I was quite surprised with how much I enjoyed INFRA. It is a difficult game to understand before playing it, as it is unlike most other games. It is very low-key, strongly reminding me of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst or the atmospheric non-combat atmospheric sections of the Metro 2033 series. Quiet, melancholic exploration of abandoned and decayed industrial locations with a tinge of strangeness.

INFRA consists playing as a structural engineer using a camera to catalogue dangerous conditions through the neglected infrastructure of a city. Naturally, as the game progresses the plot expands, as evidence is uncovered about a number of interlinking conspiracies that have corrupted the fictional city of Stalburg. Aside from wandering through the levels taking pictures the gameplay consists of frequent environmental puzzles. The little danger in the game is usually from these puzzles that can be occasionally dangerous in the ways that you would expect from deteriorating infrastructure. The largest puzzles are often optional and can span entire levels, such as repairing the many issues of a malfunctioning water treatment plant. I found these to be the most rewarding, solving problems across an entire level so that a large operation runs correctly again. For the most part the puzzles are clearly logical and reward common sense, though there is the rare puzzle that requires obscure logic.

INFRA is obviously built on the Source engine and can be a beautiful game at times, but though sheer design and not because the game has particularly high fidelity. Despite its occasional expansive scene, much of the game takes place in underground maintenance tunnels or other cramped passageways. The human characters look particularly primitive and are barely animated, so are used particularly sparsely. Which turns out to the game's benefit, rarely seeing other characters strengthens the lonely atmosphere of industrial decay. The voice acting primarily relies on the protagonist, who has quite the accent. Though I found his gruff utterances growing on me as the game went on. Where INFRA really succeeds is in it's atmosphere, in the lonely decay that pervades the game and a constant sense of subtle weirdness. Alongside the official city infrastructure you constantly come across traces of underground communities using that infrastructure for there own ends, such as the harvesting of toxic mushrooms for their psychedelic properties. INFRA is mostly grounded, yet has the occasional moment of sheer strangeness that keeps the game's atmosphere enchantingly off-kilter.

In the end it is not a game that will wow anyone with its technical achievements, writing, or other tangible assets; but thrives on its sheer atmosphere. I had no idea of what to make of it before playing it, after all it is a game centered around photographing evidence of dangerous decay in city infrastructure! To my great surprise it ended up as one of my favorite games of the year, on the strength of its atmosphere. I also appreciated the general groundedness of the puzzles and how the largest of those puzzles required repairing entire complexes worth of interacting systems. It is also a surprisingly long game, at least 25 hours if you don't try for the optional content.

I was quite surprised with how much I enjoyed INFRA. It is a difficult game to understand before playing it, as it is unlike most other games. It is very low-key, strongly reminding me of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst or the atmospheric non-combat atmospheric sections of the Metro 2033 series. Quiet, melancholic exploration of abandoned and decayed industrial locations with a tinge of strangeness. INFRA consists playing as a structural engineer using a camera to catalogue dangerous conditions through the neglected infrastructure of a city. Naturally, as the game progresses the plot expands, as evidence is uncovered about a number of interlinking conspiracies that have corrupted the fictional city of Stalburg. Aside from wandering through the levels taking pictures the gameplay consists of frequent environmental puzzles. The little danger in the game is usually from these puzzles that can be occasionally dangerous in the ways that you would expect from deteriorating infrastructure. The largest puzzles are often optional and can span entire levels, such as repairing the many issues of a malfunctioning water treatment plant. I found these to be the most rewarding, solving problems across an entire level so that a large operation runs correctly again. For the most part the puzzles are clearly logical and reward common sense, though there is the rare puzzle that requires obscure logic. INFRA is obviously built on the Source engine and can be a beautiful game at times, but though sheer design and not because the game has particularly high fidelity. Despite its occasional expansive scene, much of the game takes place in underground maintenance tunnels or other cramped passageways. The human characters look particularly primitive and are barely animated, so are used particularly sparsely. Which turns out to the game's benefit, rarely seeing other characters strengthens the lonely atmosphere of industrial decay. The voice acting primarily relies on the protagonist, who has quite the accent. Though I found his gruff utterances growing on me as the game went on. Where INFRA really succeeds is in it's atmosphere, in the lonely decay that pervades the game and a constant sense of subtle weirdness. Alongside the official city infrastructure you constantly come across traces of underground communities using that infrastructure for there own ends, such as the harvesting of toxic mushrooms for their psychedelic properties. INFRA is mostly grounded, yet has the occasional moment of sheer strangeness that keeps the game's atmosphere enchantingly off-kilter. In the end it is not a game that will wow anyone with its technical achievements, writing, or other tangible assets; but thrives on its sheer atmosphere. I had no idea of what to make of it before playing it, after all it is a game centered around photographing evidence of dangerous decay in city infrastructure! To my great surprise it ended up as one of my favorite games of the year, on the strength of its atmosphere. I also appreciated the general groundedness of the puzzles and how the largest of those puzzles required repairing entire complexes worth of interacting systems. It is also a surprisingly long game, at least 25 hours if you don't try for the optional content.