Industria Review – A Not So Well-Oiled Machine

Industria’s inspirations are clear from the jump: Half-Life 2, David Lynch movies, and more. It’s something the six-person team at Bleakmill has mentioned when discussing Industria online that had me excited. The role of Nora is that you play the East Berlin-based worker Atlas just before the Cold War ended. You are unable to locate your lover, so you go on a quest to find him. However, the parallel dimensions where machines rule over everything will be too much for you. Sadly, the four hours following this mysterious and intriguing start fail to live up to the opening’s potential. Bleakmill set high and, while it did land at times I felt disappointed and wish there had been more meat by the end credits.

I was satisfied by Industria’s freedom to explore the world without having to touch a control panel. Its atmosphere, which is oppressive yet haunting due to its overpowering machines, has been made all the more disturbing by the world that it inhabits. The score matches, presenting strange choral melodies that play wonderfully into the game’s ambiance. Even its visuals, which sometimes show cracks like when viewing vistas on the horizon, sold the game well. I just wish Industria’s gameplay and storytelling matched. 

Immediately, controlling Nora feels wonky. You cannot move diagonally on the left stick, a minute but affecting lack of input, and the game feels decidedly less fluid as a result. That Industria is a first-person shooter further highlights this problem because, above all else, I wanted to feel fast and in control when fighting enemies. Of course, I didn’t. 

In the beginning stages, there is a noticeable lack of guns. I have to rely solely on my ax to defeat enemies and solve environment puzzles. While I was eager to see how the puzzles would evolve, it seems that the majority of the games reuse the same pieces. I encountered these puzzles while attempting to complete objectives that are almost exclusively something along the lines of, “Go here, interact with this, and progress forward.” It got boring quickly. 

Bleakmill made a few different machines that I could fight to complete these goals. One small, circular bot ran towards me and then self-exploded. The other bot ran at me like an animal with a gun and the third charged forward, swinging its arms in attack. These firefights were often tense, and because Industria isn’t keen to toss out ammo in abundance, I was often on the run, scrounging through drawers and cabinets to find more bullets. These firefights were fun for me, although I wish that the actual scenes could be more polished so they feel as diverse as the robots. 

For the first hour, the central narrative mystery is intriguing enough for me to look past the relatively simple and dull “go here” objectives. There is even a mid-game twist I liked a lot. But as I reached the game’s final moments, I lacked the storytelling clarity I had hoped to achieve. One moment, I’m fighting a ton of robots in what might be the final combat scenario of the game. Then, I’m saying goodbye to a friend at breakneck speed before heading to an entirely new setting. Bleakmill was unable to deliver the story moment it promised. Sure, it explained some character motives and solved Industria’s question from the opening scenes, but it wasn’t satisfying. It was too rushed to make sense, ending as fast as it began and not justifying my investment to that point. 

While Industria’s atmosphere certainly nailed what it was going for, the monotonous gameplay and rushed story left me dissatisfied. Still, I loved the ambiance and backdrop, and I wouldn’t mind if Bleakmill took another crack at it – the rest of this world just needs a few more cogs added to its machine.