Oh wow, so I somehow ended up at PAX West in, what, 2023? Felt like a lifetime ago. Anyway, there was this game there, Everdeep Aurora. Chill as heck—like, zero enemies. Just puzzles and wandering around, which somehow doesn’t sound boring, right? I got hooked. Left that place thinking, “Heck yeah, I wanna dive into this properly.”
So, here’s the thing: you’re this kitten called Shell. Cute name, eh? Your mom’s gone missing, and a meteor shower’s going bonkers, so everyone’s hiding below ground. You get this basic drill and start digging, like, digging deep. Trying to find your mom while dealing with this weird underground gang.
You bump into all sorts of oddballs—there’s this girl hunting for her lost dog, a frog with daughter issues, a sneaky snake—typical stuff, I guess. And two otters in a love funk. Help them out, and Shell levels up. Cool, right? Stronger drill, wall jumps, all that jazz.
Man, exploring in Everdeep Aurora feels like Christmas morning. You’re picking up hats, lore-filled papers, gems for your drill—like, it’s a buffet of goodies. It’s got that old-school, Game Boy Color vibe, which I totally dig. Oh, and dice games, crane games, even retro cutscenes! Funny how retro stuff hits, right? And you’re swimming in paths and secret endings here, maybe why I loved stumbling upon hidden spots.
But—there’s always a but, huh?—exploration got me pulling my hair out. No waypoint markers, so it’s like, “Where even am I?” Right, I mean the NPCs you help out are great, but a radar wouldn’t hurt. There’s no quest log either, so good luck remembering who wanted that post office letter. And, hey, if you’re on Switch, brace for some screen jitters. Not a huge deal, but older hardware and all, it should handle this.
So, drill down to it—Everdeep Aurora? Love-hate, mostly love, with a side of frustration. Music and graphics rock, characters go deep (pun intended), and it’s nice to have a no-combat zone now and then. But getting lost is like, seriously? A few guidepoints could make all the difference. Anyway, depends on your vibe, if you’re cool getting lost in a maze—or not. It’s a mixed bag, but those chill vibes are pretty sweet, if you can roll with the punches.
