Fear in video games: a motive strongly associated with horror productions, sometimes also found in survival, action or simulation genre. When fear comes into play, it ends with players’ sanity going down and their heart rate skyrocketing in the blink of an eye. That’s how it usually goes, but what if a game centered around fear wasn’t scary at all? Asfalia: Fear carried out this idea, giving us the most adorable, joyful and uplifting ”fear-filled” game for both children and grown-ups.
Adventure? It’s child’s play to me!
In Asfalia: Fear we play as Charlie, a curious and cheerful boy whose puppies suddenly get lost in the park during storm. As he searches for them, he meets Lily, a fallen star that accompanies him on his journey. Together, they need to navigate through strange worlds attacked by mysterious shadow, which makes them face their greatest fears. Only by overcoming various challenges and helping those in need they will be able to find the missing dogs, as well as save Asfalia from being taken over by sinister shadow.
It’s pretty simple and straightforward point-and-click game, some might even find it too simple and straightforward. We explore different locations, find clues to solve puzzles with and then move to the next world. There are no frustrating moments, no back-breaking riddles and no reasons to feel stuck or confused. Considering the difficulty level, as well as overall look of the game, it is quite apparent that it was made with children players in mind, in order to help them learn their emotions and grow. While the game surely succeed at that, in my opinion Asfalia: Fear can absolutely be enjoyed by adults too, for example, there are many references that were placed for older audience as comedic elements or nods to pop culture works.
The thing that both kids and adults will appreciate from this game is its astounding presentation. The worlds that we visit during our adventure are aesthetic, diverse and very interactive, players have the power to change the environment, either for advancing the plot or finding secrets. Everything is hand-painted and smoothly animated, which can be seen especially during short cutscenes (although, while I acknowledge the effort, I think it would be useful to add a skip button for some transitions and dialogues, or at least an option to speed them up a bit). It is also worth mentioning that every single line in the game is voiced by professional actors, which emphasize the atmosphere of a family-friendly fairytale.
Fearful friends and friendly fear
Altough Asfalia: Fear is a relatively short game with a gameplay based on regular backtracking, it provides minigames and challenges that encourage players to replay. Not only they can try to get the the best score among their friends in quite peculiar version of Space Invaders, but also find all secrets and easter eggs that are awarded with the sticker. In this sense, the only possibile fear you can feel during this game is seeing empty spaces in your album, fortunately, it can be easiyl fixed with another run full of curiosity and creativity.
Ending thoughts
Full of humour, optimism and childlike Joy – Asfalia: Fear is more of a emotionally rich and educational experience rather than an unconventional point & click game. While its simplicity and colourfulness might not speak to everyone, it is a great opportunity for anyone who loves heartening stories but gets annoyed with exhausting puzzles. In the end, it is the game’s message that stands out the strongest: fear doesn’t have to be something negative or painful. It’s a fact of life that we have to embrace. And that game helps you do that in the most wholesome way possible.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Hand-painted smooth animations. | Unskippable dialogues. |
| Fully voice acted. | Slow transitions. |
| Heartwarming story. | Effortless puzzles. |
| Great replay value. | Bugs happen at times. |
Review copy provided by the publisher
3.5
English (UK) 
Hrvatski