Review: Wrecked Legend: Ambrosia Island feels like it’s made for children

Cozy games are one of those genres that can have different definitions depending on who you ask. Some view them as Nonviolent games with fun interactions where you help people solve their problems. Others view them in the same field as casual game to relax, like Sims or Animal pass. Sunken Legend: Ambrosia Island is a picture perfect example of the first type of cozy game. Even so, I found it difficult to stay comfortable while playing it due to its shallow story and character interactions as well as its visuals.

Sunken Legend: Ambrosia Island follows Alex, an ordinary backpacker who is going on a trip to get a break from modern life. After a storm hits her boat, she finds herself on an island full of amnesiacs who share names with Greek gods and goddesses. Actually, they To be the gods and goddesses themselves. They all had a falling out in the past, though they don’t remember the details of it, nor do they recall their lives or their powers as gods. Alex needs their help to get off the island, and so she helps them regain their memories and sense of self. However, there is a greater mystery as to why these gods and goddesses lost their memories in the first place.

This game recreates the gods and goddesses in a fairly modern way. For example, Hephaestus appears in a wheelchair because his Greek mythological character had one. physical disability at his feet. It also whitewashes the characters, erasing some of their more controversial personality traits and histories. Zeus and Hera seem like they are a happy couple here. “Dysfunctional” is not a strong enough word to describe them in early myths.

It’s an interesting interpretation of familiar stories and characters. Ares is my favorite, because the idea of ​​him using farming as therapy and his perspective on the evolution of warfare in modern times is something I’ve never seen on the news. other media. Hades seems to have been very popular with those in the Onceler fan community back in the day. While I liked the way Ares was portrayed in this movie, I have to say that I wanted more from the dialogue and interactions between the characters. For all that the gods and goddesses’ severed connections and connections play a huge role in their stories and character arcs, we barely see them speaking to each other. during the game, though they will gossip and complain about their fellow gods. Alex. I will discuss this point further later.

Now, let’s talk about what it actually feels like to play this game. Game loop of Sunken Legend: Ambrosia Island really very simple. After talking to one of the Greek gods, they will ask you to do something for them. What they want differs between gods. For example, Hermes wanted me to go feed the birds, while Aphrodite wanted me to clear dust and rubble from the mosaics she made around the island. Meanwhile, Poseidon wants me to fill the fountains again. You will also need to look for mementos to help them regain their memory. Your friendship level with a specific deity will only increase after finding mementos and completing their requests, and you’ll need to max out your friendships with everyone to complete them. into a game.

The entire game is running around the island and completing these missions. There is a limit to the number of requests you can make at any friendship level. Once you reach maximum level, you need to unlock the god’s memory before you can continue to do so. This will then take you on a trip around the island again. In other words, the entire game feels like you’re completing one fetch quest after another, which in itself isn’t bad. That’s what I expected from a cozy game. But the characters and Alex himself are a bit unlikeable because of their dull or monotonous personalities. Since the entire game revolves around helping them, it can feel like you’re completing a bunch of work instead of enjoying running around the island. Like, the only reason I wanted to help them was because the game was stopping me from progressing.

Luckily, this game is really easy to play. Because everything is on my map, I never get stuck. Alex will also constantly remind you of what you’re looking for in an area, and when I needed an item to get across the water, Alex was kind enough to tell me so I didn’t waste time looking for one. memento that I can’t find. not accessible. When returning mementos to gods and goddesses, you must find out what belongs to whom. They’re pretty easy to figure out but even if you’re not sure, just check out all the mementos and see which one works. There is no penalty for doing so. The music is my favorite thing in this game, so I just run around that section listening to it and listening to podcasts or something to help me have a pretty relaxing time.

While I like the music in the game, the visual aesthetic is not really my thing…. The character design itself isn’t that bad. However, their expressions always make it seem like they smell something unpleasant in the air. Additionally, the skin tones, especially on Aphrodite and Alex, make them look exhausted and under-made. It doesn’t look appealing to me. Hermes in particular looks like a joke. Since I’m not sure if this is a deliberate stylistic choice or an artistic style, I won’t say anything more about this. However, the environments look really nice with the bright color scheme. But I wish the island was more diverse. Most of the game has you running around Ambrosia Island, but much of the island looks so similar that it can start to get boring.

The biggest criticism I have towards Sunken Legend: Ambrosia Island is the story. As mentioned before, very few of the characters are compelling, which is a disadvantage in a game that revolves around helping them. The dialogue never quite became “speech therapy” or “Tumblr language,” but it still felt like I was reading something I might hear on a children’s show. Although Alex may have spent fifteen to twenty days on the island, the actual play time is short enough that the entire game can be completed in a single playthrough. So I found it difficult to connect with these characters and care about their problems, even though that was the whole point.

The game seems to expect a basic level of fondness for the characters, who are classic figures of mythology. Unfortunately, they’re reimagined versions that are so different from the real-world versions that I’m basically meeting people I’ve never met in my life. I like Athena in mythology, but have no feelings for Athena in this game. On the contrary, I despise the myth of Zeus but have no sympathy for him at all. fabulous. That indifference is a pretty basic feeling I had throughout seven hours of play. In fact, I find it interesting that I never cared about anyone, since I usually like the characters quickly.

At some points, the game seems to introduce themes, but it never brings them to attention or adds enough information for me to confidently say that’s what the game is about. The whole point of the game as well as a later part seems to be critical of technology. However, it never actually says anything about it. There are also several moments where Ares and Poseidon criticize modern warfare and ocean pollution. But again, the game never really goes deeper than that. Not every game really needs a deep theme or message. But introducing them without any meaningful follow-up can be a bit frustrating, especially when they’re interesting enough to create conflicts in a game that already doesn’t have them.

The conversations between Alex and the gods can feel shallow because they don’t feel like real people talking to each other. It reminds me of skits on children’s television shows—skits that teach kids to share or be nice to each other. In fact, this whole game, between the gameplay loop and the dialogue and even the collectible mythology lessons, feels like an educational game for a much younger audience . I won’t go into spoilers in this review. But I will say that, aside from one brief moment when I thought the story was going to have some real depth, the ending of this thing was laughable in the same way that very young children can be.

I’ve played many interesting games in private and at work. It’s a genre that has received some criticism over the years, and the criticism is not unfounded. If so Sunken Legend: Ambrosia Island is a simple game about Alex doing chores for the Greek gods, then complaining about the possibly ridiculous story. But I’ve played laid-back games where the story didn’t matter, and that’s not the case. From the amount of dialogue and lore, it seems like the developers had a story they wanted to tell. Unfortunately, it failed here.

While Sunken Legend: Ambrosia Island is a nice way to wind down at the end of the day, but it’s definitely not something I recommend doing for hours on end. The story and characters lack meaningful depth and the 3D models are distracting. However, if there is a child in your life who is interested in Greek mythology then this could be a fun game to give them for Christmas.

Sunken Legend: Ambrosia Island To be available on PC Switch, Xbox and Windows.

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