Games in which we have to step into the shoes of real wild animals do not appear very often. The only thing that comes to mind is the series Shelter Yes Life of Black Tiger – judging by the trailer alone, the worst game for PlayStation 4. Even before the release of “The Life of the Black Tiger,” a small German studio Mooneye foresaw that the world would be in dire need of good games where we control animals, and in 2016 launched a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter for Lost Ember.
The required amount of money, 100 thousand euros, was collected in just two days, and as a result, backers supported the game for an amount three times more than expected. The foundation for an independent team of five people was laid very well. All that remained was to meet the public’s expectations. There were certain concerns in this regard, because Lost Ember – this is a debut project Mooneye Studios. The company’s employees followed their dream: they quit their office jobs and founded their own indie studio. Creative freedom is, of course, a good thing, but did the Germans manage not to get drunk on it and not let their backers down??
In the animal world
The beginning Lost Ember simple: in a deserted world, a talkative spirit-wisp finds a she-wolf who understands him and asks her for help. Fire really wants to get out of the forest and get to a certain City of Light, but a barrier doesn’t let him in. Although the she-wolf cannot speak humanly, she makes it clear with all her behavior that she doesn’t mind going on the road and helping a new friend. Throughout their journey, the couple will gradually remember the past and piece by piece reconstruct the history of the places through which their path passes.
Delving deeper into the plot means ruining all the intrigue: even though completely different things are paramount in the game, there is also a strong emphasis on history. I won’t say that it struck me with its depth (it itself is quite simple, even with all its unexpected twists), but there are touching moments in the plot and some special tenderness for nature is felt.
This same tenderness is felt not only at the plot level. The exploration of locations itself is full of nuances that make you fall in love with the game. We control a graceful she-wolf, explore fields and forests, caves and abandoned buildings, deserts and reservoirs together with her and Ogonyok.
Red columns of smoke show the way and lead to a new memory. However, due to the fact that the biomes themselves are quite large, it is not always clear where to go next: sometimes the smoke is simply not visible.
The world is full of all kinds https://vegaspluscasino.co.uk/ of living creatures: wombats run in the grass, hummingbirds hover over flowers, birds soar in the sky, fish splash in the water and ducks swim decorously. Each of these creatures can be inhabited by getting close enough. Our she-wolf is not as simple as it seems – she turned out to be a “soul walker” and is able to easily move into other creatures.
Playing for each of the animals is, of course, different. Parrots can fly and quickly cover long distances, buffalos break small obstacles with their foreheads, armadillos dig the ground and, thanks to their small size, can get into places inaccessible to other animals. Here you can even become a slow turtle – although exploring the world as her isn’t much fun.
Each of the animals has its own optional actions that add Lost Ember even more charm. Someone can fall on a side or lie down with their paws folded under them, someone greedily crunches on the berries they find, but my favorites are wombats who can roll carefree on the ground like Sonic the Hedgehog.
Well isn’t it lovely? All that remains is to play music from Green Hill Zone in the background. Or Limp Bizkit – Rollin`, as you like.
Wolf and seven animals
Transformation into other animals is the only way to get to places inaccessible to the she-wolf. You can return to your original form at any time, the main thing is that there is support under your feet – in the depths of the sea or high above the ground, turning into a wolf will not work. Finding the right animal for further advancement is almost the only task that the developers set for the player. And “search” is too strong a word. The animal you are looking for, as a rule, lives exactly where its abilities are needed – a family of armadillos will live near the wall under which you need to dig a passage, and a flock of birds will certainly be waiting on the edge of the cliff for the opportunity to take off.
IN Lost Ember there are no tricky puzzles or hostile animals. “We want players to move through the world at their own pace, without having their gameplay interrupted by combat, overly difficult puzzles, or death in general,” the developers explained on Kickstarter. Only unsuccessful acrobatics can pose a threat: all animals, except the mountain goat, after falling from a more or less high ledge, are expected to darken the screen and return to the hard surface. At first, this is a little annoying: the distance does not seem large, and from the experience of other games, you want to cut it off as quickly as possible. But over time to a leisurely pace Lost Ember you get used to it.
In the game you can meet rare representatives of some animal species. True, they are no different from their counterparts in anything other than a white glow.
Lost Ember should have been released this summer, but you yourself know how often the launch of creations from Kickstarter is postponed. The extra time probably benefited the developers: in ten hours of playthrough I encountered very few bugs. A couple of times animals got stuck in walls when transforming in tight places, and once a bird soaring down ended up outside the map. All these problems were easily solved by rolling back to the nearest save point, fortunately they are placed here quite often.
Since the game is primarily about walking (running, swimming, flying) around the world, its exploration is encouraged by finding all sorts of secrets. In secluded corners, animals discover mushrooms, which are added to the player’s collection. In addition to them, there are many optional artifacts scattered around the locations (and sometimes well hidden) that tell about the past of the fictional people of Yanran.
You can return to collecting collectibles even after completing the storyline by selecting the desired chapter from the menu.
Lost Ember — a not very long meditative journey through the world of wild nature that captivates with its beauty, a kind of walking simulator in the role of an animal. The game about a she-wolf and her talkative companion is designed to relax as much as possible after a hard day at work. There is no challenge, no artificially created tests – just leisurely exploration and a story that unfolds against the backdrop of picturesque landscapes. Not everyone may like this format, but if you suddenly want to be distracted by something as relaxing as possible, then Lost Ember will be an excellent candidate. She’s also a good example of how a decent game can be created by a team of just five people.
Cons: the story is too simple and unpretentious with all its truisms from the category “Violence begets violence”; minor bugs like getting stuck in textures.
Pros: detailed landscapes that constantly inspire admiration, and their charming inhabitants (wombats and little ducklings will remain in my heart for a long time!).
