Indigo Prophecy is a game that not all gamers can agree upon is a
definitively good game. It defies the convention set by most other
games before it. It's not an action game of any sort. It isn't an RPG
with spiky-haired people. Nor is it anything else that can be
classified under typical gaming standards. Instead, Indigo Prophecy
serves its contents as a game for the gamers who prefer being compelled
over being addicted by providing numerous unorthodox things that
combine to be a unique package that hasn't ever been conceived nor will
ever likely be conceived again soon.
The game is essentially like an interactive movie where one can
affect the various nuances of the plot on a level that is exponentially
greater than what most games allow. It starts off this trend by placing
you in the shoes of Lucas Kane, a man who has committed a murder that
he feels was against his own willpower. As it happened to take place in
a restaurant's restroom, Lucas is not alone when his actions have taken
place. As the body lies before him, he needs to figure out what to do
quickly so he can leave the vicinity and thusly begin his journey of
contemplation.
It's at this point where the game puts Lucas' fate in the player's
hands. The restroom and its inhabitants have business to take care of,
and it's up to the player to determine how it's conducted. Many choices
present themselves already at this point in the game. The game provides
some ideas about what to do to get past this point in the plot, but
leaves the rest up to the gamer. If they choose, they can leave the
crime scene early, taking care of only the essentials to allow for a
quick getaway and not seem too obvious around other people. Or, they
could decide to put a little more effort into covering up the evidence,
making it harder for Lucas to be tracked down by investigators. What
one chooses to do at many points like this in the game can have effects
on how future events play out, even ones in a very immediate future.
One doesn't just control Lucas Kane over the course of Indigo
Prophecy's story, though. They'll also be playing as other characters,
mainly those on the other side of the spectrum from Lucas: the
investigators. Two people, Tyler and Carla, are tasked with figuring
out the killer at the restaurant and their motive. They do so in the
typical ways one would expect from investigators, from searching for
clues to interviewing witnesses to even creating a mug shot (with your
help). How good of a job they do, like with Lucas, is up to you. You
could choose to have them pick up every hint of Lucas at every chance.
Or, you could let them overlook a few things and see what turns the
investigations take from there. Their competency is up to you.
The whole time you're controlling the main characters in the game,
you're doing so in a rather unusual way. The control scheme in this
game isn't overly convoluted, like in many others. Instead, they
usually rely on the two analogue sticks and the two shoulder buttons.
That's it. Just four parts on the controller do everything you need to
do. It may sound odd at first, but it really does work. While the left
analog stick is used to move the characters around (albeit rather
sluggishly, no thanks to the camera), the right analogue stick is used
for doing all of the characters' actions. (The camera is controlled
with the left and right trigger buttons, although the right analog
stick can also be used for viewing things at odd angles.) If they're
pushing a door open, one will do so by pushing upward on the right
analog stick. If they're trying to climb something, the player will
mimic the way the arms move by having the analog stick swing to the
side and over to climb the object. All of these actions, among many
others, are mapped to the right analog stick in an effort to make
things somewhat intuitive, which is enhanced when the game asks the
player to take their time doing these actions, ensuring that it is the
course they want to take. If one does the action too quickly, the game
will think the player has decided against doing the action. But if they
take the time to do it at a more proper pace, then the character will
obey and the action will be done.
But the right analog stick isn't just used for actions. It's also
used during the numerous conversations that are to be had in the game.
During the times when a main character is talking to someone else,
various responses will show up with a time limit. It's up to the player
to choose what to say for the next part of the talk. The decision is
once again made with the right analog stick by tilting it in the way
the response indicates. The choices in such situations can range from
things such as what mood to take on for the next response to what
question one feels needs the most attention next. The plot may not be
overly affected by many (not all) of these choices other than what
happens immediately after the choice is made. However, subtleties do
lie in the game that can come as a result of the things that happened
during the talk, which can be interesting to pick up if you remember
such things.
There's a little bit more to the gameply after considering these
things, but not too much. In fact, there's really only two more notable
facets to the gameplay in Indigo Prophecy that should be noted. One
that shows up involves the analog sticks yet again, prompting you to
move both of them during specific sequences in the game. The times
these show up can be as dramatic as some of the games action sequences
to as modest as a line of questions from police. Failing to move the
analog sticks the way the game tells you can have major consequences,
sometimes death. However, that likely won't happen often, as these
sequences are easy enough to tackle, even at a faster rate, thanks to
the fact that the game conveys these commands in a non-obtrusive way on
the screen. (This also allows one to get a good view of what's
happening while one is participating in it.)
The other major facet of Indigo Prophecy's gameplay involves the
left and right trigger buttons. At times, Lucas (or another character)
will have to exert some major physical energy to get these things done.
Usually, this involves heaving something heavy, but other physically
demanding times use this facet as well. During those times, the player
has to button mash the trigger buttons to keep the character working
hard to accomplish the task at hand. While this is an interesting way
to get the player to feel some endurance that the character may be
having, this can be tiring on the fingers during a few times that do
this, as there is at least one time where it is truly excessive when
this part of the gameplay shows up. But nevertheless, it's still yet
another way that the game is successfully compelling during the course
of its story.
There's also a “sanity meter” that shows up during the gameplay.
It functions like a health meter would in other games, where if it
bottoms out, the character dies. However, this meter takes on mental,
not physical, health for this meter. Thus, the way the meter is
influenced is by the reactions the characters have to certain events.
If a character gets into an argument with someone, then it can lessen.
But if something good happens, then the meter will raise. Beyond the
dying thing, though, this meter has virtually no influence on the game.
No matter what mental state a character may be in, they'll still act
the same way. This is rather odd, as one would expect that perhaps the
dialog would change with one's mental state. But instead, the
characters just always act the same no matter what. Even if they're
depressed, they won't show it unless the plot automatically calls for
it.
The entire ride, though, is a rather short one. The game can be
completed within six to eight hours. For some, that may or may not
justify the price tag that may have been paid for the game. But the
plot of the game (even if it does indeed go freaky towards the end of
the game) makes it well worth it. As such, since the game is so short,
it's recommended that, if one has the time to do so, to just go and
play the game in one sitting. It is indeed very much like a movie in
that regard, where interrupting the plot before it's over can degrade
the experience a tad. It's not meant to be put on hold for long, as
Indigo Prophecy is presented in a way that is just meant to be
experienced from start to finish, even the amount of time it takes is
essentially as long as watching an extended edition of one of Peter
Jackson's “Lord of the Rings” movies twice.
The presentation of the rest of the game beyond its plot is
somewhat modest. The visuals are certainly not eye candy in any way at
all. The models for all of the characters are decent, as are their
motion-captured animation. But everything in the game in the game that
there is to see is on par with what one would expect a game's graphics
to be at minimum these days (although by no means are the game's
graphics bad).
The sounds of the game are kind of there, per se. Some things,
like footsteps, are really hard to pick up, which can deceive one into
thinking that Quantic Dream just didn't put the effort into making the
sound in the first place. But the other sounds come out just fine, with
everything else sounding the way it should when the sound pops up.
All of the characters in the game do speak, however. The voice
actors do an O.K. Job at projecting the lines they're given. They give
the characters emotion when the time calls for it and they do make the
characters seem believable enough (even if the corresponding
lip-syncing is usually bad). However, even if the game is meant to be
like an interactive movie, the voice acting doesn't quite reach the
quality of movies themselves. It seems as though the game tries to do
its best in that regard, but was only able to do so with B-list quality
voices.
The music in the game is a hit-or-miss at most times. While many
of the classical music pieces that show up in the game do a superb job
at helping create the mood of the game, other pieces of music usually
do a less-than-stellar job. The game licenses music from several
artists, but usually does little with them over the course of the main
game. One can listen to them during times where a character has free
time, but the music isn't that good enough to really justify listening
to multiple. The only real low point in the music is most likely when
one has to listen to Tyler's bizarre funk theme song, which just
appears to be out of place every time it comes up and just sounds bad
overall.
Indigo Prophecy is certainly not a game for all gamers. It has a
pacing that many are unaccustomed to, as well as a story to back up
that pacing. There are also a few things that can be griped about in
general about the game, which could turn some people away. However, the
experience to be had with the game, despite a few hindrances, may well
be worth it, even if it is for only a short time. But during that time,
those who are open enough will discover a unique game with experiences
that aren't to be found anywhere else. Truly, this game is an obscure
gem in all ways.
