- Publisher: Future Friends Games
- Release Date: Oct 11, 2024
- Also On: Switch
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
- Unscored
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Oct 11, 2024Europa is the closest thing we have to a Ghibli movie in video game form. With stunning visuals, a relaxing atmosphere, satisfying movement mechanics, and an intriguing mystery to uncover, Europa is a game worth losing an afternoon to.
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Oct 11, 2024Europa offers a heartfelt adventure set on a forgotten utopia, where players control Zee, an android seeking answers on Jupiter’s terraformed moon. With intuitive jetpack-fueled platforming and an atmospheric narrative conveyed through diary entries, Europa excels in tone and immersion. While some may find its short three-hour playtime a drawback, the beautifully designed environments and engaging mechanics make it a memorable journey. For those looking for a brief but impactful gaming experience, Europa is worth exploring.
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Oct 11, 2024Europa is a gorgeous, transcendent mood piece that becomes an effective mindfulness exercise, an escape from reality.
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Nov 12, 2024Not for those who seek challenge above all, but anyone who enjoys relaxing, contemplative experiences should feel over the moon about Europa.
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Oct 21, 2024Europa is an adventure game set in stunning, Studio Ghibli-inspired landscapes, with a heartfelt narrative and a soundtrack that enhances every moment of discovery. The gameplay is designed to be relaxing, centered around the Zephyr—a unique jetpack that lets players gracefully glide through the air, soaring ever higher. In just three to four hours, Europa weaves a poignant story, guiding players on a journey to uncover a long-lost past.
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Oct 21, 2024A charming tribute to Studio Ghibli, Europa captivates with its melancholic atmosphere and beautiful scenery. A contemplative and relaxing experience, perfect for those seeking a poetic and reflective journey.
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Oct 14, 2024Europa is a peaceful experience while still managing to be a compelling 3D platformer in its own right. Despite the utter lack of any threat, it never stops being fun thanks to its gorgeous visuals and simple gameplay.
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Oct 11, 2024Europa is Journey with Studio Ghibli style. It offers a nice, sweet and simple tale with smooth and accessible gameplay. It will appeal to fans of the genre, although it struggles to tell something personal considering how much it relies on its sources of inspiration.
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Oct 11, 2024Europa is a wonderful indie title that is a breath of fresh air from the triple-A fare of this busy season. The art style is striking, the storyline is intriguing, and moving around in the sky is satisfying. While the game can be repetitive at times with its annoying enemies (that only stun your character), Europa is worth your time if you want to take your gaming slow for a few hours. It is fairly short at 3-4 hours, but there are collectibles you can try to find that can extend your playtime. However, it would have been nice to have a level selection to ease the process.
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Oct 11, 2024A lovely, beautifully crafted adventure, Europa feels like stepping into a piece of art. Its art direction is nothing short of magnificent, supported by an atmospheric soundtrack and fantastic voice acting. Flying through its gorgeous biomes is tactile and relaxing, and its short narrative compels you through its intriguing world. Despite a few frustrating mechanics interrupting its flow, Europa is a stunning little indie that’ll delight gamers looking for a chilled-out few hours.
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Oct 11, 2024With spectacular landscapes and soothing music, Europa is a deeply zen experience - yet is also capable of delivering some hard-hitting messages.
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Oct 25, 2024Despite its simplicity, Europa establishes itself as a whimsical, wondrous experience floating through the wilds of a fallen utopia. I won’t forget it anytime soon.
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Oct 15, 2024Europa is a heartfelt and beautiful adventure title. However, it is far too short. This was a shame as I loved the vibrant world and the interesting story. Accordingly, I wish the developers had made it much longer.
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Oct 11, 2024Despite being only a small game, Europa has a whole lot on its mind. The developers expertly combine heavy themes of climate change and existential dread with an absolutely stunning world, and it's only a shame we don't get to freely explore it more.
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Oct 11, 2024When Europa simply allows you to unwind and explore at your own pace, it’s one of the most captivating experiences I’ve had this year. There is real beauty to be found here, for sure, but it’s all-too fleeting.
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Oct 11, 2024Narrative games sometimes struggle with balancing the flow of gameplay and storytelling. For Europa, the team at Novadust Entertainment has managed to keep the pacing tight throughout the entire experience, ensuring that the gameplay doesn’t detract from the story, and the tale doesn’t stop you from taking to the skies. Even if the journey has a few rough edges, Europa is an immersive and thought-provoking game that nails the Ghibli sense of wonder.
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Oct 11, 2024A game all about gliding and exploring trips over its own feet.
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Edge MagazineOct 31, 2024As well-intentioned as its encouragement to slow down and sniff the flowers may be, we can't help but bristle when the process is so leaden that it rarely feels like a relaxing meadow stroll. [Issue#404, p.120]
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Oct 11, 2024Although the game looks stunning and has an amazing soundtrack, it falls short in key areas. The story takes a bit too long to get interesting, and despite beautiful environments, there’s little to explore or do beyond collecting items. This underutilizes the potential of the unique world it has.
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| This publication has not posted a final review score yet. | |
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Nov 12, 2024While Europa is not a game I can recommend without some reservations, what I admire most about it is its unwillingness to square the circle of its gameplay and narrative dissonances. Having seen where the story lands, I can safely say the contrast is not unintentional on the part of the developers. And while I do find myself personally bristling at the more hopeful inclinations, I admire the fact that, to the end, Europa asks you to decide for yourself what you think of all this. It’s a brave game that gives over such thematic decisions to its player rather than beating them over the head with a desired interpretation. Europa might be the spa music of post-apocalyptic games, but its relaxation asks a deeper question: Do we deserve a greener world? And, if not, how might we change ourselves so that we fit into that greener utopia of which we’ve dreamed so long?