Interesting, I watched a little bit of it and it was the weirdness that got me but in the long run it wasn't really as weird as I thought. It does have a lot to say in beliefs, faith and in a way finding your place.

It has a lot of mechanics that you wouldn't think would fit because they don't, but that's also a bit of the point of the whole thing.

Gameplay is mostly walking and puzzle oriented, fairly simple but I also found that if you miss the obvious there's really no hints to guide you to the right path.

It took about 4 hours for me to finish so it wasn't particularly long but it has it's story and it feels finished.

Ending is a little dark but overall it was an interesting story.

Well what is there to say. A game that's very subtle in what it's trying to say. A lot is left up to interpretation. You might leave with more questions than answers.

The fabric simulation I've ever seen. Indikas head piece flows so realistically.
Her idle animation is also brimming with character but stays grounded enough to be believable. Slightly hunched over and biting her nails after fidgeting. It's absolutely great.

I do think the pacing is a bit off at times and I couldn't tell if the audio was supposed to sound blown out for certain sections or not. But it's very cool game definitely worth a second playthrough

there are cathedrals everywhere for those with eyes to see :-)))

rlly makes you FEEL like ur 19 again and still experiencing religious delusions/paranoia. which is like such a specific feeling and thought process and not one I wouldve thought a video game could nail. but nah this took me right back to 2019 and how ill and scared i felt back then. loved any moment where indika was able to sit down and u would be able to cycle through all these beautiful camera angles where each one is centered on her through these like far away creep shots,, like she’s being stalked and looked at w hatred by some unknown figure. idk the feeling of being totally alone but still being watched and like ur never alone even when u want to be is ultimately like an entitled and self important one but it’s crazy to me that a game can get across these v specific feelings.

reminded me lots of i saw the tv glow,,, both ultimately about how living inside ur head and through fantasy is like a v unhealthy lifestyle and bad for mental/physical well-being. how any kind of fantasy whether a positive or negative one is end of day bad for u if it’s all consuming and u can’t live without the fantasies that play out in ur head. u end up seeing and hearing what’s inside ur head rather than what’s actually there in front of u.

religious horror team ico game (tho im sure a case could be easily made that that’s exactly what those games already are) or like alice madness returns w more contemporary aesthetic pretenses. kind of shit that yorgos lanthimos would be making if he wasnt a fucking coward and freak loll and im NOT just saying this bc there’s a disorienting usage of fisheye here tho more things should def use fisheye. zulawski vibesss here too for sure. love this,, finished all in one sitting,, had me in a trance fr
(which the gendered violence had more of a statement or take before the ending and not just in the final section but yk oh well play the cards that im given)

ok but where’s sativa tho😭

Aside from the gorgeous graphics there are many things about this game that I didn't expect. While I won't go into the story as I rather not spoil it the way scenes are "shot" look fantastic and feel like a film at times. Though it's a different theme, I got Tarkovsky's "Stalker" vibes from this but I'm not sure I can really explain as to why other than the heavy dialogue throughout. It touched on religion in a way that wasn't edgy and I felt posed some good questions in morality among other things.
While it is short and a walking sim I think this game does a great job in telling a story that kept me interested in it even if it wasn't always action packed.

que jogo incrível. honestamente não sei nem por onde que começo a falar sobre indika… esse jogo me surpreendeu de várias maneiras começando pelos gráficos LINDOS e depois pelos diálogos e a profundidade deles e da história que acontece em várias camadas seja mudando o estilo de jogo DO NADA ou adicionando puzzles diferentes ou ate mesmo mudando o POV do nada para dar mais ênfase ainda no que está sendo contado. enfim INDIKA é um dos melhores jogos que joguei nesse ano e merece muito mais atenção pela grandiosidade que ele tem dentro dele.

ps: a sequencia final do jogo foi ARTE absolute cinema

Cannot recall the last time a game - a non-AAA game at least - created so many high-quality assets that are on-screen for such a short time (which is extra funny as I think the key art used for the cover/other places is at least partially AI generated). End-to-end there are rooms teeming with insanely detailed objects, landscapes composed so strikingly and at such scale that they boggle the mind and, hell, even great pixel art. Yet if you're just playing the game normally all of it is moved past in seconds. They clearly were aware of this as they even give you these benches to sit on which provide multiple framed shots of your surroundings, so you can bask in them a bit. Listen lads I wouldn't blame you if you pumped out a quick second game real quick to get your money's worth on that work, my word

Indika is a nun who clutches the charm on her rosary beads til her left hand bleeds, knows how to drive a steambike, and may or may not be talking to the Devil.

From the couch, INDIKA--the game--can sometimes recall The Last of Us, both in how you explore the world, listening to conversations and rummaging through houses torn asunder, and how it spaces little puzzles and set pieces organically throughout its world. But it's also not at all like Ellie and Joel's adventure. It's more profane, and way more Russian: a quixotic mix of philosophy and psychedelia.

That said, like many walking sims, it isn't always fun to play. One of your very first tasks involves refilling a bucket from a well five times. On PS5, the 5.1 audio is unbalanced, the controls are finicky, and the (frequently awe-inspiring) visuals are jerky and unoptimized. Call it Eurojank, I don't mind--a frictionless gaming experience isn't one that can truly explore suffering, and like Disco Elysium, Indika can often be laugh out loud funny while it twists your arm.

So y'know...buy it.

I fear there was an artistic meaning to this game that was lost on me. It did have some thought-provoking conversations over the idea of faith and such, and the story itself was told in a very interesting way, however, I didn't enjoy it much. I think my biggest issue may have been going in expecting more humor, although the game did offer some humorous spots, it had a more serious undertone the entire time. It was short and looks great, I just don't feel like the game was for me.

You can view my entire review here: https://youtu.be/bXYw_bLA7iY

One of my favourite things to do is play a short indie game on a whim without knowing anything about it. I did this for Indika and boy did it pay off.

Indika takes a fascinating approach to making a cinematic narrative game feel fresh and exciting. It's quite unlike most other narrative "walking-sim" style games I've played. Indika uses the medium of video games to tell it's story better. It's hard for me to say how it achieves that without outright spoiling it, but it's doing some pretty cool stuff. That also extends to the game's general tone. Indika feels like it's going back and forth between being a serious commentary on religion to presenting itself as outright goofy and more of a satire. Sometimes this works. But other times, it can feel jarring. And I imagine this to be the intent as it's often effective. I just can't help but feel the absurdist elements of the game could have been pushed even further.

I enjoyed the story that's being told here. There are some pretty interesting discussions about religion and morality throughout the game that stuck with me. This is helped by strong VA from the leads. I'll also add that this game has some cool alt-history lore stuff (massive fish!!) that add a unique flavour to the game's world. Fun stuff.

Indika isn't without the mundane though. For all the cool and unique stuff the game brings to the table, you're still pushing boxes and solving sometimes outright mediocre puzzles. There's also a few of the standard walking sections where, as a player, all you have to do is push up on the analog stick. Stuff like that still feels archaic here, but I didn't mind it too much considering how strong the rest of the game is.

I enjoyed Indika a lot for what it was. And even more than that, I appreciate it for doing things differently. This is an extremely unique entry in the pantheon of Walking Sims out there. Definitely worth a look.

A hard game to recommend to the average "gamer". It starts slow, but then quickly transitions into the surreal and is full of dark humor. One might call it a walking simulator, but I'd say it's a bit more than just that. It is interested in a philosophical dialogue on the nature of faith vs morality and free will, but I don't think it does more than scratch the surface. There is also a wild variety of puzzles and types of gameplay throughout, and some hit and some very much miss.

Despite some inconsistency, Indika is right up my alley for games that make you sad and think about stuff. And considering how small the team was that made this game, (not to mention that they needed to flee Russia to complete it), it's honestly a small miracle.

Indika busca ser disruptivo e esteticamente consegue. Em muitos momentos, questiona e desafia convenções de game design e de design que temos no mundo dos videogames. Além disso, traz questionamentos filosóficos principalmente relacionados a dogmas católicos, mas também há padrões culturais e sociais que temos.
Entretanto, concordo o Henrique em sua análise para o Nautilus: a minha falta de conhecimento com a literatura e cultura russa não me deixou apreciar 100% desta obra. Junto a isso, a gameplay num geral é bem mediocre, com alguns poucos quebra-cabeças desafiadores.

Até onde o jogo se propõe a ser desafiador? Até onde ele se importa em ter uma grande jogabilidade? Isso pouco importa se o meu sentimento após terminá-lo diz isso. Não é imperdível, mas é recomendável para quem busca algo contracultural.

Indika es un juego que se vendió como algo extremadamente experimental y termina siendo más convencional de lo que esperaba. Por supuesto que en el apartado de historia y narrativa es súper arriesgado y valiente, pero en cuanto a mecánicas, es un típico juego de aventura narrativa (exceptuando pequeñas partes que sirven como "minijuegos" que te expanden un poco más la historia). Cuenta con un apartado visual hermoso y muy estético, aunque flaquean bastante las animaciones. Lo recomiendo si quieren adentrarse en una historia muy buena y original.

The reviews that are comparing Indika to the video game equivalent of an A24 film are all accurate. But this game also brings with it a revelation of sorts: multiple dimensions and mechanics of play, sometimes drastically different and seemingly clashing, can come together to form an artistic and deliberate final product that is as impeccable with its construction and execution as the most precise of art films. If Fellini or Tarkovsky were game designers, and had the technology allowed, they likely would have made gaming experiences like this.

Whether you respond positively to a game like this will heavily depend on what you think the ultimate point of a video game is. Me, I happen to keep my definitions and expectations rather broad in that regard. As long as I am entertained by the gameplay experience, how the game unfolds before me can vary greatly and I will be receptive. In the case of Indika, I have been introduced to a new level of multifaceted, integrated interactive art that I frankly could not have envisioned prior to playing it for myself.

Yet more proof that Ebert was wrong. Video games absolutely can be (and increasingly are) art.

The message of the game is not only as profound as the best films out there, but it hits a new level of effectiveness within the audience because we are directly interacting with the medium as the point is made. We realize the futility of our object valuation and our sense of context in this story right along with Indika. And that makes her revelations ours as well. It's brilliant three-dimensional storytelling that only the medium of video games can offer. And Indika serves as perhaps the finest example yet of how far that envelope can be pushed.

Критика христианства от того, кто о христианстве где-то что-то слышал про "отбивать себе лоб и терпеть дерьмо, потому что нет мозгов" с не пришей кобыле хвост пиксель-артом и таким геймплеем, что лучше бы его вообще не было... Конечно, поскольку её духовная предшественница Сенуа была о том, чтобы пять часов спасать бойфренда, искать нужные точки на карте и рассматривать их со всех сторон, — Индика уж определённо поинтереснее будет. То есть, для игр социальная критика на уровне секс-куклы в мастерской иконописца вполне сойдёт — не всё по ящикам скакать. Так что по меркам игр это вполне себе интерактивный "Андрей Рублёв" на вечерок — пусть труба и несколько пониже, а дым чуть-чуть пожиже. (Даром что трубы тут везде. И кстати, на них смотреть действительно приятно, а ещё приятнее — на снег, которым они припорошены. Неужели хоть один разраб наконец-то понял, что снег вообще-то блестит? И почему я ни разу не удивлён, что этот первопроходец оказался русским.) По крайней мере, её я дропнул, когда разбесился из-за очередного глюка в очередном тупом пазле и поудалял всё к собачьим чертям (кстати, почему монашка чертыхается, а голосу искусителя в её голове на это плевать??), а не потому что, как в Сенуа, мне стало скучно вертеть камерой.

A religious, philosophical discussion with cinematography that reminded me of Yorgos Lanthimos. It gets weird at times, but I honestly wish it got a bit weirder. The puzzle design feels quite dated, being somehow both quite simplistic but also frustrating with a lack of feedback at times, but they don't take up too much of the game's short playtime.

I switched the audio language over to Russian early on and really enjoyed the performances. The story had some interesting thoughts, and I never quite felt it becoming pretentious, which is a concern with material like this. A good quick game.

A fascinating experiment in visual storytelling and narrative that I'd say is on-par with quite a few respected arthouse movies out there. From the wondrous yet elusive and mysterious steampunk Tsarist Russia to the fever-dream sequences and choices of camera angles, this game goes extremely hard in the cinematography department.

Indika's philosophical backbone is rock solid, positing some intresting reflexions on faith, religion and morality - very well represented by the leveling system, which is the game's only true achievement in gameplay as a ludonarrative device. The ending & its message is also something I won't be forgetting any time soon.

Gameplay, however, is quite janky. Jarring animations, sound mixing that's all over the place, uninteresting transitional setpieces and mediocre puzzles. I never thought I'd say this, but I'd be happier if Indika were even less "game" and more "walking simulator" than what it currently is. Give me more talking and less busywork. I'd have greatly appreciated more delirious sequences and dialogues with the devil.

Still, even though it's far from perfect, I can't help but praise Indika's sheer boldness. Its highs are really high and made me power through the lows. Perfect if you've liked Hellblade.