I didn’t expect to be reviewing two games about friendly, fantastical animals whistling in beautiful worlds in just a few weeks, but following the recent release of Flock, I’m a little disappointed. A similar game has appeared. However, Creatures of Ava is a much larger and more ambitious game, reaching the surprisingly high benchmarks it typically sets for itself. Created by two relatively unknown studios, this open-world creature-rescue game is moving, gorgeous, and ultimately serves as one of the best family games of the year.
Creatures of Eva Vic is a researcher who arrives on the planet Eva to complete the Ark Project, which aims to save the world’s animals from blight, a global epidemic that is slowly corrupting life itself. I will help you. Even before I knew what kind of game “Creatures of Ava” was, I was amazed at how beautiful it was. This is one of the best-looking games I’ve played in 2024, with a vibrant color palette of bright oranges, pinks, and blues that immediately catches your eye.
Additionally, the way the game guides players through a story that includes four distinct open-world sections, each with its own unique biome and aesthetic, means new surprises and sights are introduced regularly. I really looked forward to finishing each chapter. To find out what amazing scenery the game will show you next.
Entering a new biome is like opening another birthday present.
It’s not just beautiful to look at. I feel alive. While Vic can sprint endlessly, I occasionally slowed down to soak up my surroundings. To hear the sounds of animals coming from the lush magenta jungle, or to stand on giant yellow flowers in the wetlands and admire the local fauna from afar.
Of course, it couldn’t go on forever. Its mission is to transport large numbers of animals to the BioArk, which aims to give different species on Earth a second chance at life, a kind of futuristic take on the Biblical story of Noah’s Ark. It’s an interpretation. For Vic, this gets interesting. And there’s even some welcome mature internal conflict. Is it enough to save just a few of each animal? Is it possible to save the entire planet instead? As Vic grapples with the company’s intentions and his own limitations, the local human-like denizens of Interact with her in a way.
Initially, the premise of the game was similar to that of a savior arriving in a “native” country and solving everything for them, or an animal-friendly game that routinely depicts the exploitative treatment of animals. , seemed like a minefield of problematic tropes. I was really struck by how the story rejected them. Not only does it seem to recognize the pitfalls and carefully avoid them, but it does so while adding interesting wrinkles to both the story and gameplay.
This is not the climate change allegory it seems at first, and I was at least convinced that it was true, even if I found other surprises along the way, but by the end it wasn’t. Not even the typical “cozy” game cards were played, other than being able to pet the animals in the game. Creatures of Ava is a nice family-friendly game, but it doesn’t shy away from gut-wrenching the reader pretty hard in its final moments, and does so in unexpected ways.
Many of the characters are well written, but at times the performances are poor. While not overly annoying, the seams in the dialogue were often distracting, and some lines didn’t convey the weight they were intended to. Luckily, the game actually benefits from most of the dialogue being text-only. The game’s contemplative, comical, or argumentative group leaders and the like aren’t tainted by inconsistent voice work, which makes the many unique and more human depictions of Evangelion’s denizens feel stronger.
Eva’s indigenous people, the Naam, are thoughtfully written and reveal many unique characters.
But beyond the mesmerizing visuals and heartwarming story, what surprised me most was the moment-to-moment gameplay. Creatures of Ava reuses long-standing action-adventure mechanics to create a non-violent world that’s still full of action and fascinating developments. Its combat system is built entirely around evasion and defense. When Vic tries to purify the animals with the magic wand he received from his new companion, the corruption causes them to become aggressive, but Vic’s series of movements avoids the animals’ attacks, jumps, It consisted only of rolling or otherwise restraining, but never retaliating. Damage in kind.
It takes time for the fire hose-like staff to cleanse each animal, so each battle becomes a round of crowd control as you must avoid harm until the animal is free of infection. A clever touch to this system is that the hose-like stream of cleansing power allows other animals to be caught in the flow if they cross the river, thereby creating a series that could perhaps be described as a playful exorcism. It is to create a chain of
The camera often gets in the way in such encounters, as it cannot automatically keep Vic centered when the animal escapes the screen and attacks Vic from the side. As such, it feels like you need a third hand, or at least an extra thumb, to operate the camera while moving, firing cleansing spells, and using her other abilities.
Different animals have unique attack patterns and different defenses, and Vic’s abilities grow over time to keep pace with his ever-evolving list of “enemies”. This also includes tools to slow down, lift, freeze, and cleanse animals more quickly. None of these actions are done in a way that harms the animals. This is evidenced by the fact that animals do not even have a traditional HP bar. Instead, infection levels are quantified and drained as they become successful. Subverting traditional third-person combat in this way feels both inventive and important to the story’s themes. I really appreciate that the team found a way to circumvent the long-standing video game tradition of vanquishing enemy evil.
It is also important to take photos of infected and non-infected animals. Doing so will reveal details such as each animal’s abilities. This process creates a Pokedex-like device full of information and custom photos that makes it fun to line up the perfect shot, even if a creature happens to lunge at your kneecap. Once the cleansing is complete, Vic can play a melody that trains the animals to follow him, at which point he can actually have them solve the puzzles on the environmental platforms as needed, and eventually the box. You can guide the animals to the pick-up zone to throw them into the boat.
You can save animals by petting (hugging) all the animals on the planet.
None of the puzzles are particularly difficult, but it’s a fun learning curve to observe the obstacles and figure out which animals you need to charm to advance. However, I did have a hard time navigating the world at times, as the map is a little confusing, some areas can only be accessed by certain routes, and it’s easy to forget or miss something.
However, this wandering was not entirely in vain. Four open-world hubs are dotted around every corner with lore-filled collectibles, ways to upgrade Vic’s health, stamina, inventory space, or more. Level her up to unlock more skill points to spend on abilities. I finished the 11-hour game in two tries because, despite its imperfections, it was hard to give up.
Many of the side missions were particularly memorable for me, as I got to meet more characters, including a village elder who is no longer able to trek to his favorite waterfall. So when I returned with photos of the site, they were so grateful, which made a simple photo mission even more memorable and an act of kindness. There are many such missions and I spent time completing many of them. Eva’s creatures have minds as vibrant as their worlds.
Thanks to its platforming, puzzles, and “combat” all built into a colorful world, Creatures of Ava reminds me of the kind of action-adventure games that are rarely made anymore. It’s nostalgic for the past while creatively reinventing the genre’s traditional elements. It routinely defies tropes in every corner of the world, but it still feels like the kind of game that’s familiar, relatable, and easy to love. With a harder-than-expected story and gameplay that regularly presents new tools and challenges, Creatures of Ava is definitely one of the coolest surprises of the year.
