Alba: A Wildlife Adventure
Developer/publisher Ustwo games
Format iOS, PC (tested)
Release Out now
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.