{"id":625549,"date":"2026-03-26T03:20:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T03:20:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T03:20:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T03:20:40","slug":"industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/","title":{"rendered":"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Industria<\/p>\n

Reviewed on:<\/b> Xbox Series X\/S
Platform:<\/b> PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC
Publisher:<\/b> Headup
Developer:<\/b> Bleakmill
Release:<\/b>

Industria\u2019s inspirations are clear from the jump: Half-Life 2, David Lynch movies, and more. It\u2019s something the six-person team at Bleakmill has mentioned when discussing Industria online that had me excited. You play as Nora, a worker for the East Berlin-based company Atlas, just before the end of the Cold War. Your lover disappears, and you set off to find him, only to wind up in a parallel dimension where machines have taken over what used to be home. Sadly, the four hours following\u00a0this mysterious and intriguing start fail to live up to the opening\u2019s potential. Bleakmill aimed high, and while I thought it might land at times, I was left dissatisfied and wishing there was more meat on the bone by the time credits rolled.<\/p>\n

However, one aspect that kept me satisfied from start to finish was everything you experience in Industria without touching a controller. Thanks to a world wholly overtaken by machines, its atmosphere is oppressive and haunting. The\u00a0score matches, presenting strange choral melodies that play wonderfully into the game\u2019s ambiance. Even its visuals, which sometimes show\u00a0cracks like when viewing vistas on the horizon, sold the game well. I just wish Industria\u2019s gameplay and storytelling matched.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

Immediately, controlling Nora feels\u00a0wonky. You cannot move diagonally on the left stick, a minute but affecting lack of input, and the game feels\u00a0decidedly less fluid as a result. That Industria is a first-person shooter further highlights\u00a0this problem because, above all else, I wanted to feel fast and in control when fighting enemies. Of course,\u00a0I didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The opening stages feature a distinct lack of guns, forcing me to rely on an ax to attack enemies and solve environmental puzzles. I was excited about how these puzzles might evolve, but oddly, save for a couple, the rest of the game reuses the same few. I encountered these puzzles while attempting to complete objectives that are almost exclusively something along the lines of, \u201cGo here, interact with this, and progress forward.\u201d It got boring quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bleakmill created a handful of different machines to fight while completing these objectives, and I liked the variations between them as they kept me on my toes. A small circular bot sprinted toward me before self-exploding. Another fought like a human with a gun, and another charged at me wildly, swinging its arms to attack. These firefights were often tense, and because Industria isn\u2019t keen to toss out ammo in abundance, I was often on the run,\u00a0scrounging\u00a0through drawers and cabinets to find more bullets. I had a good time in these firefights, but I wish the actual scenarios were further polished to feel as varied as the robots I was shooting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/figure>\n
<\/figure>\n
<\/figure>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n

\u00a0 <\/p>\n

For the first hour, the central narrative mystery is intriguing enough for me to look past the relatively simple and dull \u201cgo here\u201d objectives. There is even a mid-game twist\u00a0I liked a lot. But as I reached the game\u2019s final moments, I lacked the storytelling clarity I had hoped to achieve. One moment, I\u2019m fighting a ton of robots in what might be the final combat scenario of the game. Then, I\u2019m saying goodbye to a friend at breakneck speed before heading to an entirely new setting. Here, Bleakmill gave the narrative moment that everything was leading up to, and it missed the mark. Sure, it explained some character motives and solved Industria\u2019s question from the opening scenes, but it wasn\u2019t satisfying. It was too rushed to make sense, ending as fast as it began and not justifying\u00a0my investment to that point.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Industria\u2019s atmosphere certainly nailed what it was going for, the monotonous gameplay and rushed story left me dissatisfied. Still, I loved the ambiance and backdrop, and I wouldn\u2019t mind if Bleakmill took another crack at it \u2013 the rest of this world just needs a few more cogs added to its machine.<\/p>\n

Score: 6<\/h2>\n

About Game Informer’s review system<\/a> <\/p>\n

Purchase<\/a> <\/p>\n

Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reviewed on: Xbox Series X\/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC Publisher: Headup Developer: Bleakmill Release: June 9, 2022 Rating: 12+ Industria\u2019s inspirations are clear from the jump: Half-Life 2, David Lynch movies, and more. It\u2019s something the six-person team at Bleakmill has mentioned when discussing Industria online that had me excited. You play as Nora, a worker for the East Berlin-based company Atlas, just before the end of the Cold War. Your lover disappears, and you set off to find him, only to wind up in a parallel dimension where machines have taken over what used to be home. Sadly, the four hours following\u00a0this mysterious and intriguing start fail to live up to the opening\u2019s potential. Bleakmill aimed high, and while I thought…<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":625550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-625549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game-informer"],"yoast_head":"\nIndustria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine | Arcader News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reviewed on: Xbox Series X\/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC Publisher: Headup Developer: Bleakmill Release: June 9, 2022 Rating: 12+\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine | Arcader News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reviewed on: Xbox Series X\/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC Publisher: Headup Developer: Bleakmill Release: June 9, 2022 Rating: 12+\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-26T03:20:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"270\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Arcade News\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"headline\":\"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-26T03:20:40+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":696,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Game Informer\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/\",\"name\":\"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine | Arcader News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-26T03:20:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\"},\"description\":\"Reviewed on: Xbox Series X\\\/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\\\/S, PC Publisher: Headup Developer: Bleakmill Release: June 9, 2022 Rating: 12+\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/06\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg\",\"width\":480,\"height\":270,\"caption\":\"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"description\":\"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839\",\"name\":\"Arcade News\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Arcade News\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cricketgames.tv\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/arcader.org\\\/news\\\/author\\\/arcade-news\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine | Arcader News","description":"Reviewed on: Xbox Series X\/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC Publisher: Headup Developer: Bleakmill Release: June 9, 2022 Rating: 12+","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine | Arcader News","og_description":"Reviewed on: Xbox Series X\/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC Publisher: Headup Developer: Bleakmill Release: June 9, 2022 Rating: 12+","og_url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/","og_site_name":"Arcade News","article_published_time":"2026-03-26T03:20:40+00:00","og_image":[{"width":480,"height":270,"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Arcade News","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Arcade News","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/"},"author":{"name":"Arcade News","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"headline":"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine","datePublished":"2026-03-26T03:20:40+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/"},"wordCount":696,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg","articleSection":["Game Informer"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/","name":"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine | Arcader News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-26T03:20:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839"},"description":"Reviewed on: Xbox Series X\/S Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X\/S, PC Publisher: Headup Developer: Bleakmill Release: June 9, 2022 Rating: 12+","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine.jpg","width":480,"height":270,"caption":"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/industria-review-a-not-so-well-oiled-machine\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Industria Review \u2013 A Not So Well-Oiled Machine"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/","name":"Arcade News","description":"Free Arcade News from the Best Online Sources","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8460f5e5076b52fb2369f2f7ce6f2839","name":"Arcade News","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3fea48a614d86edd987bc7bb25f4707c69546d4b1f78ad4aa20b26316bad1f9d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Arcade News"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/cricketgames.tv"],"url":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/author\/arcade-news\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=625549"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625549\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1286218,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/625549\/revisions\/1286218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/625550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=625549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=625549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=625549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}