During the latest Indie World, this was one among the many shown that caught my interest. Europa is a game of exploration, backed up by a beautiful artstyle. Running, jumping and gliding through this world, with things to find and puzzles to solve. I was invested, and wanting to give it a try. Fortunately, a demo was announced. A demo that released after the Indie World had finished.

The demo is a short one, introducing many of the traversal abilities the game offers as players complete the first section of the game. Controlling the android named Zee, Europa has become home to humans. Or was. All that is left are the ruins of what once existed, with notebook pages revealing the history of this civilisation as Zee follows the footsteps of the last human alive.

The jetpack is an important tool of traversal, and a fun one. Scattered across the land are blue energy orbs. Approaching one will see that energy sucked into the jetpack. At first, the maximum capacity is small, but finding energy crystals improves that capacity to the point you can scale towers with ease. Along with the notebook pages and energy crystals to find are emeralds. From what I can tell, these are simply collectibles, with a set number per section.

The puzzles on offer in this first section are few. They ease you into that particular part of the gameplay. Lighting torches, pressing buttons, and even finding wisps to open the way. There is nothing that will take serious thought to solve, and I feel that will be the same further in, too. Everything about Europa is lush, relaxing. So having puzzles that go against that theming would destroy the relaxation the game wants players to feel.

The colours are warm. Wildlife is present, living their own lives. Nothing will be attacking here. Even the sound design acts to soothe players, with the piano-based background music. Sounds such as the jetpack are soft. The narration of the notebook pages is calming. During my first play of the demo, all of this combined to put me in a state of zen. Enjoying the actions I was taking and marvelling at everything I found.

When Europa does see a release, I’ll be there to continue with the adventure. There is so much more to explore. The lakes and meadows of this first section have been littered with small parts of this lost civilisation. From the trailer, there’s what seem to be towns, underwater caverns, and snowy mountains to discover. And this mystery of how the civilisation was lost will be what drives me forward to discover it all. Once I’ve finished exploring the current area, that is.

For those who might be interested in some exploration, I say give the demo a go. The game will be available on both Steam and Switch, with the demo downloadable on both platforms. Helder Pinto and the team at Novadust Entertainment have created a lovely game with Europa. One that I will very much talk of again upon that release.

Images Taken From:
Europa Demo | Nintendo Switch [Handheld]