PN Review: Ava and Avior Save the Earth

While it’s easy to be dismissive of Ava and Avior Save the Earth, I think consideration should be shown for what it’s trying to achieve.  As an edutainment (educational entertainment) title intended for young children, is it really fair to hold it to the same standards as regular Wii U games?  It aims to accomplish specific objectives, and I think it does so reasonably well.

This title teaches kids about discarding unwanted items in “green” fashion.  They’ll be recycling stuff, composting organic matter, disposing of hazardous materials, donating clothing, and getting rid of just plain old trash.  The lessons come in the form of a drag and drop game, where items are collected and distributed to appropriate bins.

The controls unfortunately are a bit clunky.  The lid of each receptacle is constantly opening and closing, with items bouncing about the screen.  This in itself isn’t bad – it might’ve been too easy (even for youngsters) without it – but I found myself plugging away, trying to have the bins accept items on a consistent basis.  The final levels, which take place, in space don’t have this problem (items quickly disappear when dragged beneath floating bins) but as a rule I found myself moving the stylus around too much for what should be a straightforward task.  Using the Wiimote seemed to offer slight improvements, but still wasn’t completely satisfying.  While I adjusted, my fear is that some young children might grow frustrated and impatient with the current setup.  Thankfully a promised patch should minimize and fix this.  The bonus levels have no control concerns.

Graphically, this is a cute, but admittedly unambitious game.  It reflects its roots as an app, but little kids will probably enjoy the visuals nonetheless.  The locales include a mix of the familiar (beach, farm) and not so familiar (the moon!) environments.  One level that I particularly enjoyed was the bubble filled bathroom, with an overflowing tub and rubber duckies everywhere!  Little touches like googly-eyed fruit, and the container’s grins getting wider with correct placements, are appreciated.

This game has 23 levels, no longer than 2 minutes each.  This isn’t necessarily a bad length for young children whose attention spans are naturally shorter.  They’ll need to replay some levels, and probably choose to replay others to get higher scores, earn more stars and achievements, and unlock pets.  The problem is the price relative to the game’s content – it’s currently selling for $10.  To be frank, the pricing is beyond me, especially as it sells on other formats for less than a third, if not free!  I predict either a sale or permanent price reduction arriving imminently.

This is a cute game, with its heart in the right place.  It entertains some solid ideas, while offering positive reinforcement.  The price is a bit tough to swallow for the amount of content though, and the controls (at present) can be improved.  When the price drops however, I think this could be a good download for families.  Young kids will enjoy the game, and parents will appreciate the educational, non-violent content.  For 2020 Venture’s Wii U debut, this is a satisfactory edutainment title.