While 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?