Publisher: ustwo
Developer: ustwo
Year: 2020
Platform: Windows, Mac, iOS, tvOS, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Switch

Rating: 5

The second adventure game I’ve played with my daughter, Alba has a lot of the same feel-good charm of A Short Hike without having the same variety or freedom that made it an excellent adult game as well.

You play as the pre-teen titular character, who is on vacation visiting her grandparents on a small village island. Before Alba can so much as enjoy her first meal, she discovers a beached dolphin and rallies several adults to help save it. The next day, the island learns that the mayor has made friends with a corporate mogul who has broken ground on an eyesore of a tourist hotel instead of devoting island resources to saving the dwindling wildlife and eroding natural habitat. Alba sets out with friend Inés to clean up the island and get signatures for a petition to stop the hotel.

Gameplay is exceedingly simple. The player is hand-held through the story as Alba cleans up trash, cleans toxic chemicals off animals, and fixes bridges (she’s quite talented!). The plot involving the mayor and the hotel goes just as you’d expect, as the villain plot is no deeper than that of your average Scooby Doo episode. What keeps the game interesting is the primary side-quest, which entails taking pictures of every animal on the island. Alba has a smartphone and a guidebook to help her identify new creatures. While some of the snapshots are required to move the plot, most are optional and fun to track down in hard to reach places. Birds can often be located on sound alone as the guidebook has pre-recorded calls to help you.

Other less satisfying sidequests include replacing weathered pictures of animals on local signs (with photos you’ve taken), restoring an old castle, cleaning up the wildlife reserve, and fixing birdhouses. There are no puzzles as such, with every action simply needing the press of a button. What helps is Alba’s never ending optimism, buoyed by her occasionally skipping while she walks. Despite it’s simplicity, it’s definitely a feel good game.

While the play control is fairly straightforward (my five year-old mastered the gamepad controls in just a couple hours), the lack of ability to run or quick jump to the other side of the island can make things a bit plodding, especially after you’ve traversed the island multiple times. The ambient music, while pleasant, is not memorable. Perhaps most disappointing is the lack of humor. All the game’s conversations are shallow and straightforward.

Alba is not a game that’s going to engage an adult for more than a couple of hours, but it’s the perfect game for young children to explore and learn about wildlife and environmental issues.