Indika, the third-person adventure in which you play as a nun on the run in a parallel 19th century Russia, has had its release date revealed in unusual fashion at the Future Games Show Spring Showcase.
The trailer begins in a twisted Garden of Eden, where the titular nun is tempted by the forbidden fruit as her travel companion Ilya looks on. One bite of the apple later, and we're launched into a chaotic chiptune soundtrack while what appear to be hooded demons dance around, then the May 8 release date emerges below them before Indika quickly prays them away.
While this may seem bizarre, it actually provides a good example of the narrative dissonance the developers deliberately play up to during your journey. While the general setting and physics-based puzzles you need to solve to progress are firmly rooted in realism, this is layered with some very videogame-y elements such as pixelated pop ups when you earn XP by completing tasks or finding religious collectibles, accompanied by little chiptune ditties.
Much of this is done with a tongue in cheek nod to the subject matter, and a prime example of that is in the levelling system, where you need to 'spec' your nun protagonist each time you hit an XP milestone. Do you increase your Guilt for an instant points boost, or steer further into Repentance for a chance to earn more points over time?
Then you have to deal with the devil himself, who is in Indika's head and regularly berates her as she tries to navigate the complex path between good and evil. When his interfering gets too much you'll need to pray to drive him back from your world, and this sets up further puzzle possibilities as you move back and forth between the devil's realm and your own.
Indika will be launching on May 8 for PC via Steam, Epic Games, and GOG.com, as well as on PS5 and Xbox Series, but you can wishlist it on Steam and play the demo right now for a taste of what's to come on release.
If you’re looking for more excellent games from today's Future Games Show, have a look at our official Steam page.
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