Indivisible (video game)

Indivisible is an action role-playing-platform game developed by the now-defunct Lab Zero Games and published by 505 Games.[1] The game was initially released in October 2019[2] and on Nintendo Switch on April 28, 2020.[3] It was released in Japan on July 16, 2020.[4]

Indivisible
Developer(s)Lab Zero Games
Publisher(s)505 Games
Composer(s)Hiroki Kikuta
Platform(s)PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, MacOS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch
Release
  • NA: October 8, 2019
  • EU: October 11, 2019
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: April 28, 2020
Genre(s)Action role-playing, platformer
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

Indivisible features platform-style action RPG exploration and combat mechanics inspired by Valkyrie Profile.[5]

Plot

The game begins with a battle between a group of warriors led by Indr (voiced by Keith Silverstein) and the goddess Kala (voiced by Anjali Bhimani). The battle ends with Kala being defeated and sealed on Mount Sumeru while Indr finds an abandoned baby they call Ajna (voiced by Tania Gunadi) and raises her as his own daughter. 16 years later, Ajna lives with her father in the village of Ashwat until it comes under attack by an army led by Dhar (voiced by Benjamin Diskin), who kills her father. After defeating Dhar, Ajna unexpectedly awakens a power in her that absorbs him into her mind, and so she forces him to take her to his leader, the warlord Ravannavar (voiced by Michael Dorn) who ordered the attack. While gaining more companions, Ajna eventually confronts and chases Ravannavar to Mount Sumeru where she kills him, unaware that Ravannavar's intention was to use her power to unseal Kala, as she is revealed to be part of her body, so that the goddess can destroy and recreate the world.

After being cast out of Sumeru, Ajna and her companions are rescued by the Deva Thorani (voiced by Zehra Fazal), who guides her to the nearby port, where she meets Angwu (voiced by Laura Patalano) a former member of Indr's party who instructs Ajna to look for several chakra gates around the world and activate them so that she can increase her power in preparation to face Kala in battle. After doing so, Ajna returns to Sumeru despite being warned by her friends that she might not be ready yet, and while facing Kala, she loses herself to anger, becoming a monster that causes massive destruction until a reformed Dhar sacrifices himself to stop her.

One week later, Ajna recovers and determined to atone for her mistakes, travels the world again to regroup with her friends, while helping to solve some problems she unwillingly caused during her previous journey, and returns to Sumeru for a final battle with Kala. In the occasion, Ajna bids farewell to her companions and convinces Kala to give up on destroying the world, the two merging together and disappearing.

In the post credits, an image of Ajna is seen, living a new life while merged with Kala.

Development

Indivisible was developed by Lab Zero Games, which consisted of members best known for the 2012 fighting game Skullgirls. Lab Zero Games announced Indivisible during their Skullgirls panel at the Anime Expo on July 2, 2015.[5] According to the developer, the game's storyline was influenced by southeast Asian mythology and other cultures.[6] It also features 2D hand-drawn animation by Lab Zero Games' artists.[7] Composer Hiroki Kikuta, best known for his work on Secret of Mana, scored the game's soundtrack.[5] The game features animation by Japanese anime studio Trigger and American animation studio Titmouse, Inc., with the opening animation directed by Yoh Yoshinari of Little Witch Academia.[8]

Lab Zero Games launched a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo on October 5, 2015, with a goal of US$1,500,000.[9] A playable prototype of the game was released in tandem with the launch.[9] If Lab Zero Games met or exceeded their goal, publisher 505 Games would contribute their remaining development budget.[10] The campaign's initial 40-day contribution period faced relatively sluggish fundraising, earning approximately $764,000 by November 8, 2015.[11] However, on November 13, 2015, the campaign was extended for an additional 20 days after the game received roughly US$963,000 in pledges, above Indiegogo's required 60% threshold.[11][12] Following the extension, the goal was eventually reached on December 2, 2015.[13] The game was released on October 8, 2019 in North America and released three days later in Europe.[14]

The game was eventually released on Nintendo Switch on April 28, 2020. However, this was done without any input from Lab Zero Games and was instead given a surprise release by a porting group. As a result, the game's launch was given no prior announcement and came as a surprise even to the original developers. Additionally, the Switch version was also launched missing features that were added through updates, such as co-operative play and New Game+ mode.[3] This was due to the game accidentally launching on its original planned release date, rather than being delayed to early May 2020 as was intended.[15]

On October 9, 2020, 505 Games announced the cancellation of all future updates and content for Indivisible following the dissolution of Lab Zero Games.[16] However, despite no longer being updated, Indivisible is still available for purchase.

Animated series

On July 17, 2020, it was announced that an animated adaptation of Indivisible is in development for the Peacock streaming service, with Meg LeFauve and Jonathan Fernandez as writers and executive producers.[17] The series will be produced by DJ2 Entertainment and Legendary Television.

Reception

Indivisible received "generally favorable reviews" according to Metacritic.[18][19][20][21]

Joe Juba of Game Informer praised the game's art style, animation, music and combat but criticized the backtracking and some other issues with the combat.[22]

Accolades

The game was nominated for "Character Design" and "Game, Original Role Playing" at the NAVGTR Awards.[23]

References

  1. Bartholow, Peter (July 28, 2015). "Lab Zero and 505 Games Bring You Indivisible". 505 Games. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  2. "Indivisible launches October 8 in North America, October 11 in Europe for PS4, Xbox One, and PC; later in 2019 for Switch". Gematsu. 2019-08-08. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
  3. McFerran, Damien (28 April 2020). "Indivisible Is Out Now On Nintendo Switch, But The Developer Isn't Happy". Nintendo Life. Gamer Network. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  4. "インディヴィジブル 闇を祓う魂たち". Nintendo Japan. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  5. MacGregor, Kyle (July 3, 2015). "Skullgirls dev making RPG with Mana composer". Destructoid. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  6. Rajala, Arttu (July 3, 2015). "Skullgirls developer unveils Indivisible". Gamereactor. Archived from the original on July 4, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  7. Romano, Sal (July 3, 2015). "Skullgirls dev announces action RPG Indivisible". Gematsu. Archived from the original on July 3, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  8. Mateo, Alex (2019-09-20). "Studio Trigger's Full Animated Opening Movie for Indivisible Game Unveiled". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-09-21.
  9. McWhertor, Michael (October 5, 2015). "Skullgirls team launches crowdfunding campaign and playable prototype for new RPG". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  10. McWhertor, Michael (July 28, 2015). "Skullgirls developer to crowdfund its new role-playing game, Indivisible". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  11. McDonell, Jeffrey (November 8, 2015). "Indivisible Could Still Get Made if It Reaches 60% Funding Thanks to Indiegogo". Gamnesia. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  12. Saed, Sherif (November 13, 2015). "Indivisible funding campaign extended". VG247. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  13. Strom, Steven (December 2, 2015). "Skullgirls Dev's Indivisible Reaches Its $1.5 Million Crowdfunding Goal". IGN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
  14. Fingas, Jon. "Hand-drawn RPG 'Indivisible' finally arrives October 8th". Engadget. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  15. "Early Release Update". Indivisible. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  16. Romano, Sal (9 October 2020). "Indivisible – all future updates, DLC cancelled". Gematsu. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  17. "RPG 'Indivisible' in Development for Peacock Animated Series". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2020-07-17.
  18. "Indivisible for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  19. "Indivisible for PlayStation 4 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  20. "Indivisible for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  21. "Indivisible for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
  22. Juba, Joe (2019-10-07). "Indivisible Review – Merging Good And Evil". Game Informer.
  23. "2019 Nominees". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. 2020-01-13. Retrieved 2020-01-21.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.