Breaking the habit

Developer Odd-Meter Publisher 11 Bit Studios Format Origin Release PC Russia/ Kazakhstan Q1 2024

The debut trailer for Odd-Meter’s second game – following firstperson VR shooter Sacralith: The Archer’s Tale – could hardly do a better job of announcing that this is no ordinary thirdperson narrative adventure. It’s there in its unusual visual presentation, from claustrophobic close-ups of the eponymous nun that recall nothing quite so much as Darren Aronofsky’s Mother to sudden freezeframes and eccentric camera angles: one shot looks up at Indika from a swaying bucket as she carries it through a courtyard. And it’s glaringly apparent in its soundtrack, which begins with jittery percussion, before incorporating off-kilter brass parps and shrieking, horror-movie strings.

It’s a purposely unsettling watch for what promises to be a intense experience. Which, at least in part, reflects the circumstances under which it has been developed. Originally hailing from Russia, director Dmitry Smetlov and his 16-strong team were forced to relocate to Kazakhstan last year, when Russia invaded Ukraine: the “emotionally overwhelming” process, Smetlov says, took almost six months, all told. In a YouTube video message, he denounces the “pointless, crazy war… started [by] criminals”, recognising that his political views would see him and his colleagues considered traitors – a result, he says, of “political infantilism rooted in Russian Orthodox culture”. (Separately, his condemnation of Putin and the effects of Russian propaganda is even more strident.)