Every now and then a game comes along that focuses more on the storytelling and the solving of complex puzzles rather than finding the most brutal means to solve problems that comes your way, like say, cracking a lead pipe over a door to open it. Now using brutish means is the fun way of solving a dilemma but every now and then there’s the need to solve a puzzle the cerebral way. Thankfully adventure games are no stranger to the Xbox (Shenmue II and Still Life are among the best) and now add Indigo Prophecy to the list. Trust me, this is not a game you want to miss.

Part adventure game with a bit of action tossed in for good measure, Indigo Prophecy is a story the lies between the normal and abnormal, and boy will it have you guessing from start to finish. The story begins in the restroom of a New York City diner where a man named Lucas Kane commits the most heinous crime. In a trance-like state he murders a man in the restroom but is this his doing or is some unnatural force controlling him? Covering his crime he doesn’t remember committing, he flees the scene. Enter Inspector Carla Valenti and her partner Tyler, two detectives trying to piece together this most baffling murder. The lives of these three playable characters are the main focus of the game and the good thing is that you have control over how the story unfolds - think of the game as an interactive Choose Your Own Adventure.

Choices are thrown at you immediately in the game, beginning with after the murder of the man in the restroom. Controlling Lucas feels like the old Resident Evil games but the difference here is that there are several things you can interact with and the way you interact with them affects what happens in the game. Your first act as Lucas is to hide the dead body in case somebody finds it and you can’t very well walk out of the diner with blood all over your hands. You can drag the body into the stall, mop up the blood and wash your bloody hands to make your exit or you can wash your hands, walk out (paying your bill first, of course) and catch a taxi before that cop sipping hot joe decides to take a peek into the men’s room. It’s up to you how you handle each scenario but keep in mind that the game remembers what you did or didn’t do. 

Instead of icons popping up for each thing you can interact with the game introduces an interface with symbols for each object. The game relies heavily on the use of both analog sticks and each interactive item tells you what directing to move the analog sticks. The symbol for the mop, for instance, indicates you should pull the analog stick upwards while the symbol for the hand dryer is indicating you should push it left. It’s pretty tricky at first but it becomes simple the more you play. I messed up a few times thanks to misreading the indicator and the result is affected the story. For example, I chose to clean up after the murder, mopping the floor and washing the blood from my hands. Then I went to my table to pay the bill but because the interface always vanishes a few seconds after it appears I accidentally made him sit down at his booth. Then, after I made my escape we assume the role of Carla and Tyler, who are quick to discover blood on the seat of the booth where I made Lucas sit down. Off goes the blood for analysis thanks to that blunder.

The same interface pops up for most of the dialogue in the game. The bad part is that the interface seems to be on a timer, allowing you a brief second or two to decide how to answer a crucial question or make an important question. For a game that allows you to make several choices throughout the game, it’s frustrating that these choices seem to be pushing us make a decision without given the chance to really think about it. Then again, like in life, sometimes you have to make fast decisions and, because the game throws in some action, snap decisions make sense when your life is in danger. There are action sequences in the game that have you attempting to play a quick game of Simon Says with the directional pad and do it on time. It’s much like the Quick Time Events in Shenmue only your failure doesn’t have a restart. Instead the story changes depending on your success or failure. It’s not easy so I recommend beginning gamers go through the really creative Tutorial.

Aside from Lucas, though, you get to play the game as Carla and her partner Tyler, sneaking a peek into their lives and their relationships with others. The game is played in segments, meaning you complete a few goals as Lucas and the game turns its attention on Carla or Tyler (you can switch between the two detectives whenever you like using the B button). The most engrossing part though is watching how this story, with so many twists and turns, unfolds before you. It’s reminiscent of David Lynch’s work with a supernatural twist that makes this one of the most enjoyable stories found in an adventure game. The characters start showing their flaws, their emotional connections to others and you’ll find yourself caring about them and wondering what will happen in the end.

Visually, Indigo Prophecy isn’t the prettiest Xbox game but it’s not bad-looking either. Motion capture was used to make the character move around naturally and it works, although oftentimes the bad clipping problems just make it hard to enjoy it. The characters do look decent enough and so do the environments but overall the game captures the mood perfectly and is able to pull off some great cinematic cut scenes.

Speaking of David Lynch, composer Angelo Badalamenti (who has done the music for Lynch’s Twin Peaks and Lost Highway) handles the music and, as always, does a brilliant job weaving a tale with his music. It’s enchanting and often creepy but it fits the game like a glove. Aside from the gorgeous score, the game also features music from Teddy Pendergrass, Theory of A Deadman, Ben E. King and Nina Simone. On top of that the voice acting is marvelous and handled with real emotion that comes off well during the dialogue.

Indigo Prophecy is one of those rare gems that aren’t often discovered, polished and admired the way it should be. It weaves an interesting story that won’t fail to hook you in with its beautiful storytelling, good characters and riveting mystery. Its gameplay mechanics don’t grow on you right away but if you stick with it you’ll be treated to a game that really shouldn’t be missed out on. Buy or rent this game when you can, you won’t regret it.

Gameplay: 8.2
Gripping story, interesting characters and lots of choices that can affect the way the story is revealed will have you hooked to your Xbox. Sure the gameplay mechanics and Simon Says-type sequences are as awkward as a chess club president at a school dance, but once you get the hang of it you’ll really get into it.

Graphics: 8.0
It’s not as crisp or as gorgeous as it could have been but the graphics work good enough to make the cinematic cutscenes and characters still enjoyable to watch. The motion capture is great but clipping is not.

Sound: 9.0
The score is beautiful, haunting and delightfully cinematic and it works well with the story. The other music is good as well and the voice acting is superb. Overall, this is great work.

Difficulty: Medium
There are puzzles aplenty and while some have the most obvious solution there are others that will have you really thinking about the consequences it might cause. Some sequences in the game will have you wishing there was a reset button but there aren’t any puzzles in the game that will have you tearing out your hair.

Concept: 8.5
Story is what the game brings to the table and it’s the story that will have you coming back again seeing as your decisions also affect the ending of the game. There are bonus material to unlock via cards you find within the game and they’re mostly artwork, music and videos (a Making-Of feature).

Overall: 8.7
With the holidays right around the corner it’s easy to miss out on a lot of games but missing out on Indigo Prophecy would be a real shame. It not only possesses all the things we love about the adventure genre but it redefines it to the point that its interactive storytelling really does gives us hope that there are gamers that appreciate substance in their games.