Europe is a pretty indie gem with great art and environmental storytelling. While some gameplay elements may be lacking, the narrative journey certainly makes up for it.
This game tells an emotional story through the brilliant voice of narrator Earl Fisher, who plays the father of the child protagonist. As we continue to play, we gain more information about the plot by collecting notes, and the plot has a great flow with twists towards the end. It also conveys a message about the environment, but it doesn’t reach the heart enough to be effective.
Flying in the air is a delight Europe. From your jetpack you get a real power boost that allows you to jump great distances. It also controls very well. You’ll be able to get collectible crystals from the tops of wrecked buildings in the area and find different secrets in each level using your jetpack.
Most of the game involves collecting objects, such as flickers of lightweight energy, or interacting with mechanisms in each area to advance. They’re pretty effortless to spot most of the time, but it’s still satisfying to spot everything you need, especially with the thrilling flying mechanics.
Fun yet effortless puzzles in Europe
There are a few puzzles here and there. There is a fun, yet effortless, puzzle that involves rotating blocks clockwise to reach three areas of the map. Additionally, there are platforming challenges that require blocks to disappear after every second jump. Europe They won’t challenge you, but completing them is rewarding, as is finding each object in the levels. I’m not usually a fan of puzzles in games, but even I have to admit that it would be great to have more difficulty solving them. Europe.
One of the weakest parts Europe is his enemies. They feel thrown in as the main character only gets stunned rather than knocked out by his enemies. There are turrets that fire projectiles at you, but they are quite effortless to avoid. Whenever they fire a shot every now and then, it feels weird when a huge bullet hits a child and it barely paralyzes him. Some stingrays are shocking and do nothing more than be a soft nuisance. Enemies are simply irritating and ruin the flow of the game. The game becomes repetitive and can be quite annoying if it gets interrupted while you’re trying to push an object into the right place.
While the enemies become repetitive, the game’s environments can change the formula when you head to a fresh biome. Enough added to the mechanics to keep Europe fresh for 3-4 hours of playback.
A stunning game through and through
The game runs surprisingly smoothly and lasts for 3-4 hours. Europe There were no noticeable bugs, frame rate drops, or any other graphical issues. There are enormous environments with a little crackling here and there, and particle effects appear around the character’s jetpack. Europe does something very similar to Tripin which almost every level shows the end goal, human civilization on a floating island. As the story progresses, it gets closer and closer, leading you to the winter mountaintop.
Europe it’s pretty. The graphics are vivid, the torn architecture and robots that remained from the war many years ago stand out, and the craftsmanship of the game’s skyline, like a night resembling the aurora borealis, is breathtaking. There are also some great scenery, such as a view of the island of Europa in the distance, flying sections with a colossal robot, and images of a bygone war. It certainly adds a fantastic atmosphere, especially to the works of Studio Ghibli Castle in the sky.
Although not as convincing as Austin Wintory’s Trip soundtrack, Europe has a moving soundtrack that complements the pretty visuals. The piano-led music guides you to how you should be feeling at that moment, and it really gave me goosebumps by the end.
There is a lack of level selection in Europe, which is a problem
What frustrated me, however, was the lack of level selection. If you like to collect everything in the game and get achievements and skip the side content, it’s a bit annoying to have to play through the entire game over again. Since the game is divided into chapters, it’s a bit puzzling why this feature isn’t there.
Generally, Europe is a great indie title and a breath of fresh triple-A air in what has been a busy season. The art style is striking, the story is intriguing, and moving through the sky is satisfying. While the game can be repetitive at times with annoying enemies (which only stun your character), Europe is well worth your time if you want to sluggish down the game for a few hours. It’s quite low at 3-4 hours, but there are collectibles you can try to find that can extend your game time. However, it would be nice to have the option to select a level to make this process easier.
