In Youropa, the world is literally torn apart and the pieces tossed all over. As the main character, your goal is to explore this now-fractured world and restore it to it’s previous union. Along the way, you’ll be pushed to challenge yourself, your ability to think outside of the box, and learn more about who you are.
To piece things back together, you’ll have to make use of your characters unique ability to walk on walls. Gravity conforms to you (somewhat) as you do this, so it makes for some intense puzzles that you’ll need to solve. Each level consists of at least one to three doorways, sometimes more, all of which you’ll need to gain access to in order to continue on the journey. A lot of these doors are open and ready, you’ll just need to find the path that brings you to it. Others may need to be turned on, either by walking on power switches, flipping levers, hitting switches, or entering in a light-based code onto a small grid.
The way the levels work is easy to figure out once you first enter the game. You can only walk along the surface you start on. If the ground slopes in any direction, either up or down, you’ll be able to continue to walk on it without falling. Meaning if the path slopes and goes on a sideways angle or completely upside down, your feet will remain planted on the surface so long as you maintain it. However, if you walk over a ledge, gravity will instantly kick back in and you’ll fall in whichever proper direction is down.
At first, things in Youropa will be tough since the character can literally only walk. Eventually, you’ll come to levels where a circular pattern needs to be powered on in four sections, which is where you’ll learn new abilities. Most of the abilities apply directly to the character, such as being able to grab objects or kick things. A couple of your early ones though make you able to see the universe’s map so you know where you have to travel still, and a very helpful one that let’s you zoom out and freely explore the view of your current level. This one is helpful since it can help you find secrets and map out pathways to your objectives.
Overall, Youropa is a great game. It’s beautiful and crisp, with puzzles that are extremely intricate and in depth. However, the game can be a slow and tough start. Once you enter the game, you can literally only walk. It’s a number of levels you’ll need to progress through before you gain the first ability where your character can actually do something else. Up until that point, you’re going to notice all the stuff that you can’t do yet, and it can be infuriating for how long it goes on. However, tough it out and the experience that follows will be extremely rewarding.
Another great thing about this game is how freely you can customize the main character. Every so often you’ll discover paint spots where you can alter the appearance of your character. All of it, from the color of yourself to the designs you can insert, it’s all up to you. So if you’ve got a creative side to you, it’s just one more reason to make sure you don’t miss out on this incredible game.
