A week of ‘horror’ at the end of April? Sure why not, as we look at Harvest Hunt and INDIKA. Two games that tackle the genre in very different ways, but both leave lasting effects. So let’s get to it.
Harvest Hunt
DEVELOPER: Villainous Games Studio
PUBLISHER: Neonhive Games
Formats: PC
Price: TBD
Steam Deck: Unknown (Should become verified on release)
When you talk about games as your main thing, reviews and the like, it can be horrible when you get something you to just say… “Just go in knowing as little as possible”. Namely as that doesn’t hit the word count. But I would recommend that for Harvest Hunt. So I’ll try to be a brief and non spoilery as possible.
Many first-person horror games go for the approach of making things as dark as possible, whilst throwing in jump scares. Now whilst a good jump scare is fine, it often doesn’t hold up for more than 5 minutes, especially when that is your only hook. So it is with great pleasure I can say Harvest Hunt is the antithesis of that.
Instead it is a game that builds tension and has you on constant alert without having to show its hand every few moments. Instead it trusts in its own mechanics and story to keep you fully engaged and completely entranced.
Harvest Hunt strikes a delicate balance between being easy to play, yet fiendishly brutal. Using rouguelite elements in a\ way that simply keeps you coming back for more and played with headphones on can be a nerve-wracking experience. Because the game is just dripping in a sense of dread.
The main gameplay loop is in first-person as you navigate the world trying to survive, but it blends in some fascinating elements that change things up with each new playthrough, using the various tarot cards on offer. It means that you might think you’ve sussed what can happen, but believe me, you are never quite prepared.
The visuals too are just wonderful. Harvest Hunt feels like it could be part of the Darkest Dungeon world. With a sort of hand-drawn sketch type aesthetic that works wonderfully will in 3D. Not quite Lovecraftian but sort of in that region.
I’ve been having a great time with Harvest Hunt and will be going back to it time and time again.
INDIKA
DEVELOPER: Odd Meter
PUBLISHER: 11 bit studios
Formats: PC, Xbox, Playstation
Price: TBD
Steam Deck: Unknown (Fine but some small text)
Why have one game I don’t want to tell you too much about, when you can have two. I say this as I picked up INDIKA based purely on a quick glimpse of a trailer that told you little about the game and then went on a complete blackout of information.
Just listen right. INDIKA is a surreal game that drops you into a world that just feels grim, it is slow paced, barely tells you anything and feels designed to be a frustrating plod. Which might sound like a negative, but it is anything but.
I got similar vibes playing the opening of this, as I did when I first sat down with Hell Blade: Senuas’s Sacrifice. It does something that gets right under your skin and in your head. I had no clue where I was being taken, but I was so fascinated by what was being presented that I already knew I was in for the long haul.
I seen fils and read stories with Nuns that are meant to be scary, but are often just laughable because of how silly they are. Yet here in INDIKA which got its claws into me instantly and never let me go, it isn’t presented as a horror as such. Instead it builds are foreboding sense of dread around you, in a way you can’t quite put your finger on.
You’ll get various tasks you must complete and meet an interesting range of characters. With much of the game being a sort of puzzle based affair, but driven by a glorious narrative that will have you questioning many aspects of what you think you know.
Yet interspersed with this, there are these 2D mini-games that somehow feel both out of place and a bit of tonal whiplash, yet also fitting snuggly into what you are experiencing. It is both a dark and grim journey, yet also filled with humour in all the right places. You can think you know what is happening, but be completely dumbfounded by what actually comes next.
Whatever mind put this together has a grasp on telling a story using games as a medium. I honestly do not think you could do this justice with a movie, TV show or even book. This is something wholly unique to what videogames can do.
I can’t say you will like it, hell I am not totally sure myself. But one thing INDIKA will do is leave a lasting impression.
