Europa Review – Studio Ghibli Meets Zelda in This Gorgeous Indie Game
Europa is a stunning indie game blending Studio Ghibli art with Zelda enemies and puzzles. Glide through a lush open world and uncover its mysteries in this relaxing adventure.
Ghibli & Zelda Inspired World
A mostly solo dev experience over 7 years culminates in a stunning world built with inspirations from the art direction of Studio Ghibli and puzzles and enemies reminiscent of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Europa is a journey inspired by significant pieces of film and gaming history and is best taken as a small taste of a unique perspective.
A Father’s Secret on a Silent Moon
You are a young android named Zee who awakens on the moon Europa. You find your home where your dear father has left pages from his journal to guide you. You explore a terraformed world lush with forests and open lands, all while unravelling the mystery of why you are here and the history of this once barren moon.
Zee glides through the world, boosting higher to reach puzzles, collectibles, and uncover what happened to the lost civilization of humans. Your father gives you hints of what happened and why no humans roam this moon any longer. For fear of any spoilers, that's as far as I will push forward. Learning how everything played out before you arrived is crucial to the storytelling.
Gliding and Discovering
When the game begins, you have the Zephyr jetpack, which functions similarly to the electricity mechanics in Tears of the Kingdom. You collect energy to increase your glide capacity.
Discovering crystal formations, sometimes hidden in mechanical objects, increases your energy capacity. By the end of the game, your capacity grows to a level that makes it fun to glide higher and higher through the gorgeous scenery.
The controls are easy to use, and it won't take long before you master the gliding. Certain sections feature mostly linear wind tunnels where you only need to slightly move around obstacles, but at times, I wasn’t even controlling it and just let it ride out on its own.
Gliding in Europa starts off slow, and you use your charged jump to mostly get around. But once you find a rhythm, it unlocks a relaxed and fluid gameplay loop. Boosting from one area to another, then pressing A to glide slightly to the next boost, was a true joy at every opportunity. It gives you time to glide around and fully appreciate the meadows and mountainous views.
Items are clearly marked in the world, with pages from the journal that advance the story glowing a bright golden yellow. Collectible crystals, while not essential, add an extra layer of exploration, glowing green to stand out in the environment.
For those looking to have a more relaxed gameplay experience, Europa is for you. If you're looking for a more challenging experience, I recommend playing Tears of the Kingdom or Breath of the Wild.
A World Unravelled By Memories
I've already touched on the game's beautiful look and feel. It’s clearly influenced by Ghibli and the open-world Zelda games like Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom—at times, almost too much. That’s my only real gripe. You encounter enemies that are nearly identical to the guardians from Zelda. When they spot you, a laser locks on, gradually building up before it shoots. Fortunately, in Europa, you can deactivate them with easily located switches, and since you don't have a health bar or die, getting hit is more of a minor inconvenience.
Remnants of a world once inhabited by large devices and robots litter the world. Another influence is clear with the robot designs, reminiscent of Laputa: Castle in the Sky from Studio Ghibli. You use them to climb to new areas or explore around the meadows.
I wish those aspects felt more original rather than borrowed so closely from Zelda and Studio Ghibli.
A Soundtrack That Soars
Now let’s move to the soundtrack. Wow, honestly, wow is all I want to say about the soundtrack of this game. If I could choose a musical accompaniment for gliding through a beautiful world, this is hands down the one. The arrangements throughout every biome you explore and across Europa elevate the gameplay to new levels. A few times, I had goosebumps from the powerful soundtrack. This is a true hit I hope makes its way to vinyl soon. Matthew Thomason has done wonders with his style of airy soundscapes that almost felt like they were breathing in and out with the gliding mechanic. Here is a beautiful video with songs from the soundtrack put together by Matthew. I timestamped the video at the exact song I adore “A Friend When All Seems Lost”. Let me know what you think in the comments.
Gliding Without Faults
When I saw the game a few years ago, it already looked like it was near completion, as the trailer didn’t seem too different from what we have today. But honestly, the game had no bugs and ran perfectly. The almost consistent 120 fps and above I was getting on my PC made for a truly delightful playthrough. I can tell many hours were put into optimization. I’m keen to hear how it ran for those playing on the Steam Deck. For reference, it ran with the highest settings between 70-90 fps on the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme.
Europa was a pleasant experience that I completed in 2 and a half hours. During that time, I ended with 24 out of the 40 collectibles. Assuming you collect them all, you're likely to reach the developer's described playtime of 3-4 hours.
A Beautiful Impression Forever Engrained
When I started this journey on the moon of Europa, I enjoyed the free flow of gliding around, boosting higher and faster across the land. The puzzles were straightforward and presented no real challenge. At one point, I questioned why it wasn’t more difficult or why I wasn’t given a sword to deal with the annoying enemies on Europa. But this game isn’t about combat or challenge—it’s about exploration, learning, and understanding the world around you. The world that came before was filled with war and friction, and now the fate of humanity is in full focus and in your hands.
This intimate story unfolds with each page of your father's journal, progressively building further and immersing you in Zee’s newfound world. The lush scenery of meadows sprawling with a mountainous background leads you higher and higher to reach floating lands, coupled with the world’s mechanical life giving you a sense of urgency at times. The secrets you uncover by solving puzzles and exploring this open yet linear moon bring you closer to the truth. Europa is a breath-taking experience of clarity. The music playfully soars alongside your journey through the delightful scenery, and I highly recommend it. It has become one of my must-play games of 2024.
🎮Europa | Steam
🗓️Release Date | Out Now!
Nice review. It would have made me pick the game up if it weren't for the fact that I only have a Mac rip.
Also, about the song 'A Friend When All Seems Lost', it sounds perhaps too similar to the song 'Gris, Pt. 1', especially when you listen to the piano version from Gris Piano Collections.
The demo was a lot of fun. I might grab this if I have time. Good review!