It’s not a perfect game, but most of its issues are honestly technical in nature.
This review was made possible thanks to a review code provided by 11 bit studios.
The company did not see the contents of the review before publishing.
Yes, you can absolutely pet every dog. I mean creature.
What is Creatures of Ava?
Matters quickly become more complicated, though, as Vic learns more about the history of Ava.
That’s the overall goal in Creatures of Ava, although matters don’t remain that straightforward for long.
Yes, you can absolutely pet every dog. I mean creature.
This is a relaxing, casual narrative-adventure game that, while imperfect, is certainly worth the time.
You’re saving creatures, not collecting them.
You’re taking photographs with these creatures, not battling with them.
Ava is honestly a really cool world to explore, including all its creatures and inhabitants.
The story is about the planet itself, not about the creatures that live on it.
Those differences matter, and it’s part of what makes this game good.
The first thing you’ll really notice, though, is how good itlooks.
Photographing every creature you find (and whatever else you consider interesting) is honestly lots of fun.(Image credit: Windows Central)
Those visuals are paired with a beautiful and moving soundtrack that subtly underlines the gameplay and narrative beats.
There’s diversity here, too.
The game is split into four unique regions, each with its own color palette and ecosystems.
This is the first photo I took, of a bunch of smol bois hanging out by their home.(Image credit: Windows Central)
It’s a simple and straightforward semi-open world game with simple platforming and plenty of map shortcuts.
Light Metroidvania elements block your progress in some areas until you unlock the corresponding abilities, too.
Creatures of Ava really nails the world, and I honestly adore the creatures, too.
Once you learn the music of Ava, you can befriend its creatures and even work with them to overcome obstacles.(Image credit: Windows Central)
You play as Vic, equipped with an ancient artifact that has a number of magical abilities.
The gameplay isn’t complicated, but it is relaxing.
Those are bugs, but there are also quality-of-life issues here, too.
Often, though, befriending creatures also means freeing them from infection.(Image credit: Windows Central)
These are undeniable problems, but they’re admittedly all issues that can be resolved with future updates.
There’s one flaw that isn’t going to be fixed, though.
That would be the delivery methods for the story.
You’ll have to battle the Withering in more ways than just healing creatures, too.(Image credit: Windows Central)
The writing in general sometimes feels stilted and forced, especially the text-based dialogue between characters.
It’s good, but not a masterpiece.
Relax and spend 12-15 hours exploring a lovely world.
Creatures of Ava usually looks stunning, but texture and performance issues can take away from that sometimes.
Photograph, heal, befriend, pet, save that’s the gameplay loop for this gorgeous creature-saving game.
Everything works, but it doesn’t always work well.
Creatures of Ava is a good, fun experience, but it’s far from perfect.
As much as I enjoyed the story of Creatures of Ava overall, I have to admit it wasn’t always delivered in the best way.
For only $25 (or an Xbox Game Pass subscription), that adventure is so worth experiencing.
Inverge Studios built a beautiful world for you to explore… And attempt to save.
Still, it’s an amazing experience for the price.
The intro and ending cinematics are glorious. I really wish all the cinematics had been done in this style.
