After us, is a puzzle platform Adventure that puts the player in the shoes of Gaia. Gaia is a tiny spirit who has to venture around the land in order to reach her goal set by mother narute. Through her adventure Gaia
is relying on her manuver abilities in order to reach certain areas. The game doesnt introduce alot of abilities however it does bring new concepts in order to keep itself fresh and more interesting . In the beginning of the
mission you have a very limited movement however the cleverly adds new fairy abilities to Gaia that are accompannied with great level design in order to
feel more usefull in a way. For example, the first level allows the player to move around aand jump on certain objects that can help her reach higher ground. Later on Sprint is added that help reach further areas and is also improved by
allowing the hero to stay longer on air. Other abilities allow her to leap on air or even air dash.
The game has a button responsible for Gaias song. The song acts like a reverse siren. When pressed butterfly visuals appear around Gaia. If theres any of the collectibles around the area, the butterflies will change color based on the type of the
collectable and fly towards it. The colors will be blue or orange. If theres no collectable near by, the butterflies will be white and simply remain within the area. The song doesnt add any change to the gameplay aside from making more welcoming.
At the same time Gaia holds the power of mother nature which she can use. When walking around Gaia glows white and every step she makes allows the world to be reborn as grass comes out of the earth etc. Gaia can use the power of mother nature to interact with the
world. When moving around the players can find glowing white roots that when Gaia interacts will spawn green trees and grass. At the same time mother Nature will protect Gaia againts vessels that used to represent humans. These humanoids will attack Gaia out of instict.
The player can launch attack to them very similar to the original combat found in Ori. A tap of the button will throw Mother Natures eneryg towards a target and repressing the button will bring it back hitting anyone on its path.
The attack can pierce through enemies and kill multiple at a time. Making the heavy attack will stunt or push enemies away. There are a couple of enemies with unique gimmicks such as, attack from the back, take down their armor etc.
The gameplay is simple.
The player moves around in a 3D linear world in order to reach the ending of a given chapter. In this case, the player will have to open the map, pin point the location of the vessel or the path towards it. There is no minimap, but usually walking straigh or following the left over
statues of humans will lead to where you have to go. The only way that Gaia can die, is by walking of a cliff, falling from high places or by the enemies. In case of death the player will spawn a few places back from where they died. The players will have to move around move around, take down their
enemies and reach their goal by platforming or by solving a couple of puzzles.
The game has only two types of collectables. Spirits and memories.
As mentioned above, when singing there are two possible colored butterflies where two of them represent a collectable. Spirit collectables re present animals. When Gaia collects a spirit that spirit will become visible in the hub world but also in every level. For example the player collects the spirit of
this fish, swimming fish will appear swimming in the water or flying in the sky. When singing, the animals will respond back to Gaia and if she gets near them, she is allowed to pet them.
On the other hand the other form of collectable is memories. This type of collectable can be found within humans. When walking around there are various petrified humans who cannot move. Some of them visually looked like the enemies but they do not attack(most of the times). When found, Gaia can blast them with
her ability and liberate them. In doing so the spirit will dissappear and the player will receive an image. Each image depictions a story and most of them can be found during the level.
The level design is very well though out, as the player can easily move towards the location of the level that the player has to visit. The further the player proceeds, the better the level design as the levels 'open' more for the player to explore.
Each location has it's own identity and sometimes game mechanicks. For example some levels are underwater and have the player going through underwater obstacles in order to complete their objectives. In other levels sea spears are thrown towards the player that they
will have to avoid. In other levels the player will have to jump form cable to cable and go through TVs. That makes each level unique and memorable.
The game's art style is pretty simple and it definetely not something that came form the PS5 era, more likely it came from the Ps3. It does get a pass as the game was made by a small indie team and it does look better than other games. A great detail can be seen with Gaias
restoration powers where the world comes to life with each step she makes or with her super.
Last but not least the music of the game is very calm and relaxing. It suits the game atmosphere 100% wherever the character may be, whether this is under water, up on the trees or even inside a forgotten cave. Sound effects comming out of the game's
interactable items also exist wich once again enchances the magical experience. For example walking in an abandoned building and listening to Gaia's song echoing in the void or listening to the creatures responding to her is a nice touch. Is the music memorable, probably not,
but during your time with the game its very good.
Overall this is a great game that doesnt over stay its welcome. The sceneries created are very beutiful with a amazing platforming locations and a creative mind thought. Gaia is a very interesting character with a unique look and a mysterious part, as mother nature entrusted her with her powers. Gaia begins her quest as a mindless girl with the a simple mission, however the more she interacts with the world, the more independent she becomes and starts to feel compassion for its inhabitants.The music escorting the game is very relaxing and sets the mood in every step of the game. The buttons respond in time when smashed and the puzzles are easy and not very complicated with the exception of some smarter ones that simply hide a collectable. The story of the game is really interesting with a lot of mystery regarding some vissions. Nevertheless, it all comes clear in the end . The game's enemy variety is not enough and it can be counted in the palm of one hand but the point of the game was never its enemies. The lenght of the game is quite short and it can be 100% within 5 hours more or less. In some cases, short length is good ( Little Nightmares ) so it not being lenthy should not be a great issue.