Developer: Bleakmill
Publisher: Headup Games
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Industria – Review
Developers are known to take inspiration from other games to make their own games. Sadly, for some titles, this is easily noticeable and therefore they get called copies or rip-offs. But once in a blue moon, a developer is able to put subtle nods of various different titles in their game that only those that have played the aforementioned games will notice. Industria brings just that experience to the table, wrapped in a blanket of amazing graphics, fun gameplay and a story that will have your mind blown like Bioshock Infinite.
Story
The story begins on November 9th, 1989 in East Berlin with a young scientist named Nora, right at the moment when the Berlin Wall falls. Nora gets a phone call from her fellow scientist, Walter, who tells her not to come to the office, as he is about to do a desperate act to ensure the survival of his life’s project. You rush to the building and find out that Walter has disappeared into the mysterious machine where he was working on. You decide to follow him and get teleported into an alternate future where machines have taken over. This is twenty years after the events of the prologue. After waking up, you are suddenly attacked by machines, but luckily a man by the name of Brent is there to save you and guide you through this world. As the story slowly unfolds, it seems that Walter has left his mark on this new strange world.
The developers claim that you have around four hours of gameplay with this title, which is semi-correct if you complete it on both difficulties. As the story sucked us in so deep, we completed the game in one sitting, which was at around two hours of gameplay. Don’t be misled by the chapters either, there are five chapters, but only three of them are filled with gameplay, the others are there for story purposes only.
Graphics
From a graphical point of view, this game looks and feels both high quality and yet has something retro to it. The game begins in 1989, and the developers have done their utmost best to pay close attention to the period correctness of this era. Even though the game will turn into an alternate future, the correlation between our world and the one in-game closely resembles each other at this time. Once you make your way through the portal, the game turns into this neo-futuristic landscape where you wake up in a town that has been abandoned for ten years. The latter is clearly noticeable as nature is taking over again.
Weapons and items have been influenced by a mixture of WWII-era guns and Metro craftsmanship. Those with a knowledge of weapons will easily spot the base weapons where these newer variants are built upon. The developers have done a superb job at creating original futuristic versions of these old-school weapons.
Sound
Just like the graphics, the sounds have been crafted with a lot of love and care. The game features fully voiced characters that narrate the many events that take place in the world. The voice acting in this game is of high quality, and each character emanates natural emotions, making it easier to relate to the characters. Nora is a strong independent woman but needs to keep her cool as she explores the lands, Brent is a tired veteran who hasn’t spoken to anyone in years, and Walter is a leader that speaks to others with power in his voice.
Not only is the voice work great, but the guns and music are also amazing. Each gun sounds powerful, especially taking down robots in one shot with a heavy boom from the sniper rifle, or the slide racking back and forward on the shotgun are basically ASMR for gun lovers. If you want to liven up the quiet streets, then why not put some music on? During your travels, you will encounter many vinyl records. These records can be played on a record player, and the music has a proper classic feel (and origin). There is even a subtle BioShock reference the first time you encounter one of these.
Gameplay
Industria is a story-driven First Person Shooter that strongly resembles the gameplay of Half-Life 2. This might be a pretty vague comparison, but it really feels like you are playing one of those classic Valve shooters; in a good way. The gunplay feels just right, movement and puzzles are amazing, and it almost feels like this could be Half-Life 3. The game starts with a few simple puzzles until you find your first weapon. When playing on normal, then you’ll find that you’ll have plenty of ammo to reign down hell on the robot attackers, making us wonder why the original resistance has failed in the first place. When playing on hard, ammo is scarce, and you will have to make every shot count. During your travels, the game plays pretty linearly, as you just need to get from point A to B, kill some enemies, solve a puzzle, and rinse and repeat. It’s clear that the development team focused heavily on the graphics, the story, and even the sound design, rather than dragging out the experience.
Just like in the old-school shooters, there is only a limited amount of weapons and enemies, but both seem to accommodate each other as for each enemy there is a fitting weapon that serves as a counter. The game has different enemy types that are out to get you, and some will be easier to dispose of than others. Even though this game does not have that many different enemies and weapons, it was fun to have a certain variety, as well as the need to actually use different weapons for different battles. There was an actual need to use a shotgun from time to time, rather than just sitting back and blasting away all our enemies from a distance.
Conclusion
Industria is an absolute gem that was wonderful to play through but it’s somewhat of a one-trick pony. If you want an amazing experience that gives you a lasting impression that comes with a high production value, and the asking price isn’t a big deal, then Industria is a must-have for your collection. However, if you’re looking for a lengthy experience, and one that mainly revolves around the gameplay, then it might be worth waiting for a sale. The graphics and sound are of astonishing quality, the gameplay feels polished and has subtle nods to other games in the FPS genre, and the story will have your mind blown by the time the credits start rolling.
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