Indivisible Review

Developed by Lab Zero Games and published by 505 Games, Indivisible is an action RPG with hand-drawn visuals. After about four years in development, the game launched on PC, PS4 and Xbox One in October 2019. Fast forward to April 2020 and Indivisible has made its way onto the Nintendo Switch and actually is quite a bit of fun to play.

Indivisible’s plot follows a 16-year-old girl by the name of Ajna. A somewhat capable fighter, she sets off on a quest on revenge after her home is destroyed and her father is killed by a military force commanded by Lord Ravannavar. After defeating Dhar, one Ravannavar’s lieutenants, she awakens a strange ability that allows her to absorb certain people into her being; Dhar being the first. Following this, she sets off on a journey to confront Ravannavar for his crimes, but in doing so, also sparks an even bigger adventure that will take her to a host of different locations.

For the most part, the story in Indivisible is pretty enjoyable and will keep you compelled enough to keep progressing through the game. Some of the narrative choices are a little odd though. For example, a little later in the game, you meet and absorb a character who pledges to fight at your side but then because of a decision Ajna makes, decides to give you the cold shoulder for a fairly sizeable chunk of the game. The characters are pretty interesting too, as they contribute to the conversation most of the time, in addition to delivering some humorous commentary.

In terms of gameplay, Indivisible is a unique experience. When exploring the world with Ajna, it feels like a side-scrolling action game with Metroidvania elements. However, when engaging with an enemy, it turns into a turn-based affair combined with simple fighting game mechanics. Instead of just waiting for your turn and attacking once, each character is assigned one of the face buttons and a number of charges which can be used in any combination of techniques. Some characters have a mix of offensive and support magic available to them while others do straight-up damage. Additionally, you don’t have to just take a hit from an enemy since the game allows you to block. Although, simply holding down the button to block isn’t enough and actually requires a bit of timing. Performing a block just before an enemy’s attack lands will result in a sizeable amount of damage being negated in addition to your Iddhi Meter being filled. Iddhi is the energy that inhabits all of your characters and filling the meter enables them to pull off incredibly powerful techniques capable of doing massive damage, turning the tide of battle. While I loved the unique combat experience, Indivisible does a poor job of explaining just how the mechanics work. It’s easy to pick up and play but can be a little tricky to master, which is worsened by the fact that it leaves a lot of the learning up to trial and error. It’s not a major flaw and it’s fairly forgivable once you’ve figured out the rhythm of it all, but it might put some players off.

As mentioned before, Ajna is able to absorb certain individuals. Throughout the game, she manages to rack up quite a roster of characters, each with their own unique techniques that can be beneficial in a fight. It’s just as well, then, that you’re able to adjust your party at any time when you’re not in a battle. I appreciated this kind of flexibility since some characters are better than others when it comes to fighting certain enemies.

When you’re not taking part in battles, Indivisible sees you taking control of Ajna to navigate the various locations you’ll visit. There’s a ton of platforming here and exploration can be quite rewarding as there are a number of different characters that can be missed if you don’t search every possible corner of the map. Certain characters also give you items or upgrades that can help you reach areas not previously accessible. This, combined with some puzzle-solving make for quite an entertaining trek through each area.

The visuals in Indivisible is something that immediately caught my eye. It features a strong anime aesthetic that looks great and is a feast for the eyes from start to finish. The colour usage in the game is fantastic and the cutscenes are especially fun to watch.

The game’s audio is pretty much on par with its visuals, sporting some enjoyable voice acting which truly brings the characters to life. In addition to this, the soundtrack is great for the moment-to-moment platforming and battles but ramps up nicely for the more decisive battles.

Indivisible is a great game. It’s a fun adventure with some inconsistent storytelling here and there, but the characters make up for it by being fairly entertaining. The easy to grasp but hard to master combat becomes fairly addictive once you understand the rhythm of battle, however, it would’ve been significantly more enjoyable had the mechanics been properly explained. That said, it’s great bit of fun and is incredibly easy on the eyes and frankly, it’s a little hard to put down.

This review is based on the Nintendo Switch version of the game and can be purchased here for £26.99.

This game is also available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC

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