Summary

Alba - A Wildlife Adventure (AAWA) is a short and small open world casual game. You play as Alba, a young girl who visits her grandparents on a small Mediterranean island. After saving a beached dolphin, Alba and her friend, Ines, decided to start a local wildlife conservation organisation! And Alba’s Grandpa gave her a wildlife guide and a camera, so she’s gotta to take pictures of all them animals right?

Not only is AAWA cute, it can also be somewhat educational, allowing players to observe the lives of many common animals, and learn how these animals might be harmed by irresponsible human behaviour. AAWA is quite casual and thus very suited for young children. There is no lose condition, making for a relaxing experience. Some of the tasks in the game include picking up litter and healing sick animals, which is a real joy to complete. Seeing how even a kid could help the community by cleaning up really makes me more aware of litter for sure.

If there’s anything to criticise about the game, it would be how slow travelling is. You can only move as fast as a kid airplane running around, that is quite slowly. On the bright side, it’s genuinely cute and the handcrafted environment is a treat to look at.

Disclaimer: I got this game for free from an Epic Games Store giveaway.

Picture Diary

Alba first visited the island when she was a mere baby… and of course her grandpa just had to give her a phone. But look how happy she is! But nah, the phone is actually just a fancy camera for all intends and purposes, and grandpa just wanted her to take a picture of them on the beach.

Even though the main game is supposed to take place 10 years after this, it feels like Alba has barely grown at all. Is this an alternate world where years pass quickly or is Alba really a human? In any case, I got my first look at the town area, and it’s really just so pretty.

Something really cool about AAWA is how Alba answers yes/no questions by nodding or shaking her head! It’s a really interesting way to make choices, although the choices ultimately does not really matter. A small warning though, the choice is not actually made until Alba stops moving her head for a short while after shaking or nodding her head. It’s a little embarrassing, but I furiously nodded Alba’s head for a good minute before realising I had to pause for a while for the dialogue to continue.

So the first thing I did after coming to the island is to save this poor dolphin caught up in a net. Come to think of it, why is Alba smiling as she looks at a suffering dolphin. Just children being children? In any case, I got a few strong adults, and we threw the dolphin back into the sea.

And that when Ines decided on her brilliant idea to save more dolphins! Unfortunately (or fortunately), no other dolphins have been beached throughout the rest of the game, but it’s the thought that counts right?

But of course, saving the dolphin is just the start of the adventure. Before rescuing the wildlife, we gotta know them first! And so Grandpa gave Alba a trusty book of animals to take pictures of. It’s nicely seperated into groups of habitats where the animals may be found, which makes it much easier to try hunting for them. Some animals are story locked however, so don’t be too anxious to complete it at the start.

Here’s a picture of Alba taking a picture of some birds.

Not only can we take pictures, we can even identify them and see their scientific names! And so, I took my very first picture of the awe-inspiring house sparrow for the first time! Woah!

But that’s just the first of many animals to take pictures of. Gotta see them all right? And so, as Alba was exploring the great wilderness, and picking up litter in the meantime like the good girl she is, she got a message from the mayor.

It seems that the mayor wants to build a Luxury Hotel(!!!) on top of the nature reserve!

But Ines won’t stand for this. Oh no she won’t.

And thus starts the journey of two young girls who decided to collect signatures to rebel against… CAPITALISM!

Final Thoughts

I might have gotten this game for free, but if you have the funds to spare, I believe it’s a game worth paying for when it goes on discount on steam. This is truly a game made with love and I’m really quite excited to see the other games which the developer, ustwo games, has to offer.