I was actually interested in Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island because it kind of feels like not a lot of games feature Greek mythology anymore. Back in the 2000s, it seemed like Zeus and his pals were everywhere until I guess Kratos killed them so hard, that he removed them from the industry—maybe with the exception of Hades…the game, not the guy.
So not only was I intrigued to see a return of these legendary characters, but in a way that didn’t involve invoking their powers for the sake of combat. Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island tries something a little different and results in an interesting little experience—albeit a bit underwhelming.
Players take on the role of Alex, a young woman who decides she needs a break from life and sets out to a remote island in search of adventure and disconnection. However, a mysterious storm leaves her shipwrecked (or Mythwrecked am I right?) on a strange island. It’s there that she meets strange characters, all of whom refer to themselves as the Greek gods of legend, but who all seem to have lost their memories.
“Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island makes a lot of bold choices like making Zeus and Hera weird hipster lifestyle gurus, Athena a bookish nerd, or Hades a stereotypical Emo kid…”
Not only that, everyone living on the island seems to have become distant and suspicious of each other, and no one can quite remember why. It’s up to Alex to help the gods recover their lost memories, reconnect and maybe get off the island once and for all. It’s a simple enough plot that does a good job of focusing on the themes of family and connection through one of the most chaotic and dysfunctional mythological families in recorded history.
Furthermore, the reimagining of all the gods adds a lot of fun and lighthearted humour to the narrative. Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island makes a lot of bold choices like making Zeus and Hera weird hipster lifestyle gurus, Athena a bookish nerd, or Hades a stereotypical Emo kid—okay maybe that one isn’t so bold. It creates a unique side to these characters we haven’t really seen in most of their portrayal and feels incredibly earnest and fun.
Gameplay in Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is pretty straightforward. It’s like part dating sim, part Phoenix Wright as players will need to talk with each god in order to gain clues about the mystery behind the island. However, each god might not be willing to open up right away, so players will need to complete tasks for them in order to raise their friendship levels and gain access to new or locked dialogue options.
However, in order to raise the friendship meter completely, players will need to run around the fully 3D island, searching for mementos that belong to each of the gods. This is where the Phoenix Wright comparison comes into play as matching the correct object to the right god requires knowing a little bit of Greek mythology or paying attention to little context clues given to you by the gods. There’s some light puzzle solving as well, and it can be a bit of trial-and-error-y; but it’s not particularly egregious.
“I will say this though, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island has some wild aesthetic design.”
And while I didn’t dislike the gameplay, I didn’t find it entirely compelling either. There are a lot of interesting ideas, like the day-to-night cycle making certain characters available at different times, or even needing to navigate the island in 3D space; but the relaxed, free-form nature of Mythwrecked: Ambrosia‘s gameplay never really feels like you’re following an investigation or picking up on leads.
At its core, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is about solving a mystery, but it doesn’t really give players that compelling trail of breadcrumbs to follow. It ends up being reading a lot of dialogue, and then going on scavenger hunts and while some players may definitely enjoy it, I found myself getting a bit bored the longer I played.
I will say this though, Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island has some wild aesthetic design. While the island itself is pretty standard, brought to life by a clean cel-shaded style, the character models for everyone are really something. I say this with nothing but love, but these are some ugly characters, but not in a visually displeasing way.
There’s just something strange about their shapes, the way that they emote, and how their eyes always look like they just drank twelve Monster Energies that makes them so compelling to look at. It’s almost like that idea of how human brains couldn’t comprehend the shapes of gods has been made manifest, and I honestly love it.
The music in Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island is really nice too. It alternates really seamlessly from a relaxed kind of tropical theme in the morning, to something with a little more Bossa Nova flair in the afternoon. Then it winds down with a kind of dreamy, chill theme in the evening, and after midnight it sounds truly ephemeral. It does a really good job of making the island feel both like a paradise, but also something a bit unreal.
Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island has a lot of interesting elements and a lot of character. Even if I wasn’t completely sold on it, I would still highly recommend it if you’re a fan of a more relaxed style of Phoenix Wright gameplay, or if you’re a fan of Greek mythology. It’s a short and sweet little experience that I think will definitely satisfy a lot of players.
