Stranger in Paradise: Europa
The most cinematic 3D adventure game I've yet played.
‣ Europa
From: Novadust Entertainment, Helder Pinto, Future Friends Games
Platforms: PC
Release: 16 April 2024
Steam Page • Demo Video
It’s a cliche to call a game ‘cinematic’. There was a time when the term meant something, primarily in the manic late 90s and early 2000s, when games really pushed the envelope. The concept has since lost most of its impact—even calling a deserving game like Red Dead Redemption 2 ‘cinematic’ mainly attracts compliant shrugs or sharp looks for stating the obvious.
Then along comes a game like Europa, and yup, I’m calling it cinematic. In fact, it is now my go-to for the definition. I challenge anyone to defy that categorisation because, damn it, this game looks like a frikkin’ Studio Ghibli movie.
Europa takes place on the titular Jovian moon (or next to it—the demo does not reveal too much about the plot). You play as Zee, a boy android exploring this forgotten world. Europa is another entry in a genre I want to call ‘meditation adventure’. You move around in third person, running, jumping and gliding to explore the map. But there is no violence or even hectic platforming. There are no side-quests. Typically, there are just two main characters: you and the world you explore (and sometimes, as in Europa, a narrator).
Examples of ‘meditation adventure’ games include Journey, Jusant, and Sky: Children of the Light. But Europa shifts the genre’s gears. The visuals are particularly stunning: though fully 3D, you feel as if you are inside a hand-drawn 2D animated feature film. Objects have a feint-drawn outline, the textures almost feel hand-painted, and there are animated flourishes (such as the grass wafting in the wind) everywhere.
Europa’s world might be the grave for a long-lost civilisation (which is a trope for meditation adventures), but it’s still very inviting and beautiful. Much of the credit goes to veteran game art designer Helder Pinto and his team. Europa is clearly a passion project with a lot of vision and experience behind it.
I wanted to start AIIG’s 2024 with a bang, a standout game that does more than just add higher fidelity or a little more polish. Europa is looking remarkable. If anyone asks me why they should pay more attention to indie and double-A titles, the place to start is on Jupiter’s most famous moon.
Europa launches in April 2024.
Demo Snapshot Moment: Gliding down that hill
Explore The Game with Youtube Chapters:
📽 00:22 Let's visit Europa
📽 01:10 A sombre start
📽 03:38 Breathtaking
📽 07:20 Down we go
📽 08:48 Open the door!
📽 10:04 Float on down
📽 11:06 The next area
📽 13:40 Let's levitate
📽 14:21 Slide on water!
📽 16:16 Welcome to Europa
📽 20:08 Woosh!
📽 23:42 A little platforming
📽 25:50 No gap too big
📽 30:10 Full game preview
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