Indivisible (PS4) Review
Release Date: October 8, 2019
Publisher/Developer: 505 Games/Lab Zero Games
Platform: PlayStation 4 (reviewed), Xbox One, Steam,GOG (Nintendo Switch coming, undefined release date)
Price: $39.99
Indivisible is a traditional RPG tale of revenge that goes beyond the wildest dreams of the protagonist and ends with the fate of the world in the balance. Where it differs is in presentation: developed by Lab Zero Games, the creators of Skullgirls, Indivisible is rife with beautiful hand-drawn 2D animation and is scored by Hiroki Kikuta, who helped create the music for Secret of Mana. The game pulls from Metroidvania style exploration, as our heroine Ajna gains new abilities that allow her to reach new locations in old areas, but also has it’s own unique “active time battle” style combat system that is difficult to grasp at first but mastery can turn your ragtag group of heroes into an ultimate combat machine.
In Indivisible, Ajna’s villiage is burned to the ground and her father is murdered right before her eyes. The army responsible was commanded to do so by the vile Lord Ravannavar. Ajna instantly seeks revenge, no matter the cost. A power is awakened inside her that she doesn’t fully understand: friends she meets along the way are absorbed into a special microverse inside her mind, and are summoned to support her in battle. Whilst your party only consists of four when facing enemies, Ajna recruits over twenty different people in her journey, all with unique abilities that can change the whole strategy of your battle.
Combat is simple yet effective. Each character has a face button assigned to them dependent on their location in the party. Pressing up or down while hitting the button will unleash a different attack or charge ability. During battle the “active time” meter fills up, allowing you to charge up multiple attacks or unleash them as they generate. Given the hand-drawn animation style, each attack has it’s own animation and thereby a specific pattern if follows. Understanding how each attack works is key to mastery of the game system. If you know Ajna’s attack will knock someone into the air, you can follow it up with Zebei’s arrow storm that shoots upward, and finish it off with a fire uppercut from Razmi’s spirit tiger. It’s all very satisfying in action, as you can make the right combination and take out an enemy troupe before they get a chance to attack. It really feels like an RPG combined with the combo feel of a fighting game.
Ajna is the only character with an official “levelling” system. Everyone else’s power is based on their affinity toward Ajna, which is dependent on the story as well as their use in combat. Given that everyone is “in” Ajna, they are all effected both positively and negatively in battle. While I appreciate the spreading of experience to all, I do have a frustration with how damage is dealt. Not only can you be damaged in battle, but certain environmental hazards can injure you as well. I got to a specific key story battle where the enemy had three stages, but they run away during the fight. This leads to mid-zones of platforming that were precarious and would cause major damage. Healing is done in battle, and you need that very little amount of time for the action meter to charge. At this battle, I was sealed in and couldn’t go back to level any more. I would get destroyed by the fireballs that would damage me on the way to the boss, leaving me with a sliver of health. My reserve characters were injured as well, so swapping them out was a moot point. Entering the next phase of the boss battle resulted in my untimely death, and there was no saving between forms either. I basically had a couple of gaming nights that centered around me mastering those platform sections just so I could actually face the boss with something more than a couple points of health.
All that being said though I do highly enjoy the combat. Finding the right combination of offense and defense is critical to victory. Ajna is always in your party, but you can mix and match the other three slots. I love how there is variety: for example the first healer you get give more health if you forefit a heal chance to do minimum physical damage to the enemy. If the sacrifice pays off you can greatly increase health. The second healer I found is water-based, leaving puddles all over the floor. Activating those puddles heals any heroes who walk through them, and damages enemies as well. This kind of variety is prevalent in the offensive team as well. I enjoy testing each and every character I find, but I could see how it might be frustrating to have so very many unique and fun characters but only really be able to use four at a time, especially if you find a groove that works and stick with some go-tos, leaving all the new people you find languishing in Ajna’s brain. I know that it’s hard for the game to beat the favorites I found very early on: Dhar, the enemy general who has to face that he may be on the wrong side, and Razmi, a strange woman you meet in the woods who holds the spirit of a tiger in her lamp, though it may be less dangerous than her sharp tongue and sarcastic wit.
Indivisible is an exciting tale with plenty of laughs throughout (thanks primarily to Razmi). The battle system is fun, though if you get off beat can be frustrating. In big boss battles I would find myself backpedaling to heal because an enemy got off an attack faster than expected. If you can stay on the offensive, it is exciting and can feel almost like a “dial a combo” in a traditional fighting game. Outside of battle the Metroidvania feel means you may be backtracking from time to time, but you’ll be finding new areas and people to recruit to your party the whole time. The art and voices are beautiful and a joy to behold. I wish there were a few things different, such as logically timed saves in difficult areas or at least the ability to heal outside of battle. Indivisible is a great change of pace for the team that brought you Skullgirls, but they used their talent for beautiful animation and fun “dial a combo” combat to create something unique.
Pros:
-Wonderful and unique combat system
-Beautiful hand drawn characters and worlds
-An interesting combo of RPG, MetroidVania, and fighting game styles
-Satisfaction of finding an effective combination of characters to deliver a beat down
Cons:
-Some frustrating transitions between styles at difficult areas with no save options
-Can get repetitive at times (a crutch for RPGs and Metroidvanias)
-I would appreciate more control of my characters outside of battle: healing, equipping, and the like
Special thanks to Lab Zero Games and 505 Games for providing a code for review!