Indigo Lake Review

Some of life's deepest mysteries can leave one clueless. Several hours into Indigo Lake, I'm still spinning my wheels and searching for a few answers. But the ghosts keep me alert and awake into the wee hours of the morning. They may haunt me within the safe confines of my iPad, but sometimes those scares are all too real.

In Indigo Lake, you start off on a boat in the middle of the still waters during the dead of night. With a gun in hand, your next move is to land on Indigo Lake and investigate the mysterious deaths of its denizens. Is there a supernatural element at work behind these tragedies, or were these people cursed by the wails and screams of a female spirit? Various notes penned by these victims are scattered throughout the town, and each message leads to an even bigger clue. But let's start once again from the beginning, where all you see is a light peeking through that darkness.

Indigo Lake's strongest asset lies in its eerie, atmospheric tone, a feeling that is evoked by the app's strong sense of visual and sound design. Whether it's wind rustling through the trees, an apparition's agonizing cries from another room, or fleeting glimpse of a ghost once you turn around, the game effectively captures that inescapable feeling of dread. Although I'm partial to fair skinned damsels in distress, I'll pass on this latest acquaintance.

The app's only flaw lies in its control mechanic which gets less annoying once you get comfortable navigating around Indigo Lake. The left side of your device is used to move forward, and a tap on the right side fires your hand gun. Exploring areas requires a tap on the middle portion of your screen, and there have been too many times when I've inadvertently fired bullets into a room when all I simply intended to do was open a door or grab a note.

There is no icon that leads to the menu screen, as you must tilt your device to the left side to bring it up. Tilting on the right side opens up an objective window, which keeps you abreast of your current task at hand. These are all controls which are a nuisance from the opening moments, but this minor flaw is overshadowed by the app's overall excellence. Plus, the title also has picture in picture mode, which enables you to capture your various reactions to all that horror. My apologies, since the following photo of this mealy mouthed miscreant is all I have.

Indigo Lake unfolds like an extended Twilight Zone episode and if you love slow build, psychological thrillers, you're definitely in for a treat. As you get lost within the chilling images and twisted story that develops, it's easy to forget that, at its core, the game is a first person shooter. Going FPS enables gamers to fully experience all the shocks and scares to come. Though walking into a deserted residence is always better with a tracer gun at your beck and call, the creepy factor still remains.

Cinematic in scope and chilling to the bone, Indigo Lake is one of those few mobile and tablet experiences that may haunt your dreams. Death is one of the only sure things in this world, and in the coming hours I'll understand why each of these poor souls met their maker. Maybe then I'll spill a few of their secrets. Then again, some things are better left unsaid.

App Store Link: Indigo Lake for iPhone & iPad | By 3 Cubes Research LTD | Price: $2.59 | Version: 1.2 | 86.2 MB | Rating 12+