Developer: Helder Pinto, Novadust Entertainment, Chozabu (Alex PB)
Platform: PC (Reviwed), Switch
Genre: Action, Adventure
Publisher: Future Friends Games
Europa is an action-adventure indie game. The game was developed by Helder Pinto, Novadust Entertainment, Chozabu (Alex PB) and published by Future Friends Games. Games similar to Europa are A Season: Letter to the Future and more. Europa is currently available on PC and Switch. This review was done on the PC.
Europa is a single-player game where the start of the game lays out a wonderfully narrated cutscene to set the story. You play as Zee, a young android boy who is guided by the wrecked pages written by his late father. Europa takes place on Jupiter’s moon, where humans have colonised the land with the help of robots. It is up to Zee to travel across Europa and discover what happened to the humans who once lived on that very moon.
The controls for Europa are extremely simple. As the story sets the scene, you get to control Zee through a stunning landscape by going through a brief tutorial. The tutorial goes through several mechanics and movements to familiarise the player. I would say that for this type of game playing it on the controller would just be ideal. The controls worked smoothly and had no noticeable delays. The game comes with a zen mode option where you can have threats turned on or off. This creates a more relaxing and inviting environment when playing Europa with zen mode on. I found it better to play it with the zen mode off mainly because it added more excitement to the game. But if you wish to take in the beauty of this game, then I highly recommend the zen mode option. It is worth trying out the game in both options.
The art style of Europa is filled with stunning 3D-drawn cartoon visuals that take inspiration from Studio Ghibli movies. The colour palette is soft pastel with a warmth that comes from the dynamic weather and great heeps on details in the environment. The game has an essence, the essence that captures an alluring, vibrant, and calm atmosphere. From the bright green fields to luscious waterfalls, it resembles something out of Zelda that gets you to concentrate more on exploring the world rather than focusing on the story. Personally, the visuals did not fall short whatsoever as they added such admiration to the scenery. As Zee, you get to jump over obstacles, climb ledges, and use his jetpack whilst taking in the beauty the world has created. The cosy world really lets the player indulge in the beautifully crafted world. I would say that when playing this game, there is a great admiration for the visual art of this game. With the visuals, the melodic, mellow music that is accompanied by the story is really nice. The music is light and heartwarming. Subtle instrumentations mixed with atmospheric sounds created a peaceful escape for players to explore.
The soft piano tunes to the strumming of a guitar complemented the exploration of the Ghibli-esque areas so charming.
I quite liked the voice acting from the narrator’s point of view, as it seemed like a storybook was being told out loud. What I liked was that only the father, Adam, was voice-covered, which did not take away from the game’s storytelling. It rather added more emotion to the characters and made them expressive through the adventure. The animated scenery looks so vibrant and detailed with its soft to bright colour palette. It made the landscape stand out so beautifully. It creates a serene, stunning view.
Europa creates an incredibly strong first impression. Minimalist piano chimes in the background as Zee navigates a series of gorgeous and generously sized vistas, solving light puzzles and collecting secrets as he moves between areas.
Europa is a game that has a gracefully crafted narrative that really hooks the player even in its short duration of gameplay. It creates this calm, cosy feel for players to enjoy and unveil what humanity in a supposed utopia lies. What I liked about this game was that it had an easy-going gameplay where you would run, glide, jump, and traverse through several locations while solving puzzles and uncovering secrets. Most of the time, the game really just consisted of traversing through the world, collecting stars for upgrades, and avoiding robots. I did like that the game has some form of threat, as the world is so lonely it becomes barren and a bit dull at times. Even the threats are not great forms of threats because Zee will merely get knocked down but come back right up. What makes this game perfect is that it’s stress-free. You do not need to worry about completing tasks in a timely manner or feeling the pressure of dying to fall damage, but invite the player to relax.
Besides the constant exploration in the game, there are a few puzzles to solve, some challenging while others are not. I did like the variation of the puzzles to enhance the gameplay, which included things like moving blocks, unlocking gates, and several platform obstacles. The game is also great in the sense that you can go back to a completionist mode to find all hidden collectables and sketch various droid animals. What I found to be a bit taken back was there was no chapter selected after completing a run of the game, which means that you would need to replay the entire game (which is not so bad as the game took me 3.5 hours to complete).
Europa is a game where you play as a young android boy, Zee, who gets to explore Europa in hopes of discovering the secrets tucked away. The game’s charm comes from the stunning visuals inspired by Studio Ghibli movies and interactions that are told through lost pages of a journal. Enjoy a cosy game where you get to traverse through breathtaking landscapes accompanied by relaxing music. If you’re looking for a game that you can wind down to then, be sure to check out Europa.
Overall: 7.5/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
