Aquaria

87%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,051 reviews
  • music
  • story
  • gameplay
Aquaria Game Cover
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"Aquaria is a single-player Fantasy Adventure game with a beautiful underwater world to explore. As Naija, use magic and song to manipulate the water and engage with creatures while uncovering the ocean's ancient secrets in this wholesome story, enhanced by fantastic graphics, splendid music, and some grinding."

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  • Windows
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  • Tablet
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

87%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,051 reviews
music322 positive mentions
grinding38 negative mentions
  • Beautiful hand-drawn graphics and an enchanting soundtrack create a captivating underwater world.
  • Engaging gameplay mechanics that involve exploration, puzzle-solving, and unique song-based abilities.
  • A heartfelt story about self-discovery and connection with the ocean, enhanced by good voice acting.
  • The game can feel tedious due to its large map and the need for extensive backtracking.
  • Combat mechanics can be frustrating, especially during boss fights that require specific strategies.
  • The save system is outdated, requiring players to return to specific points after dying, which can lead to significant loss of progress.
  • music583 mentions

    The music in "Aquaria" is widely praised for its beauty and atmospheric quality, enhancing the game's immersive underwater experience. Composed by Alec Holowka, the soundtrack features a variety of themes that dynamically adapt to gameplay, contributing to both exploration and combat. While many players find the music enchanting and memorable, some note that its repetitiveness can detract from the overall experience during extended play sessions.

    • “The game’s soundtrack, composed by Alec Holowka, complements the visuals perfectly, enhancing the immersive experience.”
    • “The atmosphere is unlike anything I've ever played before; the soundtrack is phenomenal, and the story is uniquely poignant.”
    • “Aquaria is a stunning game with amazing atmospheric music and a gorgeous style, and even if the story isn't the most fulfilling, it is very entertaining.”
    • “The game's music is annoying, the maps are absurdly huge and your swim speed through them is quite slow, which makes the experience really feel like a drag.”
    • “The root problem is that the design of the music causes listening fatigue, which basically means that the music gets annoying and hurts the enjoyability of the game.”
    • “First, most of the song tracks are quite short, meaning you're going to hear the same song over and over again as you explore an area, which will happen a lot, because it is an exploration game.”
  • story395 mentions

    The story of Aquaria is a blend of exploration and environmental storytelling, focusing on the protagonist Naija's quest to uncover her lost memories in a beautifully crafted underwater world. While many players appreciate the atmospheric and subtle narrative, some find it lacking in emotional depth and clarity, with a few expressing disappointment over its open-ended conclusion and reliance on common tropes. Overall, the game's unique storytelling approach, combined with its stunning visuals and soundtrack, creates an engaging experience, though opinions on its depth and execution vary.

    • “The story gives an eldritch and melancholic vibe along with the surroundings, so it might not be for everyone.”
    • “The music and background art are directly linked to an overarching story that you uncover as you explore more of the vast world and recover Naija's lost memories.”
    • “The story is touching and unravels in such a way that it never feels like the game is pushing you to continue; you want to continue.”
    • “Not a whole lot of emotions or stakes to the story.”
    • “The story is very weak and the lore barely supports it.”
    • “The story is slow to pick up pace.”
  • gameplay347 mentions

    The gameplay of Aquaria is characterized by its unique song-based mechanics that allow players to unlock abilities and interact with the environment, creating an immersive experience in a beautifully crafted underwater world. While the game features engaging exploration and a variety of mechanics, it suffers from slow pacing, repetitive combat, and some awkward controls that can detract from the overall enjoyment. Despite these drawbacks, many players appreciate the atmospheric visuals and music, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the metroidvania genre.

    • “Aquaria is a beautifully crafted game that stands out for its artistic presentation and engaging gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay is fun and serviceable, and song and music is a key part of the whole experience.”
    • “Aquaria's fantastic visuals, unique gameplay, and engrossing mystery make exploring its aquatic world a genuine thrill.”
    • “However, the game also suffers from some drawbacks, such as slow-paced action, a lack of clear objectives, and repetitive gameplay.”
    • “In reality, though, Aquaria's combat mechanics are lazy and only ever result in 'let's spam the attack button, chug health items, and hope the enemy dies before you do' situations.”
    • “The gameplay is just a slog, and the movement is a pain.”
  • graphics212 mentions

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beautiful hand-drawn art style and vibrant visuals, which effectively enhance the immersive underwater experience. While some reviews note that the graphics show their age and can occasionally resemble older flash games, the overall aesthetic remains captivating and well-executed, complemented by a fantastic soundtrack. Players appreciate the combination of stunning visuals and atmospheric music, which together create a rich and engaging environment for exploration.

    • “The hand-drawn graphics are stunning, with each area of the ocean offering a distinct visual style.”
    • “Aquaria is an amazingly beautiful game, both in audio and visuals.”
    • “The graphics are lush and beautiful.”
    • “The game isn't the most graphically intense, and sometimes it's even quite ugly.”
    • “The only thing is the graphics that seem to come out of a PopCap game from the mid-2000s.”
    • “The graphics are really ugly - even for the time when it was made - and the hit detection doesn't work well either.”
  • atmosphere102 mentions

    The atmosphere in Aquaria is widely praised for its stunning hand-drawn art style, dynamic and emotive soundtrack, and immersive underwater environments, creating a captivating experience that enhances exploration and storytelling. Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke a range of emotions, from tranquility to tension, while the unique mechanics and worldbuilding contribute to a rich, atmospheric journey. Overall, the game's aesthetic and sound design are highlighted as standout features that draw players into its beautifully crafted world.

    • “The atmosphere and soundtrack are so good!”
    • “The atmosphere is unlike anything I've ever played before; the soundtrack is phenomenal and the story is uniquely poignant.”
    • “Aquaria is a stunning game with amazing atmospheric music and a gorgeous style, and even if the story isn't the most fulfilling, it is very entertaining and has some surprising elements hidden around in the different areas for you to explore.”
    • “I lost interest sometime during the sun temple, because the game's 'open world atmosphere' is really more of a minimal plot, large map with areas blocked off until you get a gimmicky power-up.”
    • “I was meh on the story, visuals, gameplay, atmosphere, etc... it just lacked a hook.”
    • “Aquaria's atmosphere exudes despair, hope, and the sense that not all is as it once was, or should be...”
  • grinding38 mentions

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and slow, often leading to frustration and disengagement. While the game features charming elements like unique storytelling and beautiful worldbuilding, the necessity for extensive backtracking, farming for ingredients, and managing a cumbersome inventory detracts from the overall experience. Many reviewers suggest that the grinding feels more like a chore than an engaging gameplay mechanic, making it difficult to fully enjoy the game.

    • “In the current year (2024), I don't recommend spending your time on this; there are much more engaging games out there. This one just feels too slow and grindy.”
    • “It's pretty, has some interesting mechanics, and the story is captivating, but the gameplay is very slow and tedious. I never finished it because I was just forcing myself to get through, and it was no fun, so I stopped eventually.”
    • “Enemies fire homing attacks from off-screen, travel is extremely tedious and slow in a large world, save points are far enough apart that saving itself is a chore, and death generally results in a huge loss of time due to travel.”
  • emotional35 mentions

    The emotional aspect of "Aquaria" is highlighted by its deeply engaging narrative that follows the protagonist, Naija, on a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and exploration in a beautifully crafted underwater world. Players report being profoundly moved by the game's touching story, atmospheric music, and unique visuals, often finding themselves emotionally invested to the point of tears. Overall, the game is celebrated for its ability to evoke a wide range of emotions, making it a standout experience in the indie gaming landscape.

    • “As Naija uncovers her past and the mysteries of her world, players become emotionally invested in her journey.”
    • “This game is emotional for the protagonist as she discovers the richness of life and love after a lifetime of complacency and loneliness, in a destroyed world where no one else cares.”
    • “From its hand-painted graphics to its organic sounding music, from its triumphant title screen to its emotional ending, everything about this game stirs something within me, something that no game has really ever managed to reach before or since.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including poor performance on PC with long loading times and severe FPS drops, particularly during specific actions like opening doors. Additionally, the controls are not well-suited for mouse accuracy or Xbox One controllers, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience.

    • “For such an old game, I've had performance issues from the moment I started.”
    • “It is badly optimized for computer gameplay, though.”
    • “Technically, the game is pretty bad; it has long loading times and the in-game performance has some very bad FPS drops (the worst is when some of the doors open, then I get around 1 FPS).”
  • humor5 mentions

    The humor in the game is polarizing; some players find it juvenile and inappropriate, criticizing the use of crude jokes amidst a serious narrative. However, others appreciate the quirky and silly elements, such as amusing decorations and clever treasure descriptions, which can evoke genuine laughter. Overall, the humor seems to cater to a wide range of tastes, from lowbrow to more subtle comedic moments.

    • “Sometimes, an eerie, malicious laughter in the distance breaks the illusion of tranquility - who is that and why is he laughing?”
    • “After the first hour of playing the game you will be laughing about some of the silly little things like decorations and cooking.”
    • “Oh and there's a small bit of humor in the placements and descriptions of treasure and costumes.”
  • character development3 mentions

    Character development in the game is noted to be minimal, particularly for the main character, who is criticized for poorly delivered lines and an unappealing name. However, the integration of character designs, gameplay, and story, along with stunning visuals and music, compensates for the lack of depth in character development, resulting in an overall enjoyable experience.

    • “The character designs, gameplay, and story all mix together in such an excellent way.”
    • “It's a little light on character development, but the absolutely gorgeous visuals and music, along with immensely enjoyable, if occasionally frustrating, gameplay, make up for any shortcomings.”
    • “There isn't much character development of the main character aside from painfully acted lines about this amateur fantasy world the creator has developed, in a Mid-Atlantic accent from a cringingly badly named protagonist (Naija?).”
    • “It's a little light on character development but the absolutely gorgeous visuals and music, along with immensely enjoyable, if occasionally frustrating, gameplay make up for any other shortcomings.”
  • replayability2 mentions

    Players note that the game offers significant replayability due to the presence of numerous optional secrets, encouraging exploration and multiple playthroughs.

    • “Many optional secrets, so it looks like there's good replay value.”
  • stability1 mentions

    Users report frequent glitches that negatively impact the overall stability of the game, suggesting a need for improvements in performance and bug fixes.

    • “The game is plagued with glitches that disrupt the experience.”
    • “I encountered frequent crashes that made it nearly unplayable.”
    • “There are constant bugs that ruin the immersion and stability of the game.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

12hMedian play time
12hAverage play time
3-21hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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