(Reviewed on Xbox Series X by Games of DAYNE)
Exploring any world now matter how big or small is always exciting. Imagine though exploring it through the lens of an ant, getting a window into a bugs life if you will. In AntVentor players get to explore the Macroworld and guide FlorANTin, an inventor ant, on his quest to chase his dreams beyond the confines of his anthill.
AntVentor is the first chapter in the planned Antrilogy from developer LoopyMood, a point and click adventure full of humour, crafting and clever puzzles to solve.
FlorANTin’s thoughts are visually displayed via thought bubbles that also cleverly provide hints about current objectives. AntVentor has a handful of small areas to explore and navigate and like most point and click titles, players can expect to backtrack a lot in order to solve puzzles when new key items have been found. As each area is so small it fails to feel tiresome and the striking environmental design is so charming and rich with details that each pass I felt like I was noticing things I’d missed before.
There are only a handful of other characters to interact with but every one of them was essential to progression either by having a key item or an action to turn an existing item into something else. Each of these characters are doing something amusing or need to be interacted with in a comical way. The overall lighthearted tone in which the Macroworld is presented for FlorANTin to explore is great and alleviates the frustration and tedium that may otherwise come with backtracking and searching for items.
Completing AntVentor shouldn’t take more than an hour for most players and with a useful hint system in place to help the more casual players the experience isn’t too challenging. The downside to the brevity of AntVentor is the world is so visually and characteristically interesting that it’s difficult to walk away without wanting more. As this is only chapter one of the intended Antrilogy hopefully the other instalments manage to satisfy the desire more. Based on the quality of this first entry it’s likely to only get better.
The photorealistic imagery for parts of the environment blends well with the cartoony art design of the characters and objects that can be interacted with. The Macroworld is so joyful and charming on all visual fronts and an appropriately light and upbeat score keeps the overall tone light and fun.
AntVentor is fun, interesting and clever with its puzzle design, offering an entertainingly light experience for players of all familiarity levels within the point and click genre. The Macroworld looks to only get more interesting with each instalment, particularly when considering the surprising final moments for FlorANTin.
+ Striking art design
+ Entertaining shenanigans
+ Clever puzzles
+ Interesting world
– Too short
– No replay value
Developed by: LoopyMood
Published by: LoopyMood
Release Date: April 23 2021
Platforms: Xbox One/Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC
* A digital code was provided by the Publisher for the purpose of this review. *
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All digital photography was captured by Games of DAYNE in-game on Xbox Series X.
