Affordable Space Adventures

Genre: Puzzle

Players: 1-3 Co-Op (Local)

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Review:

Affordable Space Adventures is a Puzzle game released exclusively for the Wii U in 2015, and it’s easy to see why – this game really couldn’t have worked on any other platform… well, save for perhaps the 3DS. As such, it makes for a good showpiece for the unique features of the Wii U, and one of the few games on the platform we can be fairly certain will never see a port to the likes of the Nintendo Switch.

The premise of this game is that you’re a would-be space explorer who answered an ad for a Great Opportunity to Explore a Beautiful World that’s Absolutely Safe, and the company offering this service definitely isn’t using fine print to hide the gory details of this being a poorly-funded doomed expedition where you’re being treated as expendable ^{Note: Your safety is not guaranteed. No refunds.}

On the surface, this game appears to be a Two-Stick Shooter, minus the shooting – you fly with the left stick and aim a flashlight (and later flares and a scanner) with the right stick. However, the game gradually introduces more intricate ways to control your spacecraft, and the game’s puzzles increasingly depend on fine-tuning your craft’s power levels to match your needs moment-to-moment while evading detection by automatons scanning for heat, electricity, and/or noise.

Players adjust these settings on the fly using the Wii U gamepad’s touchscreen – players can independently set power levels for an ever-increasing array of ship systems, but will have to be mindful of the ways this affects your signal output. If a nearby sensor detects heat, perhaps you’ll change over from the standard engine to the electrical anti-gravity generator. If you need to sink into water, you can adjust your weight level. As soon as you’re comfortable with your ship’s options, it will likely be giving you a new one to juggle with the rest. At times, you’ll even need to use gyroscopic controls to change your ship’s orientation.

The really clever part of the puzzles is when you have to quickly swap between different systems, or perhaps even shut everything off at juuuuust the right time. At many points in this game, you’ll truly get the feeling that this must be what it’s like on the Enterprise when the ship needed to shut down everything but life support and coast through dangerous territory on inertia alone, while at other times you’ll realize that what you need is a quick burst of energy before turning it all off so you don’t overheat.

The puzzle design here really is outstanding, though it can definitely feel like there are times when the game is pushing the limits of human dexterity trying to tap touchscreen controls in quick succession while also steering the ship. For players who find this multitasking a bit too much, there is an alternative – one or two players can join in and take over some of the ship’s functions on additional controllers. However, this will naturally call for a good deal of coordination between players, so if you opt for this route, you’ll definitely want to have good communication skills.

As for the presentation, Affordable Space Adventures is quite excellent given its indie nature, with beautiful alien-looking environments with great use of lighting and atmospheric effects. In addition, the effects that play on the Wii U gamepad’s screen when your ship is in distress are wonderfully immersive. The sound here is good too, in particular the sound of your ship’s fuel engine starting up sounding exactly like an old beater car sputtering to life. Unfortunately there’s not much in the way of music or even atmospheric sounds to be found here, but otherwise this game looks and sounds great.

All things considered, Affordable Space Adventures is a wonderfully unique Puzzle game that makes great use of the Wii U’s various features. The challenge level here means this game isn’t going to be for everyone, but the co-op options help with this somewhat. However, the way this game is custom-tailored for the Wii U means that if you’re on the fence, you may want to opt to buy it now while you can – once the Wii U eShop closes in 2023, this game may very well disappear off the face of the planet.

tl;dr – Affordable Space Adventures is a wonderfully unique Puzzle game that has you navigating through dangerous terrain by powering up and powering down various systems on your spacecraft. This game was so clearly designed with the Wii U in mind that it seems extremely unlikely it will be ported to any other platform, and it’s such a creative and unique experience that it’s well worth trying out while you have the chance. This is also an excellent choice for a good co-op game on the Wii U. In any case, I highly recommend you give this one a try!

Grade: B+

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