Creatures Of Ava Review - The Mystery Of Avatar With A Song In Its Step

Creatures of Ava was a game that I went into expecting some fun animal collecting and puzzle solving, For the most part, that's what I got, but one major aspect of the game that I didn't expect to come away from was a shift in perspective about conservation, Climate Change, and how we always view it from human-kinds eyes.

Creatures of Ava puts you in the shoes of Vic, an employee of the Aleph corporation, whose mission on the dying planet of Ava is to research the lifeforms that inhabit it, capture some to save them from the planet's destruction, and investigate the hostile 'Wither' that is infecting all life.

Early on in your adventure you meet Nim'ar, a member of the Naam race, who is investigating the ancient sites of Ava looking for information on how to stop the 'Wither' from continuing to take over the planet.

Save The Creatures, Save Ava

Through your journey, you won't just be working to preserve the flora and fauna of Ava from the Wither, but you'll also be investigating ancient ruins for Nim'ar. If you're already roaming the planet looking for different species, it can't hurt to also follow up on some leads of how it may have been combatted in the past.

As soon as I set foot on the planet of Ava my mind was drawn to parallels with the Avatar film franchise. Not only in the creation of a fantastical world filled with unique flora and fauna but also in the Naam race and the way they're a part of a hive mind with all other creatures and Ava itself.

It was a very interesting approach to the story, that Ava arriving had the best intentions but we are just humans showing up declaring that we'll save everyone without really understanding the problem or asking those on the planet if they even want to be saved.

As the story was building I as the player was feeling at odds with the job that I was there to perform on behalf of the company, and how much of a 'savior' complex our character has. As more was learned about Ava I definitely could see how Vic's thinking was shifting, but even then the turns that the story takes I couldn't have predicted. They left me feeling quite humbled as a human in the presence of nature.

Explore Four Biomes

The gameplay of Creatures of Ava has Vic exploring each of the four areas of Ava. Within each, you'll be learning the song of the animals - as a way to tame and have them assist you in your exploration - seeking out new creatures to tame and transport back to your base, and exploring the ruins to help Nim'ar learn about how the ancient civilizations dealt with the Wither.

Whether you're following the primary quest line, hunting down any of the side-quests, or just exploring at your own pace you'll encounter countless little puzzles to tickle your brain with.

You might see an interesting item through some brambles. To reach that you'll first need to remove the Wither from a nearby beast, play its song to ingratiate it to you, and then use its ability to break away the bramble. As you get further into the game puzzles might require you to utilize the abilities of two or three creatures at a time.

To cleanse the Wither from a creature you need to form a link to it with your ancient staff, once a connection has been made the creature's infection will slowly whittle down. You can use abilities to drain the infection faster, raise the creature into the air, or even slow the creature down to make the process easier. You can cleanse multiple creatures at a time by creating a beam chain between them all.

While you're cleansing the creatures you have to be careful as they will fight back. They could charge at you, blast you with shockwaves, or dig up from under your feet. You'll need to be watching everyone's movements and dodging accordingly while maintaining your connection.

Cleansing feels like the gameplay of the poltergust of Luigi's Mansion but with a lot more going on than just 'don't break the chain'. For each combat scenario, you'll need to be balanced making a steady pace toward your objective, cleansing the creature, while also dodging left and right, and watching out for your ability cooldowns. At no point would I say that the process was difficult but enjoyably challenging.

Relaxing Exploration Of Ava

Reaching a new area I always made it my goal to just pick a direction and start exploring. Whether I found new creatures to pet or take photos of, upgrades for Vic, or the main plot I was having not only a wonderful but a relaxing time.

At no point did I feel pressured to progress the story, and the world never felt so large or daunting that I wasn't happy to explore every inch of it. This might be one of the most relaxing games I've ever played because of it.

Each new area you travel to is also sizably smaller than the one before, meaning that as the story reaches its natural crescendo your progress isn't stopped because you still have 1/4 of the game to get through. I felt my time and attention was respected in this way.

One aspect of Creatures of Ava that did frustrate me as someone who enjoys collecting in games, but also in making story progress is the number of "point of no returns" that are present in the game. Starting with the second biome once you're done with the story quest of that area you lose access to it.

Because of this, at any point in time, you only ever have access to two out of the game's four areas. You'll be presented with a helpful 'point of no return' screen, but it also felt like I was being shamed by the game for wanting to progress the story while I hadn't taken a photo of all of the wind chimes in the area.

It's disappointing to think that in a game that has so many fun puzzles stashed away in its world, you can lock yourself out of half of the game.

Creatures of Ava Review | Final Thoughts

Creatures of Ava is going to be one of those games that sit with me for a long time. While completing the story and scouring the world might not promote replayability, especially with how much of the game you lose access to as you play, the message of the game is one I'm going to continue to muse on.

Creatures of Ava shows a beautiful world on the verge of death, and while science is trying to protect and preserve it, starts to ask big questions about how we understand and interact with nature from a very specific human point of view.

The gameplay was relaxing and rewarding, with so many interesting nooks and crannies of the world to explore. I also enjoyed that Creatures of Ava never overstayed its welcome. It arrived, politely shared with me an interesting story about a strange and fantastical world, and then left leaving me with delightful things to ponder.

Creatures of Ava was reviewed on PC with a copy provided by the publisher - all screenshots were taken during the process of review over 10 hours