Albatroz combines RPG, survival, narrative, and open world into
what it describes itself as a “Backpacking RPG”. Journeying as Isla, in search
of her brother, retracing trails he loved to traverse. Along the way companions
accompanying us in our quest. Has the developers, Among Giants, produced a
captivating hiking adventure or is it a misstep off a ravine?
Beautiful But Flawed Journey
As I progressed through the game, I often found myself
pausing to take in the breath-taking scenery, captivated by the stunning vistas
before me. Immense care and effort went into capturing the natural beauty, reminding
us why we venture into the wilderness to be awed by such moments.
However, despite the voice acting brilliantly bringing the
characters to life, the music and sound effects sometimes detracted from the
experience. Sudden and misplaced sound effects would physically make me jump at
the unexpected loudness, while music triggered at certain points would clash
with the ambient background music as the ambient music failed to stop playing. This
left me marvelling at the landscapes while gritting my teeth at the jarring
audio.
Mystical Lore and Personal Quest
The storytelling truly excels in Albatroz, whether it be understanding
Isla’s personal story or uncovering the rich folklore of the land. Isla’s search
for answers and her path to accepting what has occurred are beautifully woven through
flashbacks that provide crucial context and interactions with the companions she
meets along the way.
Sence, a wannabe shaman, adds a mystical layer to the world,
sharing tales that intertwine with the main narrative, and her light-hearted
banter often provides much-needed comic relief. The final companion, Serpi,
unfortunately, feels a bit underutilized and forgettable, like the NPCs in the
villages.
Despite these flaws, the game offers an engaging and
intriguing storyline that kept me invested.
Survival Shenanigans
Personally, I found numerous issues with the mechanics and
gameplay loop. The survival component felt unnecessary and often got in the
way. While you and your companions have different abilities intended to ease
progression, I quickly realized they were redundant. The stats only decreased
for the character you were controlling, so if your hunger was causing health to
drop, you could just switch to another character. This made the game feel like
a brute force exercise, leaving little incentive to upgrade skills.
Additionally, the immersion was broken during interactions when you had to eat, drink, or use a companion's ability due to low stats. Albatroz encourages exploration, but the survival mechanics clash with this, as limited resources discourage straying from the designated path. A more linear approach, focusing on the storyline and environmental puzzles to reach the next plot point, would have been more effective.
Glitchy Adventure
From the get-go, it was clear that the game lacked polish,
and the bugs and glitches only worsened as I delved deeper. The framerate
struggled consistently in both cutscenes and gameplay, making navigation, especially
while driving, a unique challenge. I lost track of how many times I had to
reload a save after getting stuck in the environment, being flung into the air,
and becoming stuck like a scene from "The Matrix," or finding myself
spawned inside an object after a cutscene. Some overlays would stubbornly
remain, rendering the game unplayable.
Now, I understand why there was no autosave feature and why
you had to find a save point, the whole survival aspect, but it quickly became
frustrating when I had to reload and lose considerable progress. To their
credit, Among Giants reached out and asked me to provide a list of issues, and
they have been diligently patching the game.
Stunning Yet Lacking
This project is clearly a labour of love, infused with time,
passion, and dedication. However, despite its stunning visuals and compelling
story, it falls short of greatness. The console release needed more time to
iron out its faults. Coupled with a significantly higher price tag than on
Steam, it is hard to justify the purchase. A more compact, streamlined, and
linear game would have been preferable to the open-world survival version we
ended up with.
Pros
- Gripping Storyline
- Stunning Scenery
Cons
- Very Buggy
- Survival Mechanics
Score: 5/10 – Enchants with its gorgeous views and storytelling
but stumbles with unnecessary survival elements and glitches
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