Alba: a Wildlife Adventure

 Switch
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 17
  3. Negative: 2 out of 17

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  1. pepcorn
    Jun 13, 2023
    7
    Nice: Sound design, the general atmosphere. The setting being highly localised adds a ton of flavour. It made me feel like I was coming home. I really love the island and wish I could move there.

    Less nice aspects: Even though I like animals being built entirely out of balls (reminds me of classic games like Oddballz & Petz), it looks odd on some of the animals. The squirrels look weirdly    Nice: Sound design, the general atmosphere. The setting being highly localised adds a ton of flavour. It made me feel like I was coming home. I really love the island and wish I could move there.

    Less nice aspects: Even though I like animals being built entirely out of balls (reminds me of classic games like Oddballz & Petz), it looks odd on some of the animals. The squirrels look weirdly squishy. Don't bother getting a good picture, because your pictures vanish and are instead replaced by a pre-determined game image. I wanted an album that was a collection of photos I took, not one identical to everyone else's.

    Annoying: The camera is clunky at times, and the controls aren't that intuitive. Controls can't be retooled. Clipping through assets happens frequently. The game just doesn't feel very polished, it doesn't feel fully finished. The game doesn't indicate when characters have finished their sentence, and I can agree to hear the next one. It feels haphazard and tiring. I wish they'd just auto talk.

    Bad: There's no saving feature. Supposedly the game auto-saves "frequently". I couldn't find info on how frequently, and there's also no indication on screen of when it's saving. So I just have to shut the game off and hope my last snapshot got saved. Several times now, it didn't get saved, and I had to start that part over. I play in short bursts, not having a saving feature that I can control is just bad game design.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

68
#68 Best Switch Game of 2021
96
#96 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Ninty Fresh Magazine
    Dec 3, 2021
    85
    Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is finely distilled to a genuinely relaxing tale with an important message. A short but sweet amble through the beauty of nature. [Issue #4, p.65]
  2. GameCritics
    Nov 18, 2021
    85
    Regardless of these minor criticisms, there is little to dislike about Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. Whether it’s the pleasing aesthetic, organic open-world, adorable animals, or the soothing soundtrack, Alba is a title that lifts spirits. It chooses a distinctively optimistic approach to humanity’s environmental crises, and succeeds in making the player appreciate the uniqueness of the ordinary.
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  3. Gamezebo
    Jun 17, 2021
    90
    Alba: A Wildlife Adventure ultimately feels like a great fit for the Switch, and runs perfectly in handheld and docked modes. If you’ve not experienced it via Apple Arcade then make sure you don’t miss it this time round.
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