Arctic Awakening PS5 Review. First-person narrative adventure games are a dime a dozen in this day and age, but some of them stand out. 2016’s Firewatch set a new standard not only for storytelling but also for what it feels like to be alone in the wilderness. Arctic Awakening capitalizes on this type of setting and storytelling by placing you in the Arctic wilderness somewhere in Alaska after a mysterious plane crashes.
Arctic Awakening PS5 Review
A Mystery Worth Solving
You take on the role of Kai as something unknown cuts his plane in half, and he’s forced to make a jump out along with his partner and the therapy drone out of the aircraft before it crashes.
As Kai awakens, he finds himself surrounded by the drone and scattered plane parts. What ensues is Kai’s prolonged stay in the wilderness as he searches for any means to call for help and locate his missing friend and partner. The story in Arctic Awakening takes plenty of turns, but none of them really stick for too long. We learn that Kai is required to undergo therapy with the bot accompanying him, but we never really know what leads him to need therapy.
As the days go by without any rescue in sight, Kai explores his surroundings with Alfie, his therapy bot. Alfie brings the story to life, and his dynamic with Kai really brings both characters to the spotlight.
Kai can answer questions from multiple dialogue options, but unfortunately, it doesn’t significantly impact the game or the story’s outcome. At the end, you still have to pick one of two options. The multiple dialogue options are mostly there for you to build a relationship with Alfie.
Not Much To Explore But Plenty To See
The world of Arctic Awakening doesn’t feel alive. The Arctic wilderness is barren and empty. You won’t run into any wildlife or any other people, for that matter. There is an explanation for it in the story, but it always feels disturbingly quiet when Alfie and Kai aren’t having a conversation.
As you explore, you find mysterious compounds built by people but completely abandoned; there is no sign of human life at all. What happened at these compounds, and what were they built for? There is a growing mystery in the game, and one I was compelled to figure out.
There isn’t much to explore in Arctic Awakening. There are times you can take one of two paths, but you’ll either end up where you started or reach a dead end that may have a collectible Mug or stuffed animal toy. The majority of the game sees you walking with Alfie to your next destination.
Long Stretches Of Walking From Scene To Scene
There isn’t much going on in these moments outside of the conversations the two are having, and some of them take a long time. There are stretches of the game where you’re walking for almost twenty or thirty minutes.
I feel that a lot more time could have been spent exploring these abandoned facilities instead of taking almost 70% of the time to get to the next one.
Arctic Awakening has a food and mental health meter. You must find food and water to avoid starvation, but I never had an issue with not having enough food or water in many of these facilities. There are rock shrines marked with yellow flags that you can sit and meditate at to calm your mind by completing a mini game.
Although I appreciate the mechanics, I feel like they aren’t necessary. If there weren’t plenty of resources and meditation spots in the game, I would fit the entire survival aspects of being stranded in the Arctic wilderness.
Fantastic Voice Work And Writing Accompanied By Stellar Visuals
Visually, the game is beautiful, particularly the gorgeous vistas you get to see. There is just a different type of beauty to see in the snowy wilderness. These facilities themselves don’t add much either until you get to the last two, as you explore the living quarters and another facility, which I won’t spoil here.
The voice work is also stellar. Though the majority of the voices you hear are Alfie and Kai, the entire cast of the game does a fantastic job. Alfie, in particular, does a tremendous job as a bot drone, and watching him slowly begin to show more human understanding and, in some cases, emotion that he shouldn’t be able to display.
I wish there were more to Arctic Awakening than what’s been presented. Puzzles are almost nonexistent, and the ones that are there aren’t particularly challenging. I also ran into some game-breaking bugs.
When unlocking a Trophy, if you look at the one you just unlocked and then return to the game, it then freezes at the pause screen, which forced me to restart the game (and at times, replaying a large portion of the game as well). I also experienced a few game crashes right after a scene ended and another began.
Arctic Awakening is a decent adventure game; however, it suffers from a few issues that prevent it from fully realizing its potential.
Although I enjoyed its story for the most part, getting to the story and the long walks to reach these moments can be draining. It features survival mechanics, but with so many resources available, it feels like a wasted opportunity.
Arctic Awakening is now available on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox Series S/X, Xbox One, and PC.
Review code kindly provided by PR.