INDUSTRIA 2's Next Fest Demo Is a Glimpse of a Half-Life Successor I Desperately Need
This 30-minute trip into a machine-hell dimension is gorgeous, ambitious, and runs like a potato - and you absolutely need to play it during Steam Next Fest.
After the first INDUSTRIA left me hanging with one of the wildest cliffhangers I’ve seen in years, I jumped on the sequel’s demo like a starved man on a sandwich. I was ready to be pulled back into its bizarre, machine-infested parallel dimension, and what I found has me cautiously hyped.
This isn’t a polished, slick experience. It’s a raw, sometimes broken, but utterly fascinating look at a game that’s dripping with potential.
Atmosphere You Can Choke On
The second I stepped into the game's world, the atmosphere hit me like a ton of bricks. Bleakmill has absolutely nailed the eerie, oppressive vibe that made the first game so memorable. The art direction is fantastic, blending industrial decay with a surreal, otherworldly dread that feels like something straight out of a Simon Stålenhag painting.
The gunplay already has a satisfying, weighty feel, and the enemy designs are genuinely creepy. It’s clear the team is building a world I want to get lost in, unraveling the mystery of the A.I. ATLAS piece by agonizing piece.
A Diamond in the Rough
Now, let's be real: this demo is janky. The performance on my rig was all over the place, a common curse for Unreal Engine 5 titles these days. The controller support is practically non-existent, and I ran into a few visual glitches and odd design choices, like some very old-school timed valves.
But here’s the thing - it’s a demo for a game still deep in development. The core is here, and it’s solid. The small team at Bleakmill is clearly pouring their hearts into this thing, and the passion bleeds through every broken texture and performance hiccup.
I’m genuinely excited for INDUSTRIA 2. This short, flawed demo was enough to convince me that there’s a special game here waiting to be polished. It’s got the soul of a classic single-player shooter that we just don’t see much anymore. Go play it on Steam while you can; just be prepared for a bit of turbulence.