, there are things Infra gets right. Its world is gorgeous and arguably some of the best Source 1 content we've ever gotten. It also has decent music whenever it interjects. For my tastes though, it isn't enough to carry the experience. I really wish I could love this game as much as other people do, but the only way I see myself playing without losing my sanity is to look up all the puzzle solutions. Not super interested in that idea.
With that being said, those of you who are like me and want some semblance of (video game) logic toward a conclusion in puzzles, Infra is a test of frustration. For the handful of hours I got through this, every puzzle I found was met with a sense of dread and calling it quits for the day.
The way puzzles are structured are fairly straightforward. You walk into a location, are met with infrastructure that's in serious disrepair, and need to fix it to progress. That's all the guidance you get outside of the odd note here and there. As such, puzzles are less about finding the correct solution and more about finding whatever it is the game wants. To me, that process is grating and makes me feel like I'm walking in circles finding that one thing I didn't interact with.
I completely understand why the developer did this. They wanted Infra's puzzles to feel as realistic as possible, at least within the ability to actually complete them. On the front of uniqueness, there's few games with puzzles quite like it. It's just not for me and, judging by the fact 35% of people have gotten just under halfway through the game, it's not for a lot of people.
Though outside of things that could arguably come down to personal tastes, the voice acting for this game is laughably bad. It's mostly due to Finnish voice actors not speaking their native language which isn't the fault of the actors themselves, but it does make any line delivered feel unnaturally wooden. I almost considered swapping the language at times and just reading the subtitles, which is tough since I tend to have a tough time putting subtitles to emotion.
For what it's worth, there are things Infra gets right. Its world is gorgeous and arguably some of the best Source 1 content we've ever gotten. It also has decent music whenever it interjects. For my tastes though, it isn't enough to carry the experience. I really wish I could love this game as much as other people do, but the only way I see myself playing without losing my sanity is to look up all the puzzle solutions. Not super interested in that idea.
I think this deserves a port to modern consoles more than any other game. I don't know why but walking around in this game, looking at the scenery, it just puts me in a mood. Fucking love this fucking thing yeahhhhhh.
the most finnish eurojank source adventure game i think i've ever played (positive). even if the puzzles feel like kind of a slog at times, and the battery drain mechanic is kind of just an annoyance (luckily, you can edit the configs to decrease the rate that it drains, or just turn it off completely), every environment has an endless amount of care put into it and the photography helps to incentivize you to explore every little crevice you can, find every document and easter egg.
i do wish it was made a bit more obvious at times which path leads you to the next area and which is optional, because there are multiple times where i'll walk into a hallway thinking it's more map only to be met with a level transition. still, i'll definitely replay this at some point, maybe check out the surprising wealth of fan-mods too. i like this game quite a bit, even through the tedium.
i do wish it was made a bit more obvious at times which path leads you to the next area and which is optional, because there are multiple times where i'll walk into a hallway thinking it's more map only to be met with a level transition. still, i'll definitely replay this at some point, maybe check out the surprising wealth of fan-mods too. i like this game quite a bit, even through the tedium.
Wow, where do I even start? This game is so unique and definitely not for everyone. But if you can get absorbed into this game like I did, you won't stop thinking about it.
The exploration is amazing due to the simply beautiful world design and stunning, picturesque moments. I've played some games that look really good with their fancy schmancy graphics, but this one's different. I took 65 screenshots while playing because the game looked amazing and I wanted to capture the moment. I think the Source engine helps it here, creating a sort of creepy yet alluring atmosphere throughout the whole game.
The game is long, it could be seen as a 20-30 hour walking simulator. But it's really more of an exploration-puzzle game. The only downside is that some of the puzzles are obscure or easily missable and I had to use a walkthrough for many sections in the game. Without the walkthrough I would've spent a dozen more hours wandering aimlessly. It can also be hard to remember what keys you have. The game would've really benefited from an inventory, or even a simple list of keys.
The game is pretty funny too, some of the things Mark says, but also the actual story. Like, this guy had the craziest fucking day at the office. Once you think you've seen it all, Infra keeps throwing new locations at you that get bigger and better as you get further into the game.
If you can deal with a slow-burning game, try out Infra. The gameplay is slow, yet the pacing is anything but.
The exploration is amazing due to the simply beautiful world design and stunning, picturesque moments. I've played some games that look really good with their fancy schmancy graphics, but this one's different. I took 65 screenshots while playing because the game looked amazing and I wanted to capture the moment. I think the Source engine helps it here, creating a sort of creepy yet alluring atmosphere throughout the whole game.
The game is long, it could be seen as a 20-30 hour walking simulator. But it's really more of an exploration-puzzle game. The only downside is that some of the puzzles are obscure or easily missable and I had to use a walkthrough for many sections in the game. Without the walkthrough I would've spent a dozen more hours wandering aimlessly. It can also be hard to remember what keys you have. The game would've really benefited from an inventory, or even a simple list of keys.
The game is pretty funny too, some of the things Mark says, but also the actual story. Like, this guy had the craziest fucking day at the office. Once you think you've seen it all, Infra keeps throwing new locations at you that get bigger and better as you get further into the game.
If you can deal with a slow-burning game, try out Infra. The gameplay is slow, yet the pacing is anything but.
It's a nice game, I actually started playing it with great interest. But turns out this game is created to spite me: a linear puzzle game with a lot of the puzzles and content being skippable. I guess it would be alright if I had a counter or something that told me if I am missing stuff but no, most of this stuff is either designed to make you play the game multiple times or straight up force you to use a guide.
I don't like that you cannot revise your discoveries, your items, etc. Specially so that I can keep up with the lore more effectively.
The battery mechanic was also totally unnecessary imo.
Other than that it's a cool and well made setting so far, and I like the idea of fixing everything you find
I don't like that you cannot revise your discoveries, your items, etc. Specially so that I can keep up with the lore more effectively.
The battery mechanic was also totally unnecessary imo.
Other than that it's a cool and well made setting so far, and I like the idea of fixing everything you find
This game tells you that finnish people don´t do maintenance