Industria – Spotlight
Where loud and proud is becoming the norm in FPS on all levels, Industria takes a far more measured approach. A young woman searches parallel dimensions for her work colleague and lover who vanished into thin air during the final days of the Berlin Wall.
Pros:
Great atmosphere
Weighty shooting
Interesting premise
Some nice visuals
Cons:
Optimization issues
Score – 9/10
Industria has a short length of time to deploy its load effectively, clocking in at roughly 4 hours. There’s a definite attempt to create a mood, a sense of desolation in what was once a bustling place. The pastel-hued architecture of the Soviet era is elegantly melded with industrial tones glossed over with the strange gleam of something not quite right. It’s never quite right, and it always feels like a perversion of reality.
Industria’s icy presence is rarely welcome, but never off-putting, despite the lack of a genuine music. The music appears momentarily, synergizing with the art style, but rarely settles in to become part of the furniture. When you combine that with a noticeable absence of noise outside of the player’s direct interactions, you have a pleasant experience that says a lot without saying anything at all.
The gameplay in Industria is simple and focused on shooting, with the occasional puzzle tossed in for good measure. There are no regenerating health or two-weapon restrictions, instead opting for a more traditional method of health kits and bottomless pockets. It is, admittedly, a novel strategy that provides for some small resource management considerations. There’s no relying on a single tool here; each weapon is tailored to a specific situation.
Industria’s adversary kinds pose unique hazards, with a hint of classical concepts. Each attacker, from slow-moving heavy hitters to ranged threats and suicide bombers, can quickly take the player’s life. With a melee weapon, dealing with the faster adversaries isn’t ideal, but it’s not impossible. It’s more of a recommendation than an order to match the weapon to the foe.
Though they’re entertaining to look at and fight, opponent AI leaves a lot to be desired. They’re frequently slow to react to the player’s location, and in some cases, they don’t respond at all. The most serious issue appears to be line-of-sight issues. The enemy’s line of sight can be readily broken if the player can pick up stuff surrounding them. Placing a barrel in front of an oncoming melee enemy is a nice illustration of this; when the enemy encounters the obstacle, they will assault and then return to their original location.
It’s a problem that occurs even when the gamer has no intention of doing so. The opponent is forced to return to their starting point by doors, railroad carts, and boxes. Industria’s major flaw is usually its technical troubles. Frame rates will frequently drop, especially as the game progresses. It happens frequently between the ages of 40 and 65, but never to the point of being defining.
In an age when every game seems to demand your attention for limitless hours, Industria is a refreshing change of pace. Despite certain shortcomings, this is a well-crafted bundle that never fully goes off the tracks. The plot and good gameplay propel the experience to a satisfying conclusion. Whether or not the story’s finale will be satisfying depends on how much you value the unknown.
