This review contains spoilers
I feel weird about this game, in the sense that I have very positive yet very negative feelings about it. Where it shines is where the game spends time to really intertwine itself with Indika's feelings/thoughts. Like the praying sections where you have to switch back and forth between praying and hearing the narrator berate herself on all the hatred and self loathing she has (side note i really liked the voice actor). Having to use that to puzzle solve was such an interesting idea and I'm sad it only shows up twice. Also following Indika was such a delight. I was able to really feel for her as she went through her journey, and the game does really well with developing her and Ilya to where they feel like real people.
Where the game loses me was primarily with the pixel sections. I can tell they included them to show that these sections were a different part of her life and I like that but I feel like they were mostly included so that they could label this game as weird and they could have been completely cut with no issue.
Side note, maybe I'm just a freak but I honestly don't think the game was that weird. Like all of the weird things we see Indika go through is explained though her mental health been shown through terms of our modern game knowledge. So the points she picks up doesnt matter and it switches styles when she's thinking of the past. I really thought there would be something insane but tbh all of it feels somewhat grounded as someone who grew up catholic and daydreamed.
My biggest issue is that the ending left me frustrated. The relic that Indika and Ilya have been searching for doesn't provide anything. And then? The game just ends there. There's nothing afterwards in a way that feels cheap, like the game doesnt want to take the time and effort to build a new life for the characters afterwards. I understand why ppl liken it to a showcase of reddit atheism because it feels weirdly flat in a way that the rest of the game wasn't. And this is after one of the most effective ways of showcasing a character's assault in any medium I've come across. The decision to switch from 3rd person to 1st was a very effective way to showcase dissociation and made me pause for a bit. There's so many moments like that which showcases this game's ability to really tell Indika's story which is then undercut by something really under baked.
Idk, if I huge step back id say this is a game that utilizes aspects of religion to problem solve and help Indika get through tasks. Ending it with "there's no hope or religion" feels weird because thats not what the game was saying while you were playing with it.
Where the game loses me was primarily with the pixel sections. I can tell they included them to show that these sections were a different part of her life and I like that but I feel like they were mostly included so that they could label this game as weird and they could have been completely cut with no issue.
Side note, maybe I'm just a freak but I honestly don't think the game was that weird. Like all of the weird things we see Indika go through is explained though her mental health been shown through terms of our modern game knowledge. So the points she picks up doesnt matter and it switches styles when she's thinking of the past. I really thought there would be something insane but tbh all of it feels somewhat grounded as someone who grew up catholic and daydreamed.
My biggest issue is that the ending left me frustrated. The relic that Indika and Ilya have been searching for doesn't provide anything. And then? The game just ends there. There's nothing afterwards in a way that feels cheap, like the game doesnt want to take the time and effort to build a new life for the characters afterwards. I understand why ppl liken it to a showcase of reddit atheism because it feels weirdly flat in a way that the rest of the game wasn't. And this is after one of the most effective ways of showcasing a character's assault in any medium I've come across. The decision to switch from 3rd person to 1st was a very effective way to showcase dissociation and made me pause for a bit. There's so many moments like that which showcases this game's ability to really tell Indika's story which is then undercut by something really under baked.
Idk, if I huge step back id say this is a game that utilizes aspects of religion to problem solve and help Indika get through tasks. Ending it with "there's no hope or religion" feels weird because thats not what the game was saying while you were playing with it.