Europa review

Every now and then a title comes along that transcends conventional gaming norms by serving almost as an evocative piece of outsider art. Have you ever played something that is more of a mood than a video game? Touchstones that Europa reminded me of include the way Limbo made a platformer feel like a dread-inducing nightmare that somehow we shouldn’t even be looking at, and of course thatgamecompany’s astonishing Journey, something that Jenova Chen said was intended to “make the player feel, rather than establishing game mechanics”.

Europa certainly achieves that. There were occasions whilst exploring the dreamy titular landscape when I was overcome to the point of tears; it generates an atmosphere of wonderment and high fantasy underpinned with a story that feels like you are creating as you go along.

It is very difficult to critique this one without spoiling what you are about to experience. You play the role of Zee – the last humanoid inhabitant on an otherworldly, ruined kingdom that nestles in the shadow of Jupiter. It is all lush, swaying grasslands, azure skies, and remnants of an ancient, fallen civilisation. It resembles some of the terrain from recent The Legend of Zelda titles, by way of Studio Ghibli. And indeed the deeply emotional story about a child, vulnerable and alone, discovering his path through an alien landscape through notes left by his late father is reminiscent of the very best allegory-loaded separation anxiety tales dreamed by the genius of Hayao Miyazaki.

The first thing you see after the introductory sequence is a tombstone with the name “ADAM” emblazoned across it. You are then given a gentle tutorial on how Zee controls. His movement is floaty, ethereal, like you are in a dream sequence. He has a jump that can be charged to reach higher platforms, and gains the power to levitate high into the air and then glide around the landscape on the glowing blue pockets of energy that guide a pathway through Europa. If you time things right, there is a feeling of fantastical momentum that I haven’t felt since the halcyon days of Nights Into Dreams.

Back on land, when you are travelling downhill, Zee glides, as he cuts through the verdant greenery in an immensely satisfying way. If you step out of bounds, the game will tell you so by means of the barriers that encase the game area. Miss a jump or fall into a chasm and things simply rewind, so you can try again. There are sections that are almost on-rails where you fly through a vortex that draws you to your next destination. It is ostensibly an exploratory platform adventure, but one that doesn’t feel like any other that I have encountered in 2024.

Along your route there are crystals to collect, and power up items that increase the height of your vertical leaps. Sometimes you will be given a task, like sourcing three glowing orbs that are, pleasingly, referred to as “wisps”, in order to proceed. There are gentle puzzles that make use of another of Zee’s abilities – after jumping, a press of X performs a ground pound which generates a burst of energy. This can be used to carry out tasks like lighting torches or hitting switches. You discover pages that reveal details about Europa, who you are, and why you are here.

The narrator has a gentle, warm cadence, perfectly in sync with the meditative soundtrack that is a heady brew of mournful piano and strings. There is no jeopardy to speak of other than Zee’s isolation. The countryside does have other lifeforms; there are conventional fauna like rabbit and deer that dart and scatter in the presence of your footsteps – but there are also strange alien beings. Turtle-like beasts amble around peacefully, with their bodies constructed with growing plant life, like miniature versions of Torterra from the Sinnoh region in Pokemon. One of the early sequences introduces a huge, snaking serpent creature that seems hewn from rocks from the ground beneath it. Zee eventually gains the ability to sketch the denizens of Europa in his journal.

Conveying an entire mood is no mean feat in a game. And what artist and designer Helder Pinto has accomplished here may just be the most emotionally impactful game I can remember playing for some time. It manages to transport you into a state of what I can only describe as euphoric relaxation. It doesn’t ask you to keep an eye on an energy bar, learn a ton of button combinations, or worry about having to kill things. It is just you, alone, soaring and gliding through a gorgeous world that becomes the gaming equivalent of an effective mindfulness exercise, an escape from reality. Wonderful.