Creatures of Ava looks like a sweet alternative to Palworld, with hugs instead of guns

polygon.com:

Anyone who’s played Pokémon long enough might become a bit cynical about the games’ creature collection aspects. You’re trapping, breeding, and battling those adorable creatures, and in the case of the Pokémon-inspired Palworld, even conscripting them into forced labor. A new creature-collection game, Creatures of Ava, is taking a different approach: What if you were nice to the animals?

Developers Inverge and Chibig revealed Creatures of Ava on Wednesday, showing how players will take on the role of young-adult adventurer Vic on a mission to tame and collect wild fantastical beasts. But instead of ensnaring them in a ball-shaped prison, Vic uses a flute (and hugs and bellyrubs) to lure the game’s creatures back home with her. The mission is to cure them of a widespread infection that’s making the monsters of Creatures of Ava aggressive.

Publisher 11 bit Studios describes Creatures of Ava as an action-adventure game with a story of “wonder, mystery, and discovery.” The game’s narrative is co-created by writer Rhianna Pratchett (Tomb Raider, Thief) and promises to challenge players “to step out of the human-centric point of view and learn about the real toll it takes to preserve the primal beauty at the very roots of Ava.”

Creatures of Ava doesn’t appear to have the breeding and evolution mechanics of Pokémon games, at least based on the game’s debut trailer. But it does let players traverse the planet and solve environmental challenges with tamed creatures’ help. Plus, you can snap pics of them.

If non-violent creature collecting and flute playing sounds like your speed, Creatures of Ava will launch sometime this year on Windows PC and Xbox Series X — and it will be available on Game Pass day one.