Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
iOS, PC
Before we so much as lay hands on Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, its developer invites us to a presentation detailing what Alba is all about. The message is clear – this is more than a game. This is a call to action, packaged in a story about nature and the power of coming together for the common good.
All these elements are on display in your very first moments as little Alba visits her grandparents over the summer on the beautiful Mediterranean island of Pinar del Mar. Shortly after arriving, she rescues a trapped dolphin with her holiday BFF Inés and establishes a wildlife rescue initiative. The newly-founded group immediately has its work cut out for it when the island’s mayor announces plans for a luxury hotel, to be built on the grounds of Pinar del Mar’s slightly downtrodden nature reserve. In order to save the reserve you need to remind the island residents of the beauty of their home and its varied fauna, and so you set off to snap any animal that doesn’t get away fast enough. Later on you also acquire a bag to collect rubbish in, medicine for animals in need of help and a whole carpenter’s toolkit to repair signs and bridges – but if that sounds like a lot to do, all these actions only take the press of a button.
Alba’s true – ahem – focus isn’t child labour, but wildlife photography. In each region of the island you’re able to spot birds and other small animals. Most importantly, you can hear them – there’s nothing quite like the jolt of excitement that comes from hearing a bird before you’ve even caught sight of it. With the help of young Alba’s wildlife guide, you can learn more about the appearance of each animal you encounter, as well as its Latin name and even its call.
Like its predecessor Assemble With Care, Alba wants to make you care about things that are easy to take for granted – in this case, the variety and joy of nature. Pinar del Mar is a perfect little paradise with beaches, marshland, a forest and a beautiful castle overlooking a lovely town, everything held in bright colours and round shapes. This is a place where happy memories are made, reminiscent of stories by Enid Blyton and Astrid Lindgren. The main letdown is the slightly simplistic nature of the things you do: Alba would feel more like a game about photography and less like a collectathon if animals were a bit more difficult to spot, or if the photography mechanic were a bit more refined. As it is, you can’t move around while taking pictures, and since you have no way to collect your snaps anywhere, a manual screenshot has to suffice. But as simple as Alba may be, it’s nonetheless a relaxing summer getaway for children and the young at heart.