Creatures of Ava REVIEW
There are many games dedicated to environmental issues. Especially often, such projects are produced by independent developers: they place players in small worlds and invite them to interact with flora and fauna, photographing the environment or saving regions from infection. So Creatures of Ava suggests doing the same thing. In the role of a researcher named Vic, we go to the planet Ava, which we want to save from a terrible infection.
Vic is not the first person on Ava, so he quickly gains the trust of the local Naam people. Alien creatures have seen humans so often that they have learned their language and speak it fluently. They accept the offered help because they have been suffering for a very long time from an infection that infects everything around them, which is called desiccation.
By a happy coincidence, soon after landing on the planet, Vic finds himself in a secret place, where he meets a local archaeologist and gets access to a Nafitar, a magic staff that releases a ray that allows him to fight with desiccation. The artifact has other features, such as the ability to lift objects into the air. But cleaning up the infection is its main purpose.
The player’s task is to communicate with the locals, take tasks from them and explore the regions. The story cannot be called exciting, but there are interesting types of characters here: there is an inquisitive alien, there is an incredulous aborigine who does not allow his personal space to be invaded, there is a good-natured archaeologist. Even if the central plot is not particularly fascinating, you do not want to skip the dialogues and there is a desire to spend time with the locals.
When Vic doesn’t communicate with anyone and explores the open world, she either runs and jumps on platforms or fights infection. Animals suffer the most from it: at each meeting with representatives of the fauna, the player needs to direct the beam from the staff towards the infected animal and keep in touch until the scale above his head runs out. Of course, there is no combat system — you just have to dodge the attacks of frightened and drugged animals if they run or fly in your direction.
you need to learn another way to interact with animals — you get a flute at your disposal. When an infected animal is saved, you can tame it — to do this, you need to get a flute and repeat a short melody performed by the beast. After that, the creature will become friendlier and it will even be possible to pet it, but the main thing is to take it under control. This must be done to pass through certain areas, for example, to penetrate into tiny caves or destroy barriers of infected foliage.
The whole game is built on unity with nature — you help creatures, and they help you in return. After that, you collect them and take them to the rescue bot that sends the animals to the Bio—Ark ship in orbit – the naam does not prevent this in any way. At first it seems that animal rescue is optional, but this is not the case — when you complete the exploration of a region, access to the next one can only be obtained after completing the so-called rescue operation.
The process is frankly tedious. It’s fun to do it at first: you save the animals, you can pet them, dig up consumables hidden underground and destroy obstacles so that the character can pass on. But then everything inevitably starts to turn into a routine.
It can’t be said that playing is completely boring. In story missions, you visit new places, solve simple puzzles and explore open worlds full of secrets. Potions can be prepared from the collected herbs, hidden objects allow you to increase your health and stamina. All these actions earn research points. They can be spent on pumping, for example, to strengthen the beam of the staff or expand the inventory, and so on. It is especially interesting to look for cable cars at locations that allow you to get to the hills faster.
In the case of the camera, more work has been done, but you rarely use it either. It serves as a kind of scanner here, especially if you pump it up — you can see places where there are plants, as well as get hints when you are next to a collectible item. And to do, of course, to take beautiful pictures.
In the end, you still want to play — the animals look very cute, and the music is pleasant. The authors managed to create an atmosphere of an alien, but very friendly planet, where the locals are not afraid of human aliens and allow themselves to be helped, and we are actively engaged in saving nature. At the same time, Creatures of Ava suffers from a monotonous gameplay, so it’s difficult to pass it in one gulp — it’s better to take breaks. And every time you come back to it, the first thing you pay attention to is its advantages, not its disadvantages.
