ARIDA: Backland's Awakening
- August 15, 2019
- Aoca Game Lab
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"ÁRIDA: Backland's Awakening" is a historical single-player survival and adventure game set in a drought-stricken region. Players must use equipment like machetes and hoes for essential actions, learn recipes for crafting with regional items, and interact with villagers to get water and food. Exploring the backlands is necessary to learn more about the region and find resources, while completing quests for elders provides story elements and rewards.
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Reviews
- The game offers a touching story that effectively illustrates the struggles of life in Brazil's backlands, showcasing cultural and historical elements.
- The art style and audiovisual identity are charming and well-crafted, enhancing the overall experience.
- Despite its short length, the game provides an enjoyable and immersive experience, making it a worthwhile pick for fans of indie games.
- The gameplay is primarily composed of fetch quests and survival mechanics that can feel tedious and poorly executed, leading to frustration.
- Many players experienced glitches and bugs, particularly with achievements and controls, which detracted from the overall enjoyment.
- The game is quite short, often completed in under two hours, leading some to feel it lacks sufficient content for its price.
- story36 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story, while not groundbreaking, is well-crafted and touches on themes of survival, poverty, and social imbalance, particularly in the context of northeast Brazil. Players appreciate the emotional depth and historical accuracy, though some find the narrative simple and the gameplay repetitive. Overall, it offers a touching journey centered around a young girl's migration with her grandfather, making it a worthwhile experience, especially for those supporting indie developers.
“The game's story is very well written, and it is noted that there was accurate historical research.”
“Beyond a great story and making you feel the struggle of the sertão people, this game makes us think about poverty and social imbalance.”
“I bought this game to support an indie team of developers from my homeland, but was pleasantly surprised by this touching story of survival and faith.”
“Even though it's a survival game (and about survival) it's not punitive, it makes things alarming but fluid; it won't punish you in gameplay, but I can't say the same about the story.”
“Some are saying the storyline is too simple, but they're missing the point.”
“The story is short but sweet and the survival aspect is well made, although your thirst and hunger meters deteriorate a little bit too quickly for my taste.”
- gameplay26 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily centered around simple survival mechanics, including fetch quests, crafting, and managing food and water resources, which some players find repetitive and lacking depth. While the mechanics align well with the game's historical context and contribute to its immersive atmosphere, many reviewers feel that the strong audiovisual presentation compensates for the gameplay's shortcomings. Overall, the gameplay is described as unambitious yet fitting, with a focus on exploration and survival that enhances the narrative experience.
“The gameplay consists of crafting items and trying to search for food and water.”
“Honestly, while the gameplay decisions feel fitting for the historical and geographical context, the audiovisual identity of the game is so strong and well made that it would easily carry the entire game anyway, regardless of the chosen gameplay type.”
“This is an unpretentious game, with simplified crafting and survival mechanics (you can craft bonfires to prepare meals, you must sharpen your tools, etc.), and a touching story.”
“The gameplay is nothing but a bunch of fetch quests with survival elements.”
“Gameplay is pretty much an agonizing survival for food and water (mostly water!) and some few particular fetch quests.”
“Its a shame, because I really do find the art style and concept endearing... but bad gameplay is bad gameplay, no matter how attractive the game is otherwise.”
- graphics15 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their beauty and atmospheric quality, effectively complementing the narrative and gameplay. While some reviews note that the visuals can be relatively crude, they still contribute to a charming and immersive experience, particularly with the cartoonish aesthetics and regional elements. Overall, the art style and audiovisual identity are highlighted as strong points, enhancing the game's emotional impact despite any gameplay shortcomings.
“Honestly, while the gameplay decisions feel fitting for the historical and geographical context, the audiovisual identity of the game is so strong and well-made that it would easily carry the entire game anyway, regardless of the chosen gameplay type.”
“The soundtrack is enchanting, the graphics are beautiful, and the gameplay is completely in line with the narrative.”
“The art style, the characters, the items, music, presentation... it all exudes a charm that is welcoming to a Brazilian, and hopefully new and exciting to foreigners.”
“It's a shame, because I really do find the art style and concept endearing... but bad gameplay is bad gameplay, no matter how attractive the game is otherwise.”
“It is a short semi-linear exploration and survival game, with cartoonish aesthetics that resemble drawings from that place and age in sharp contrast against the looming sense of dread that permeates the entire game - you see death everywhere, the sun quickly exhausts your thirst and hunger bars, especially at noon.”
“The graphics are both adequate and atmospheric, especially in regards to the plant models, and the resource management is definitely something you have to spend some time and effort keeping track of, without being punishingly difficult.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- -40 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its cool design and memorable characters, effectively immersing players in the 19th-century Brazilian backlands. While the graphics are adequate, they contribute to a rich ambiance, particularly through the detailed plant models and beautiful Portuguese audio. Overall, the atmosphere is central to the experience, enhancing the simplicity of the survival and crafting mechanics.
“The characters are memorable (if more than a little cliched), the graphics are both adequate and atmospheric, especially in regards to the plant models, and the resource management is definitely something you have to spend some time and effort keeping track of, without being punishingly difficult.”
“The Portuguese audio and written verses are truly beautiful; the translation misses some of the musicality that contributes to the game's atmosphere. It can be a nice game for someone looking for immersion into Portuguese culture, especially the Nordeste culture.”
“And it's not about complex mechanics or elaborate graphics; it's all about atmosphere - about placing you in the shoes of a girl struggling to survive in Brazil's backlands during the 19th century.”
“It's not about complex mechanics or elaborate graphics; it's all about atmosphere - placing you in the shoes of a girl struggling to survive in Brazil's backlands during the 19th century.”
“The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, failing to immerse me in the world.”
“Despite the setting, the game lacks a sense of urgency or tension, making it hard to feel invested in the experience.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its touching story of survival and faith, which resonates deeply with players, evoking positive emotions. Its well-balanced narrative, combined with thoughtful regional elements and aesthetics, enhances the overall emotional experience, making it a heartfelt journey for players.
“I bought this game to support an indie team of developers from my homeland, but was pleasantly surprised by this touching story of survival and faith.”
“This is an unpretentious game, with simplified crafting and survival mechanics, and a touching story.”
“Pros: very well balanced, touching story told in a sensible manner, great aesthetics, and well-crafted regionalism with elements like praying poles as save checkpoints.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as enchanting and culturally immersive, particularly for those familiar with Portuguese and nordeste culture, although some translations may lose musicality. However, there are mixed reviews regarding the overall quality of the sound effects, with one user rating them poorly at 4/10. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's charming presentation and atmosphere.
“The soundtrack is enchanting, the graphics are beautiful, and the gameplay is completely in line with the narrative.”
“The Portuguese audio and written verses are truly beautiful; the translation misses some of the musicality which contributes to the game's atmosphere. It can be a nice game for someone looking for immersion into Portuguese culture, especially the Nordeste culture.”
“The art style, the characters, the items, music, presentation... it all exudes a charm that is welcoming to a Brazilian, and hopefully new and exciting to foreigners.”
“Music and sound effects are not good at all (rating 4/10)”
“The translation misses some of the musicality which makes the game atmosphere.”
“The soundtrack is enchanting, the graphics are beautiful and the gameplay is completely in line with the narrative.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marred by various glitches, particularly when interacting with items and the crafting menu, which significantly detracts from the overall experience. While using a controller may mitigate some issues, the game's partial controller support is misleading, and players have reported buggy achievements that further complicate gameplay. Overall, the numerous bugs and glitches hinder enjoyment, especially for a debut title.
“Various glitches when interacting with items and the craft menu.”
“I know it's the studio's first game, so one can't expect perfection, but I wasn't able to actually enjoy the game due to the amount of glitches and bugs along the way.”
“Some glitches might have been avoided by playing with a controller, but I personally don't think controller-only games have any place on Steam, and secondly, the store page only mentions 'partial controller support' despite it being 'highly recommended to use a controller' when you start up the game.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game suffers from poor optimization, with janky controls and a lack of voice acting contributing to a less polished experience. Additionally, the collectables are deemed unhelpful, further detracting from overall gameplay quality.
“The game suffers from poor optimization.”
“Optimization issues make the gameplay experience frustrating.”
“I encountered significant performance problems due to lack of optimization.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players express that grinding in the game is so demanding that it feels like it requires an extra life to manage effectively.
“Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding and keeps you engaged.”
“The grind is satisfying and offers a real sense of progression.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
