Delving into Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, I went in a little blind with an open mind and heart. I am glad I did because it was like consuming a couple of fresh baked cookies. It was refreshing and nostalgic on sandbox exploration puzzle games I used to play a lot more when I was a strapping young lad—such as Myst and the Monkey Island games.
From the beginning of the preview/demo, the player takes on Alex, an amateur backpacker who was searching for a relaxing getaway from the struggles of modern life. However, Alex finds adventure instead as the ship they were travelling on gets shipwrecked on Ambrosia Island—an island filled with strange mythical inhabitants and lovely Kool-Aid blue waters.
This “friend-em-up” top-down exploration puzzle game was simple in mechanics and did everything to provide a relaxed environment. The game taught me the most basic controls, which were quite intuitive for most exploration puzzle games. One thing the game noted was how it would be best experienced using a controller, so I did just that. I found it was helpful for the rumble when I was getting close to clues for missions around the island—so it was pretty much a requirement for a more interactive experience. This reminded me of the fishing mechanic in Sea of Thieves; some aspects were just not the same with a mouse and keyboard.
I was limited to one section of Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island, but this preview provided a taste of the mystery and tranquillity of the island and its inhabitants. Everything essential was thoroughly explained once, and then I was able to review it in what they call an Ambrosidex—very tricky to say on the tongue when you see it spelled but think Pokédex from Pokémon. The Ambrosidex was a useful device used as a sort of mobile phone. However, it could only contact fellow members on the island.
“Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island plays with what we know about Greek gods and makes them a little more sociable, friendly and down to earth.”
The overall vibe of the game was going for an easygoing feeling. At least, that is what I gathered from this demo. The puzzles were not too tricky, and the exploration narrative was fairly straightforward—nothing too frustrating. There were really only two characters I could talk to in this demo: The Oracle or Ora, and Hermes. If you know your Greek mythology, Hermes is typically a messenger god, and The Oracle or oracles would be women chosen by the gods through which divine advice could be spoken through them.
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island plays with what we know about Greek gods and makes them a little more sociable, friendly and down to earth. Hermes was a hoot to talk to, so much so that he was unfriendly at first. Whereas Ora was more NPC-like since she was a rock statue with the ability to speak. She offered a lot of information about the island but only to a certain extent of her most recent memory—just typical Elder Scrolls: Skyrim behaviour.
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island was a very ASMR-centric game, from the music and pinging sounds of collecting items along the beaches to the beautiful island environment with its palm trees. A lot of exploration puzzle games could feel like a drag with running around the map, but this one solved that with some implementation of fast travelling—which rewards the player as they progress. The sensations of this game had me thinking of other games like Journey or Ori and the Blind Forest if it was mixed with a Sims-style game—or even visual novel games. I am curious to see how Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island develops and what else it could add to this mashup genre.
