Crowdfunding has brought some games to life over the last few years, including Broken Age, Wasteland 2, and The Fall. And as crowdfunding proliferates, developers and publishers continue to try new implementations for it. See Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night and Shenmue III, two games that asked for only a portion of their overall budget, with the rest to be provided by big publishers.
Lab Zero Games (creators of Skullgirls) and 505 Games have just such a project going right on Indiegogo. Indivisible is a Metroidvania-style platformer (similar to Ori and the Blind Forest) mixed with RPG-style battles (like Child of Light) and beautiful hand-drawn art. Indivisible is planned for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Steam. The game's playable prototype is available to everyone right on PC – read on for our detailed impressions!
Quest for Incarnations
Indivisible takes place in an eastern fantasy setting. A young woman named Anja has been raised as a martial artist by her father.
One day, local warlords attack her peaceful village. Anja somehow discovers the ability to magically absorb certain people into her body. She can then unleash these "Incarnations" in battle. Anya and her Incarnations set out on a quest to investigate her new abilities and stop the warlords once and for all.
We don't experience the story in the actual prototype, but it sounds like a good starting off point for a grand adventure.
Explore and battle
Exploration in Indivisible takes place on a 2D plane in 3D environments. The actual characters and enemies are hand-drawn 2D sprites, making for a similar presentation to DuckTales Remastered. But Indivisible is an exploration-based action platformer, commonly referred to as a Metroidvania game. Anya can run, jump, and wall jump as she traverses ruined temples and other vast environments.
Of course, one of the key mechanics in Metroidvania games is acquiring new abilities that open up new areas and pathways. As players progress through the Indivisible prototype, they'll encounter walls of vines that Anja can't get through. Soon she discovers an ax that chops right through them. Not only that, she can use it to hack into walls and climb them! Oh, it also hurts bad guys too. Now that's a versatile weapon.
When Anja encounters enemies, an RPG-style battle erupts right there in the environment. At the bottom of the screen, an "active battle" meter quickly fills up over time. Once it fills, pressing the attack button does what you'd expect. Pressing up or down at the same time will perform different attacks. Anja can strike twice in succession in the prototype, allowing her to make a small combo. By holding the attack button when an enemy attacks, she can block and reduce damage taken.
The battles get much more interesting as Anja recruits new Incarnations (teammates). Her party eventually consists of Zebei (an archer), Tungar (a swordsman), and Razmi (a shaman). Each warrior is assigned to one of the four face buttons on the controller. By hitting the buttons in succession, players can string together wicked attack combos. Party members can block individually (hard when things get hectic) or as a group (easy but consumes a meter needed for blocking and super moves).
A potentially amazing adventure
The battle system in Indivisible is already exciting and flashy at this early point in development. Lab Zero Games' fighting prowess shows through with the slick art, animation, and combo system. But without a story or items to collect, the prototype mostly consists of a little exploration and a lot of fights. It remains to be seen how well the battles will actually integrate into the main game.
Yes, that's one of the best controllers ever conceived.
Lab Zero Games is asking for $1,500,000 on Indiegogo. If they meet that goal, 505 Games (publisher of Terraria, PayDay 2, Battle Islands) will contribute the same amount so that Lab Zero can finish development. If you'd like to pitch in ($30 gets you the game when it comes out), head to Indivisible's Indiegogo page.
Grab the playable prototype for Windows at IndivisibleGame.com and let us know how you like it!
