The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is a 2D metroidvania action-adventure video game. Developed by YCJY, the game was released for Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux in January 2016. Ports for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, developed by Stage Clear Studios, were released in January 2018, followed by a Nintendo Switch port in January 2019.
The game takes place in the far future. The player character returns to Earth following an extended trip in space to find that humans have become extinct. The ice caps have melted, the magnetic poles have shifted and mass sub-tectonic water reservoirs have been breached. Players must navigate through the drowned Earth in their submersible to piece together the story of humanity's downfall.
The game is a side-scrollingshoot 'em up presented in a pixel art style. The game is largely exploratory, and most of the sea life is non-threatening, however players encounter multiple boss monsters. In typical Metroidvania fashion, players can acquire upgrades to their submersible, and these upgrades allow the player to access more of the game world. Completing the main game unlocks a "Boss Rush" mode, where players face off against the game's bosses in succession.[1]
DevelopmentEdit
The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human was developed by YCJY, a Swedish development studio consisting of Josef Martinovsky and Christopher Andreasson. The soundtrack was composed by Karl Flodin.[2] The game was part funded through Kickstarter, raising 61,777 kr on the crowdfunding platform in 2015.[3]
YCJY did not set out to make a game dealing with climate change, but felt the theme was a natural fit for their underwater environments. Aside from the genre pioneers such as the Metroid and Castlevania series, YCJY also cite games such as Shadow of the Colossus, Teleglitch and the Dark Souls series as inspirations. The game's bosses, which can both dwarf the player character and defeat the player character in a few hits, were designed to make players feel insignificant and fragile. YCJY likened the contrast in mood and difficulty between the exploration and boss fights to the Pixies song "Tame", the loud and soft parts accentuating the other.[4][2][5]
The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human was generally well received by critics, scoring 76/100 on reviews aggregation website Metacritic based on 11 reviews.[6] Critics praised the game's sense of place, Alexander Chatziioannou, writing at Hardcore Gamer described it as "an entrancingly desolate world, its beauty emphasizing the awareness that in this land of majestic undersea giants you’re the invader". Ben Davis at Destructoid found the "painstakingly hand drawn" environments "[coming] to life in movement" to such an extent that screenshots did not do the game justice. Mike Paget, at GameSpot, noted how the music enhanced the atmosphere, that it could "[ignite] a sense of wonder". He did however find the player character difficult to pick out against the background at times, which could lead to unfair deaths.[9][7][1]
The boss encounters were found to be fun. James Davenport, writing at PC Gamer described them as "massive and multifaceted", and despite him taking approximately thirty tries in one particular encounter, he still persevered, feeling that he was responsible for the failure, not the game. Davis agreed, writing that the bosses required "puzzle-solving skills, strategy, quick reflexes, and most of all perseverance." According to Paget, overcoming such challenges granted "a feeling of immense satisfaction", the "reward for patient, measured play."[8][7][1]
Paget felt that the story fragments were written exceptionally well and its approach neither pretentious or preachy. Chatziioannou disagreed, describing the writing as "a series of cringeworthy snippets of eco awareness with all the subtlety of high school activism", a message awkwardly juxtaposed with gameplay that encouraged the destruction of wildlife. Davenport considered his motivations as he killed creature after creature, continuing on through the sake of play and pleasure, and they caused him to reflect on how his real world actions too could harm others.[1][9][8]
ReferencesEdit
^ abcdeMike Paget (2016-04-20). "The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
^ abJoel Couture (2016-03-04). "How The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is like a Pixies song". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
^YCJY (2015-05-18). "The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human - Digital Game". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
^Mike Diver (2016-01-18). "'The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human' Is a Cool Game That Raises the Hot Topic of Climate Change". Vice.
^Joel Couture (2016-02-15). "Insignificant Before the World - Place as the Focus in The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human". IndieGames.com. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
^ ab"The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
^ abcBen Davis (2016-01-15). "Review: The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human". Destructoid. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
^ abcJames Davenport (2016-02-11). "The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human review". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2016-07-02.
^ abcAlexander Chatziioannou (2016-01-23). "Review: The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
External linksEdit
Official website
August 27, 2023
aquatic, adventure, last, human, metroidvania, action, adventure, video, game, developed, ycjy, game, released, microsoft, windows, linux, january, 2016, ports, xbox, playstation, developed, stage, clear, studios, were, released, january, 2018, followed, ninte. The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is a 2D metroidvania action adventure video game Developed by YCJY the game was released for Microsoft Windows OS X and Linux in January 2016 Ports for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 developed by Stage Clear Studios were released in January 2018 followed by a Nintendo Switch port in January 2019 The Aquatic Adventure of the Last HumanDeveloper s YCJYStage Clear Studios Xbox One PlayStation 4 Publisher s YCJY Windows OS X Linux Digerati Distribution Xbox One PlayStation 4 Nintendo Switch EngineGameMaker StudioPlatform s Linux Microsoft Windows OS X Xbox One PlayStation 4 Nintendo SwitchReleaseMicrosoft Windows Linux OS XWW January 19 2016Xbox OneWW January 19 2018PlayStation 4NA January 23 2018EU January 24 2018Nintendo SwitchWW January 3 2019Genre s MetroidvaniaMode s Single player Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Development 3 Reception 4 References 5 External linksGameplay EditThe game takes place in the far future The player character returns to Earth following an extended trip in space to find that humans have become extinct The ice caps have melted the magnetic poles have shifted and mass sub tectonic water reservoirs have been breached Players must navigate through the drowned Earth in their submersible to piece together the story of humanity s downfall The game is a side scrolling shoot em up presented in a pixel art style The game is largely exploratory and most of the sea life is non threatening however players encounter multiple boss monsters In typical Metroidvania fashion players can acquire upgrades to their submersible and these upgrades allow the player to access more of the game world Completing the main game unlocks a Boss Rush mode where players face off against the game s bosses in succession 1 Development EditThe Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human was developed by YCJY a Swedish development studio consisting of Josef Martinovsky and Christopher Andreasson The soundtrack was composed by Karl Flodin 2 The game was part funded through Kickstarter raising 61 777 kr on the crowdfunding platform in 2015 3 YCJY did not set out to make a game dealing with climate change but felt the theme was a natural fit for their underwater environments Aside from the genre pioneers such as the Metroid and Castlevania series YCJY also cite games such as Shadow of the Colossus Teleglitch and the Dark Souls series as inspirations The game s bosses which can both dwarf the player character and defeat the player character in a few hits were designed to make players feel insignificant and fragile YCJY likened the contrast in mood and difficulty between the exploration and boss fights to the Pixies song Tame the loud and soft parts accentuating the other 4 2 5 Reception EditReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreMetacritic76 100 11 reviews 6 Review scoresPublicationScoreDestructoid8 5 10 7 GameSpot8 10 1 PC Gamer US 90 100 8 Hardcore Gamer3 5 5 9 The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human was generally well received by critics scoring 76 100 on reviews aggregation website Metacritic based on 11 reviews 6 Critics praised the game s sense of place Alexander Chatziioannou writing at Hardcore Gamer described it as an entrancingly desolate world its beauty emphasizing the awareness that in this land of majestic undersea giants you re the invader Ben Davis at Destructoid found the painstakingly hand drawn environments coming to life in movement to such an extent that screenshots did not do the game justice Mike Paget at GameSpot noted how the music enhanced the atmosphere that it could ignite a sense of wonder He did however find the player character difficult to pick out against the background at times which could lead to unfair deaths 9 7 1 The boss encounters were found to be fun James Davenport writing at PC Gamer described them as massive and multifaceted and despite him taking approximately thirty tries in one particular encounter he still persevered feeling that he was responsible for the failure not the game Davis agreed writing that the bosses required puzzle solving skills strategy quick reflexes and most of all perseverance According to Paget overcoming such challenges granted a feeling of immense satisfaction the reward for patient measured play 8 7 1 Paget felt that the story fragments were written exceptionally well and its approach neither pretentious or preachy Chatziioannou disagreed describing the writing as a series of cringeworthy snippets of eco awareness with all the subtlety of high school activism a message awkwardly juxtaposed with gameplay that encouraged the destruction of wildlife Davenport considered his motivations as he killed creature after creature continuing on through the sake of play and pleasure and they caused him to reflect on how his real world actions too could harm others 1 9 8 References Edit a b c d e Mike Paget 2016 04 20 The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human Review GameSpot Retrieved 2016 07 02 a b Joel Couture 2016 03 04 How The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human is like a Pixies song Gamasutra Retrieved 2016 07 02 YCJY 2015 05 18 The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human Digital Game Kickstarter Retrieved 2016 07 02 Mike Diver 2016 01 18 The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human Is a Cool Game That Raises the Hot Topic of Climate Change Vice Joel Couture 2016 02 15 Insignificant Before the World Place as the Focus in The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human IndieGames com Retrieved 2016 07 02 a b The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human for PC Reviews Metacritic Retrieved 2016 07 02 a b c Ben Davis 2016 01 15 Review The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human Destructoid Retrieved 2016 07 02 a b c James Davenport 2016 02 11 The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human review PC Gamer Retrieved 2016 07 02 a b c Alexander Chatziioannou 2016 01 23 Review The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human Hardcore Gamer Retrieved 2016 07 08 External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Aquatic Adventure of the Last Human amp oldid 1153696404, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
