Creatures of Ava review: Gotta save them all

With Creatures of Ava, Inverge Studios and Chibig have set out to create a creature collector that strays from the genre’s common tropes and pitfalls. Creatures of Ava is more concerned with telling a story about empathy with an emphasis on exploration, and the game is better off for it.

It’s a whole new world

Creatures of Ava follows the story of Vic, an orphaned researcher who finds herself on the mysterious planet of Ava. Its colorful environments are home to alien creatures of various shapes and sizes, many battling a dangerous infection. It threatens not only the titular creatures of Ava but the members of the Naam Tribe who also call the planet home.

Some members of the Naam aren’t quite fond of Vic upon arrival, saying that they don’t need the help of humans and outright dismissing her in conversation. She’s forced to earn their trust through her actions, rescuing the planet’s creatures and saving it from a life-consuming infection.

The more I explored the word of Ava, the more I was impressed with the game’s visual design. The unique ecosystems and environments are colorful and vibrant, which made me eager to look around every corner. The individual creature designs are excellent, and I dug that they corresponded to the biomes they inhabited. There’s also a host of flora to discover and document alongside the creatures.

This extends to the game’s sound design. As you explore the world, you’ll become familiar with the sounds of rushing water and trees rustling in the wind and the sound effects of roaming creatures. Vic can mimic these sounds with a flute, and some of the songs played to soothe the creatures are downright beautiful.

Heal the planet

What immediately struck me about Creatures of Ava is its non-violent approach to creature collection and progression. Instead of sending the creatures out into battle and commanding them to attack each other, you use a healing staff to cleanse infected wildlife. There’s still a challenge here, as infected creatures will attempt to disrupt your healing, so you’ll have to jump and dodge out of the way while keeping the beam concentrated on them.

In some of the more challenging encounters, you’ll be trying to avoid multiple creatures simultaneously. An infected creature that enters the path of the beam will be added to it, so you can potentially chain together multiple infected creatures at once, netting you a large sum of experience if you can pull it off. It reminded me of a third-person version of the capturing mechanic from the Pokemon Ranger games.

Cleansing creatures of infection is just one way to earn experience and fill out your Avapedia, the digital device used to log and document information about alien wildlife. You can use the camera to snap a picture and register base information about them, though getting too close will scare some of them off. Additional research tasks include petting a creature or curing its disease. Taming creatures will allow you to call on them to aid you in clearing obstacles around the world.

Additional obstacles include platforming segments, which I found to be a bit monotonous. This extends to some of the other challenge and puzzle sections of the game, which felt more like busy work and not as engaging as I’d hoped. Early on, you’ll stumble upon many obstacles that can’t be cleared with your current gear, but as you unlock new abilities for Vic’s staff, you can return to these areas and unlock new paths and points of interest.

Creatures of Ava manages to offer a creature-collector that feels fulfilling without using many of the genre’s common tropes. Instead of being a trainer or competitor, I felt more like an explorer in a foreign land. The creatures inhabit unique environments, and I slowly came to expect when I’d stumble upon an Ura, or a Tama. It was a wholesome experience that put me in a peaceful mood.

The power of connection

Creatures of Ava is a deeply human game about monsters on an alien planet. Its themes of empathy and acceptance shine brightly, setting itself apart from similar titles. It manages to deliver a thoughtful message about acceptance and living in harmony while also being something I can play to kick back and relax after a long day.

This review is based on a Steam key provided by the publisher. Creatures of Ava launches on August 7, 2024, for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Donovan Erskine

News Editor

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland, who likes to game. His oldest gaming memory is playing Pajama Sam on his mom's desktop during weekends. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2, and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 were some of the most influential titles in awakening his love for video games. After interning for Shacknews throughout college, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020 with a major in broadcast journalism and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Scream nerd and film fanatic that will talk with you about movies and games all day. You can follow him on twitter @Donimals_