When it comes to games, I love the surreal. Games like The Stanley Parable and Fran Bow introduce you to a world that looks rather normal and nonchalant. But then things start to get, well, a little weird. The subtle shifting from the regular to the bizarre is sometimes defined as Lynchian — used to categorize media that’s characteristic of the works by David Lynch. It’s also used to describe Industria, so that intrigued me enough to check out the trailer. True to form, the trailer paints a decent picture of Berlin in 1989, but that’s before the giant and robots show up. Industria is a game that takes place in a parallel dimension during the Cold War, and it will release on September 30.
Industria is a brief shooter, taking place in a parallel East Berlin. Nearing the end of the Cold War, you play as Nora, who’s on the hunt for an old colleague and lover. Her search leads her to “a secret research facility.” And I can’t count how many secret research facilities I’ve stumbled into games where the story goes according to plan. Anyway, what Nora finds is a door to an eerie version of her world, where she hopes to find the person she loves.
Though developer Bleakmill states the game’s focus is on narration, there is plenty of combat. Industria includes a handful of firearms and melee weapons. The trailer itself showcases a shotgun and a machine gun, but there will be a pistol and sniper rifle as well. Enemy forces seem to be clanking, low-tech robots that either rush you down or fire from a distance.
Beyond the wall
So far, Industria is looking fairly interesting. As mentioned, the game is a brief, mostly story-driven adventure coming in at around four hours in length. The trailer makes it look intriguing, and it ticks a lot of boxes when it comes to my love of surreal games. Industria will release on September 30 for PC via Steam.
