Creatures Of Ava Review (PC, XSX)

Creatures of Ava is squarely in the “cozy” game genre. It’s listed as action-adventure but the action that is here never really feels overly threatening… so it’s good for younger players or those who like a bit less danger in their gaming. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

I have mixed feelings about Creatures of Ava, it does well in some aspects but fails in others. The game opens with a very anime inspired intro, which is lovely enough but ends with a moment that I found a bit mixed emotionally. Parents smile as they watch their child escape the exploding ship they are still on. Once you get your bearings on the planet you land on it seems you have a job to perform here… to rid this world of “the withering” essentially an infection that is turning the local creatures nasty and causing some of the land to be obstructed with vine-like plants. You bump into an archaeologist who leads you to a tool you can use to help remove the withering and guides you to the locals.

This is where I have a big bit of discomfort with the game… the start has some very heavy “colonialist” vibes to it… a non native coming in and taking artifacts and essentially telling the locals how things should be done despite the locals not agreeing (it turns out there can be a bit of rapport building with the locals… but that comes later). The start really doesn’t seem to give much context for why you know this withering is here and needs to be removed… though you do learn that humans have been on this planet before and have left some facilities that you can make use of.

If we ignore the somewhat clunky start… the actual game mechanics are indeed quite relaxed. The only “combat” per se comprises of you avoiding being hit by animals whilst you try and cleanse them of the withering. It’s a low stakes affair and you can set the difficulty to make it very easy so you can enjoy the story more than worry about dodging and damage so much. As you go about cleansing the animals and removing the vine like growths you gain access to more areas in the game and the world begins to open up. Your little kit comprises a camera which you will need to use to gain information about the lifeforms which then gives hints of sorts as to how they may be useful later. Useful is indeed what some of the creatures are as you will learn how to use them in a more direct manner which will enable you to access new areas by using the creatures abilities to overcome obstacles.

The visuals are an interesting element. Plenty of people will no doubt love them… I actually found that after a while they started to feel a bit painful. I’m not sure if it was the saturation, the colour choices or the foggy atmospherics… or maybe all of it combined but I really didn’t love the look of things. The creature design is fine and the world itself is ok… but I think its the colour choices… I know it’s meant to be another world… but they just didn’t work for me (that’s obviously a very personal preference though).

The only other main thing I found that felt odd was the voice work… cut scenes and some other moments are fully voice acted… but then more interactive conversations seemed to be text based. It felt a bit jarring bouncing between the two and I think maybe either all voiced or all text might have been better.

Final Thoughts?

Creatures of Ava isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea. If you are looking for a more relaxed gaming experience with a bit of adventuring and exploration involved then this might be something that you’ll enjoy. If you want something with a bit more depth and serious, perhaps look elsewhere. Of course if you are after a game where you get to hug the wild life… maybe give it a look ;)