Inverge Studios offered the first look at Creatures of Ava during today’s Xbox Partner Preview 2024. The setting and characters remind us of Palworld, the insanely popular title released in January. However, the world of Ava works differently.
Like Palworld, Creature of Ava is filled with a wide range of cute and cuddly mystical characters. They seem to merrily wander around, help the protagonist in platforming, and perform various tasks. But unlike Palworld, Creatures of Ava does not intend for players to own or employ them. The underlying theme here seems to be peace and harmony.
Taking a more creature-friendly approach, Creature of Ava puts the players in the shoes of a ‘Creature Saver’- a protagonist yearning to rid the world of a rapidly growing 9infection. Players will be able to explore the colorful and vibrant environment, interact with its many indigenous species, and save these fantastic beasts, rather than collect or hurt them.
The developers claim that their main goal was to make this game non-violent. The protagonist of the game is Vic, a human explorer. Through her journey, she can communicate (not control) the creatures to look at the world from their eyes. The game is largely set around solving various environmental puzzles, for which gaining the trust and help of these creatures is important.
Using a magical flute, Vic will be able to interact with different creatures and get their help to interact with parts of Ava that she cannot see. Each of these creatures is poised to have a unique ability that will make them useful in certain situations.
Vic’s quest is a peaceful one. Even when dealing with creatures who have gone feral due to the infection, she can dodge their attacks and use a special staff, Nafitar, to absorb the infection out. Vic won’t and can’t attack these creatures and rather just cleans the infection out through a series of non-fatal combat mechanisms.
For all of us who have been wanting a game where you can simply pet, cuddle, and interact with fantastical creatures, this game definitely seems like a perfect match.
Creatures of Ava is set to release in 2024 for Xbox Series S|X and PC. (Looks like the PS5 isn’t getting its Palworld anytime soon.)
