Aquaria PC

Aquaria is a two-dimensional arcade game, which in 2007 won the title of the Best Independent Game of the Year at the Independent Games Festival. It is the debut project of a small and of course independent development studio Bit Blot.

Our main character, Naija, lives carefree in the underwater world, and more specifically in its tiny area, which she never leaves and considers her home. One day, however, something is different - she starts to feel the previously unknown emotions and realizes that there is a huge unexplored space beyond the borders of this region. For the first time, she decides to leave the safe shelter and set off on a journey. She quickly realizes that although it is full of different creatures, she has not met creatures similar to herself. She decides to find out whether she is the only living representative of her race and thus condemned to eternal solitude, and what happened to her ancestors. Looking for answers to the questions that bother her, she will also discover the secrets of the world of Aquaria - she will learn the truth about events that led to the ancient war and the extinction of the civilization.

Naija doesn't only look for clues and talk to other characters. More than once she will have to fight against even the great sea beasts. Luckily, she has an extraordinary ability. Thanks to the power of her voice, she can manipulate the power shaping the world of Aquaria - Verse. With it, she learns the next songs, and thus the ways to influence the environment. This skill allows the heroine to modify found items and even to create really powerful artifacts. Naija is also able to change her form and take on the properties typical of the character she becomes.

The locations we visit during the game are very diverse - from dark caves to sunny oases. We will encounter 175 creatures - talk to some of them, and even get help. Others can be indifferent to us or even hostile. The puzzles aren't too difficult, which in combination with a very comfortable control system (Naija can be controlled with the mouse, a gamepad or keyboard and mouse) makes the game really enjoyable.

Aquaria's audio-visual setting makes a positive impression - the game world is quite large and beautifully crafted. Instead of three-dimensional models, we have hand-drawn backgrounds and characters created with manga style. Also, the music and well-recorded dialogue lines create a mysterious and fairy-tale atmosphere.

Last updated on 14 January 2009