What Makes a Survival Open World Game?

Survival games are one of the most popular genres of video games in the last decade, with games like Raft, the Forest, and Subnautrica being played by YouTubers big and small. The premise of the genre is simple: the player, due to an apocalypse or likewise unfortunate range of circumstances, finds themselves far away from civilization and must use their wits to survive.

This genre became popular for various reasons ranging from the challenge of product management, the lore, and the thrill of exploration. Some find such a predictable grind as cozy or likewise relaxing. How does Nova Antarctica developed and published by Parco Games stack up? Let’s get into it.

Why You’re In Antarctica 

Like a lot of the games in the genre, Nova Antarctica gives the player a reason for being there. Spelling it out for them before the player even presses play. The reason? Getting to the South Pole no matter what is in your way, while showing kindness to the creatures you meet. Of course, this reason is expanded upon as the game unfolds though how well it does so is subject to debate.

Holographic Storytelling 

The game does its storytelling in four ways: paper collectable archives, stage summaries, flashbacks, and the most common- holograms. The holograms are activated by finding the holographic slide in the wasteland. This in of itself leads to the problem of the player not discovering the hologram, because they are not easily seen and you just walk right by them.

There’s also the problem that I experienced of being unable to interpret the story being portrayed in the holograms. For instance, a hologram may portray two figures pointing to something in the distance, clearly indicating where the player needs to go. However, by that point it’s clear that there’s some story these holograms are portraying, so they can’t be mere directional indicators. They must be trying to convey something deeper. But what that is, or why the figures were even heading that way, remains a mystery to me.

At Least the Animals are Cute

One aspect I found endearing were the animal designs. Both they and the protagonist are in the same art style. Such care to detail avoids the pitfall of the characters and the animals feeling like two separate entities. The color scheme of the muted tones for the animals helps drive home the idea that the state of the world impacts both the humans and animals within.

The Death Loop Bug

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to appreciate all the animal designs since I was stuck with a bug that I could only describe as a death loop. That happened because when I was moments from death, I saved my game only to find that I respawned with the stats I had upon saving. I died over and over, without enough time to remedy the situation as it was a five second loop. The only way out of it was resetting the game from the very beginning. This wasn’t something I was willing to do. By that point, I was already six hours into the game and nearly out of the second stage.

Near Impossible Challenges

Coming into the game, I of course expected a bit of a challenge. But in my opinion, there’s quite a difference between product management, and staring at a grey screen for three minutes. The grey screen is the game’s take on the classic fog mechanic. Instead of making visibility merely difficult, it becomes impossible see. Not even the flashlight made a difference. So, for three minutes the best I could hope to achieve is keeping the life support from running out. It made me get bored and frustrated rather quickly, especially since it happened every fifteen minutes or so.

Pairing that challenge with quickly depleting battery life, and survival becomes more of a chore than a fun challenge, as the player then has to find the necessary resources without being able to see anything.

 Final Thoughts

For a game boasting a price tag of $25 USD, I was expecting a more polished and visually impressive experience. Instead, I was greeted with a bland atmosphere that didn’t even attempt to capture the beauty of Antarctica. That paired with my inability to complete the game makes it nearly impossible for me to recommend it to others. However, if you’re a masochist or just love tackling near impossible challenges, you may be able to enjoy Nova Antarctica. Just wait until it’s on sale.