One of the greatest accomplishments a game can achieve is to deliver a unique experience. To present itself in a way that makes it stand apart from the millions of games circulating the market. INDIKA from developer Odd Meter is a game that undeniably delivers an experience unlike any other.

It only gets weirder from here.

INDIKA starts off in a 19th century Siberian monastery. The titular Indika is a young nun who is a bit of a black sheep in the monastery, shunned and chided by the rest of her elderly sisters. She prays for absolution, but finds no comfort or acceptance from any of those around her. After causing a ruckus during a ceremony, Indika is tasked with delivering a letter to a Father in another church a fair distance away. Thrilled to finally be allowed to leave the confines of the monastery, Indika embarks on a grueling journey of self-discovery.

She isn’t necessarily alone, though. The game is narrated by the voice inside Indika’s head, none other than the Devil himself. The Devil frequently challenges Indika’s faith and forces her to think about the sacrifice of unyielding piety. He questions her about what it means to have a soul, as well as the very nature of sin itself. Indika and the Devil bicker often, but she doesn’t always have an answer to his questions. The Devil plays on her insecurities and doubts to keep her battling with her crisis of faith.

Yes, because there’s never been a shady priest before.

Along the way, Indika meets Ilya, an escaped convict who is heading towards the same destination as her. Ilya has heard of a holy relic at the chapel that is rumored to be able to perform miracles. Having suffered a grievous wound to his arm and fighting a horrible infection that is rotting it away, Ilya hopes to visit the relic and have its miraculous powers heal his arm. Ilya is an unshakable man of faith, while Indika constantly questions hers, creating some deep and thought-provoking debates between the two as they make their way to their shared destination.

The premise alone is wholly intriguing, but that’s not all that INDIKA brings to the table to make it stand out. Right from the start INDIKA managed to throw me off base by opening with a pixelated minigame that bore no resemblance to what I’d witnessed in the trailers. For a moment I wasn’t sure I’d booted up the right game, but after completing the section, it switched to what I had been expecting from the beginning. Right away, this let me know that I was in for something much different than I had imagined, and I was fully hooked.

The flashback sections all feature pixelated, retro-styled minigames.

At its core, INDIKA is a walking sim, but there is a wide variety of minigames and puzzles thrown in throughout the game. The puzzles are largely environmental and none of them are overly difficult to figure out. The minigames are well-varied and don’t repeat, with one exception that I’ll touch on later. Many of them are fun, like the pixelated, retro-styled platformers and motorbike chase sequence. However, many more of them are frustrating, like the pixelated motorbike race, walking across a balance beam, and dodging fish on moving conveyor belts. This is largely due to the controls, which are unreliable at best.

This entire section is infuriating.

That said, there is one puzzle/minigame that is utterly fantastic: the prayer sections. In these segments, Indika will suffer a massive crisis of faith, resulting in the Devil ripping apart the world around her while yelling harsh truths and challenges about Christianity. In turn, Indika can recite prayers that will make the Devil retreat and bring the world back together. During these sections, Indika must make her way past obstacles by taking advantage of the environment being separated in spots, and then bringing everything back together so she can reach new locations. This is the only time a puzzle/minigame is utilized more than once, having a total of two appearances.

In truth, this is what I found most disappointing in INDIKA. The game propped up this concept like it was going to be an important reoccurring gameplay mechanic, but then it’s just dropped almost immediately. I loved the uniqueness of this idea, both for the fun of the puzzle aspects and for the symbolism of her internal battle. It’s a shame that one of the most successful gameplay elements of INDIKA was so grossly underutilized. 

I would have loved to have had more of these puzzles.

Thankfully, INDIKA excels in most other areas. The game is gorgeous most of the time. I was particularly impressed with the character models, which are usually the Achilles’ heel for most indie games. That’s not the case with INDIKA, which has incredibly realistic character models for nearly every character, especially their faces. Even Indika’s wimple (her hood) billows and creases like it’s made of real fabric. The environments are a bit of a mixed bag, with some of them being visually stunning, while others are more lackluster with muddied textures. The game also has some occasional pop-ins and framerate drops, but nothing that detracts from the enjoyment of the experience too much. As I’ve already stated, the majority of the game is beautiful.

I agree, Indika.

By far the strongest aspect of INDIKA is its sound design. I was blown away by the sound effects, from the crunching of snow to the thudding of wooden planks, to the shrill scraping of metal. The music fits the tone well, with only a couple of songs sounding a little out of place. The voice acting is expertly done. Every one of the vocal performances are fantastic, with Isabella Inchbald and Louis Boyer delivering tormented and heartfelt performances. Silas Carson as the Devil steals every scene he’s in with his humorous bravado, which strongly reminds me of Henry Stauf from the original version of The 7th Guest, which is genuinely high praise.

INDIKA might have been hit and miss with some of its gameplay elements and had some pacing issues, but one thing is certain: it’s definitely a game that swung for the fences and took a lot of risks. It’s weird and bizarre in all the best ways. It’s a game that hooks you right from the start and will hold your attention until the credits roll. I can’t say it’s a happy experience, but it’s one with a very clear vision and strong message, controversial as it might be. INDIKA is one of those rare games that takes you completely by surprise and sticks with you long after you’ve finished it.

INDIKA is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

Reviewed on PC.

A copy of INDIKA was provided by the publisher.