I can't remember the last time exploring the depths of the ocean was so much fun in a video game and I haven't played an underwater adventure as beautiful and surreal as Aquaria since Ecco the Dolphin came out for the Sega Genesis / Sega CD.  This non-linear adventure certainly shares a lot of similarities with other labyrinthine action/adventure games such as Ecco, but the gameplay resembles other classic adventure games such as the Metroid series, and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night as well as touting a high presentation value, engrossing gameplay, and a compelling story coupled with "Lite" RPG elements.

If you're into action/adventure games you will probably fall in love with Aquaria the moment you lay eyes on it.  Everything looks and sounds beautiful and everything in the game feels fluid.  If I wasn't a hardcore gamer I would never have guessed that Aquaria was an indie game.  Few other indie games match the presentation or production value offered in Aquaria.  The guys at Bit-Blot took their time crafting Aquaria and it shows within almost every aspect of the game.

As mentioned earlier, Aquaria is much like those classic 2D exploratory adventure games found only on the home entertainment systems of yesteryear.  Aquaria doesn't stray from that classic formula found in all of those older games many of us considered great but it does stand out on it's own by telling it's own unique and interesting story.  The protagonist, Naija, is one of the main reasons why the story is so interesting.  As you control Naiji and uncover more of the hidden wonders of Aquaria you open up the story surrounding Naija's mysterious past through the in-game narrative.  I won't ruin the story by revealing any spoilers but I can say that Aquaria is very much like a good book that you just can't put down.  There really is only one downside to playing Aquaria and that is like all good things, it must come to an end.

To say that Aquaria is beautiful is almost as redundant as saying the Eiffel Tower is tall.  The graphics and sound are amazing and they quickly capture the eyes and ears.  Aquaria has achieved greatness where others have failed, through voice acting.  The voice acting in Aquaria is not only excellent, it is equally as good as the graphics and music only proving that you can have style and substance and the entire enchilada in a game, even an indie game.

Controlling Naija is so simple that your cat or dog could play (though this is not advised).  Moving around consists of pointing to the direction you want Naija to move with the mouse and then clicking the mouse button to swim in that direction.  Alternately, holding the left mouse button down and moving the mouse will allow players to explore and swim non-stop.  If this wasn't simple enough players have the option of configuring and using different methods of control such as the keyboard or a gamepad for character movement and menu interface.  Naija isn't limited to swimming around though, along the way she will have to learn songs which act almost like spells and give her useful powers which she can wield to overcome problems, puzzles, or to attack with.  Some puzzle solutions and areas of the game can't be explored until you learn new songs.   It's an interesting game mechanic and it diverts from common adventure game formula with great results.  Players also have the ability of bringing up a map showing the locations that have been uncovered and explored.  The only thing missing that I would have liked would be the ability to mark waypoints on the map because it is easy to get lost in the huge world of Aquaria and bringing up the map every few seconds in some areas can become just a little annoying.

On top of just playing the game, there is a neat level editor included with Aquaria and with enough experience you could mod the game however you like, creating a whole new adventure.  Extra features such as this are always a nice bonus and being able to easily modify a game increases it’s longevity and play value.

If you haven't tried Aquaria yet then you don't know what you're missing and if you've already bought the game you've probably played through it 2 or 3 times already and plan on starting a new game after reading this.