Europa

Europa is the closest thing we have to a Ghibli movie in video game form. With stunning visuals, a relaxing atmosphere, satisfying movement mechanics, and an intriguing mystery to uncover, Europa is a game worth losing an afternoon to.

81%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding

86% User Score Based on 487 reviews

Critic Score 74%Based on 8 reviews

Platforms

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About

Europa is a single player platformer game with fantasy, mystery, anime and science fiction themes. It was developed by Helder Pinto and was released on October 11, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

On the moon Europa, a lush terraformed paradise in Jupiter’s shadow, an android named Zee sets out in search of answers. Run, glide and fly across the landscape, solve mysteries in the ruins of a fallen utopia, and discover the story of the last human alive.

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86%

Audience ScoreBased on 487 reviews

story127 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

Stunning and beautiful art style heavily inspired by Studio Ghibli, creating a serene and visually captivating world.
Soothing and fitting soundtrack with strong voice acting that enhances the emotional and immersive storytelling.
Relaxing and fluid movement mechanics, especially flying and gliding, that provide a meditative and cozy gameplay experience.

Gameplay controls can be clunky and floaty, with slippery movement and unintuitive jumping mechanics that occasionally cause frustration.
The game is short and quite linear, with limited exploration due to invisible walls, wind barriers, and forced camera angles that sometimes break immersion.
Puzzles are generally very simple and repetitive, lacking challenge or depth, and enemy encounters can feel annoying and out of place.

story
263 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
50%
2%
The story is often praised for its emotional, heartfelt, and touching narrative, with strong voice acting and a soothing, Ghibli-inspired atmosphere that enhances its appeal. While generally simple and predictable, it effectively conveys themes of life, loss, and hope through diary entries and environmental storytelling, creating a cozy, meditative experience. Some find it lacking depth or originality, but it remains a compelling and integral part of the game's calming exploration and visual presentation.
- “The story, as short as it is, is pretty touching and has heart.”
- “The music is simply amazing, the art makes me feel like I'm walking through a Studio Ghibli dream right out of Miyazaki's mind, and the story is sweet, bitter, and hopeful - which in short is what you'd need from a story to connect with it.”
- “Following the android Zee as he follows his late creator's guiding notes across the terraformed Europa to the remains of humanity on the Ark, the story is simple, but engaging and very touching.”
- “The story never provided any hooks to draw me in emotionally, it has very little relevance to the gameplay, and it's also extremely predictable.”
- “Just doesn't feel good to play, the puzzles aren't challenging or creative, the story is predictable and stereotypical.”
- “For roughly half of the game, the story falters to ensure the player gets 'the message,' forgetting the cardinal rule of storytelling: 'show, don't tell.'”
gameplay
165 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
5%
Gameplay in this title is generally described as simple, relaxed, and heavily focused on smooth flying and exploration mechanics that evoke a meditative, cozy experience akin to games like Journey and Sky. While the core float-and-glide mechanics are praised for their fluidity and sense of freedom, many reviewers note issues with clunky controls, repetitive and shallow puzzles, a lack of challenge, and occasional frustrating platforming elements. Overall, the gameplay is seen as fitting for players seeking a calming aesthetic experience rather than deep or complex gameplay.
- “These mechanics give the player a feeling of effortless motion that becomes central to the experience—each leap and glide feels fluid, freeing, and deeply satisfying.”
- “The gameplay is super smooth, whether you're running, gliding, or flying around, and the puzzles hit that sweet spot of being fun without feeling impossible.”
- “Europa is one of those games that nails its core movement mechanic to the point that it's consistently fun to play.”
- “Difficulty is not a thing, the story could have been way better, but ends up being very predictable, the gameplay is repetitive and barebones.”
- “Levels are put one after another with no sense of connection and gameplay mechanics feel purposeless.”
- “The gameplay is clunky and the whole thing just feels unpolished and untested.”
graphics
153 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
42%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning, Studio Ghibli-inspired art style, featuring beautiful, colorful, and dreamy visuals that create a relaxing, fairytale-like atmosphere. Many highlight the cell-shaded, watercolor-like aesthetic and serene environments as the game's strongest aspect, often comparing it to titles like Journey and Abzû. While the visuals are universally admired and considered a major draw, some note that the graphical style may not be unique to all players and that the game's overall design relies heavily on its beauty rather than complex gameplay.
- “The visuals are absolutely breathtaking - there were moments I found myself pausing just to admire the surrounding landscapes.”
- “The art style is absolutely stunning, reminiscent of a watercolor palette, creating a visually soothing and immersive experience.”
- “Each frame is a scene from Studio Ghibli, they were able to almost perfectly replicate Miyazaki's art style.”
- “The first problem is that the game’s foundation—its beauty—doesn’t hold up (and I was playing on the highest graphics settings).”
- “The UI, graphic design, and typography did not at all match the visuals of the game and felt very underdeveloped.”
- “- The artistic decision to make the player character and several other things use a thick-lined, cell-shaded art style is one I'm not keen on.”
music
149 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
65%
33%
2%
The music in the game is widely praised for its serene, atmospheric, and emotive qualities, perfectly complementing the visuals and enhancing the relaxing, contemplative mood. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as beautiful, soothing, and integral to the overall experience, often comparing it favorably to works evoking Studio Ghibli and games like Journey. While some note occasional generic or repetitive moments, the music consistently receives high acclaim for its ability to immerse players and evoke strong emotional responses.
- “The soundtrack complements this perfectly—ambient piano melodies and delicate electronic undertones create a sense of reflective calm that stays with the player long after the game ends.”
- “The music is absolutely fantastic and that cannot be overstated.”
- “Amazing game, incredible storytelling, beautiful art; music is insanely good and devastatingly beautiful.”
- “That said, it suffers from the comparison to Journey, as that game is such a masterpiece that Europa's sometimes janky movement, just-okay music, and mildly preachy environmental justice story just can’t match it.”
- “- boring and sleepy piano/synth music, the same music I listen to fall asleep.”
- “The same goes for the music.”
emotional
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Europa delivers a heartfelt, emotionally rich experience that resonates deeply with players through its touching narrative, beautiful visuals, and evocative soundtrack. The game explores themes of loss, connection, and introspection, often eliciting tears and a strong emotional response, making it a cozy yet profound journey. While the story is simple and sometimes predictable, its sincere and intimate atmosphere creates a memorable, moving experience akin to titles like Journey and Gris.
- “Europa is an emotionally intense game that explores themes of loss, isolation, and the fragility of human connection in a beautifully haunting narrative.”
- “Following the android Zee as he follows his late creator's guiding notes across the terraformed Europa to the remains of humanity on the ark, the story is simple, but engaging and very touching.”
- “It’s an extremely heartwarming and sweet story revolving around a father’s love and a son’s beautiful curiosity of the world around him.”
atmosphere
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
32%
9%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its serene, cozy, and meditative qualities, enhanced by beautiful visuals, mellow music, and subtle environmental effects. Many reviewers highlight its relaxing and emotional tone, making it ideal for unwinding and reflection. While some note it lacks the depth and tension of comparable titles, the overall artistic direction and immersive ambiance remain standout strengths.
- “Chilling and stylistic atmosphere, combined with smooth gliding movement, puzzles, and collectables.”
- “This attention to atmosphere is further enhanced by subtle weather effects, gentle lighting shifts, and moments where the camera pulls back to reveal sweeping vistas that make the player feel both small and connected to something greater.”
- “For players who value atmosphere, emotion, and reflection, Europa stands as one of the most beautifully realized indie experiences in recent years.”
- “Since you can't die anyway, it's a total mystery why the creators of this game decided to ruin the calm and relaxing atmosphere with these terrible design choices.”
- “The developers also fail to create the same atmosphere found in games like Journey or Shadow of the Colossus.”
- “And while those games have been developed by AAA studios back in the day, I have seen Crash Bandicoot fan games that had more narrative, a better atmosphere, and gameplay depth.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
11%
78%
Grinding in the game is generally seen as a mixed experience, with some players finding it occasionally fun but often slow, tedious, or middling. Traversal and certain puzzles can feel repetitive or stall gameplay, though the lack of complex puzzles and stress makes it suitable for casual play. Achievements tied to grinding are minimal, but 100% completion may involve some tedious backtracking.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Story was good if not a bit generic; only issue is there's no indicator on chapter select for which levels you've missed emeralds, chests, or zephyr upgrades, so the 100% completion will be a bit tedious but worth it.”
- “I found it tedious to the point that I didn't want to explore too much to avoid running into them and stalling me for a few seconds each time.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
17%
33%
The game's replayability is limited by its mostly linear progression and simple puzzles, but it is somewhat enhanced by collectible items and achievements that encourage players to explore hidden secrets. Additional content, such as DLC, could further improve its replay value.
- “Besides that, I did enjoy the game, and there is replayability with finding all the emeralds and completing the Steam achievements.”
- “As briefly mentioned at the beginning of the review, there are collectibles to gather along the way, so there is a bit of replayability in finding all of the hidden secrets of each area.”
- “- replay value;”
- “The puzzles are generally light, often requiring only simple observation or timing, and the linearity of the main path can limit replay value.”
- “Maybe this could be a DLC to give it some replay value?”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The character development is widely seen as a significant missed opportunity, with little to no growth or progression despite strong presentation elements like writing, art style, and soundtrack that otherwise create an engaging story.
- “The writing, art style, character design narration and soundtrack all culminated for an incredibly engaging story.”
- “Presentation: absolutely beautiful to look at, barring some parts of the character design, and the music is also mostly quite good.”
- “His character development is a huge missed opportunity: there is none.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated, described as genuinely funny and entertaining. Players find it consistently amusing, contributing positively to their overall experience.
- “Funny little game.”
- “I nominated it for so many Steam award categories it's not even funny.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game demonstrates excellent stability, running smoothly without issues on the Steam Deck.
- “It runs great on Steam Deck.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is well-optimized, delivering strong performance at a reasonable price.
- “The price is decent, the performance is really good.”