Available on PC (Windows, macOS); Consoles (Steam Deck, Switch 1/2, PS4/PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S); Mobile (IOS)
A cozy, wholesome collection game where you get to learn about nature and plant a tree for every download? Sign me up!
Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is a game about community, critters, creatures, and just a bit of revolution. Because what else does a little kid do on vacation?
You play as Alba, who is currently on a week-long vacation with her grandparents at an unnamed Mediterranean island. Now, this is supposed to be a nice, peaceful summer filled with precious childhood memories. But the more you explore, the more you realize that something is up. There’s trash where it shouldn’t be, gunk, and fewer animals than before! You know what that means… Alba’s gotta save the day!
With Ines by your side, you form Alba and Ines Wildlife Rescue League (AIWRL for short) (I know), an organization to save the island and everyone in it! Find clues, but most importantly, discover all the species of animals! And let me tell you, there’s a lot of them.
I played the game for about four hours, but it could really differ from person to person. Either way, there’s no time limit or anything, so I would suggest taking your time to look around, admire the work that the devs put in, and take photos.
The music and sound design in Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is laidback and chill. If you need a game to play before heading to bed, then this might be a good contender! Just start the game, have a look around the island, and take photos for a few minutes. Although I couldn’t really put the game down once I started to go on a roll with the creature collecting.
But there’s one thing I really want to talk about when it comes to this game, and that’s the sense of community it has. The residents of this island have their own personalities and their own stories; it’s a lived-in place with long-lasting relationships, and you really get the sense of that as you continue playing.
As someone who has lived in the city for most of their life, this game made me long for this kind of connection to nature and the people who protect it. Don’t get me wrong, I know you can have friends and relationships even if you live in the city, but I feel like it’s different in rural areas. Away from the hustle and bustle of city life, businesses, traffic, etc. It’s all just so suffocating, and it makes you feel like you have to be swept along the currents. This game just makes me wonder if maybe having more of a link to nature would help people form bonds with each other as well.
It’s such a wonderful thing to see, all these people supporting Alba and Ines, helping them with their goal and encouraging them. And not just in a “oh, these silly little kids and their antics” kind of way either! They’re genuinely seeing their goals and wanting to lift them up! And it also felt nice to do things for the townspeople. It’s not one of those games where, just because you play as a kid, no one believes you, and you’re incapable of actually doing things. You can change things as you are; there are goals that Alba and Ines can reach. I think that’s such a good lesson to teach kids, to inspire hope in them.
Playing Alba: A Wildlife Adventure is like being able to breathe in fresh air, again, after so long of just smoke and pollution. It gives a sense of purpose, and it shows that size doesn’t matter when it comes to making a difference.
