Ankora - A Review

A review for a game I played when I was a teenager.

Ankora by CHIBIG

Type: Adventure, RPG

Concept: YOu play as mun, an explorer whose ship crashed on Planet Ankora inhibited by the Auks, Tribal people similar to Ewoks you explore the alien world and craft and scape? the land to get from spot to spot and destroy the forces of darkness.

Review: In the sea of mobile games, I found Ankora, A game that wasn't high octane action or extreme passive idle. Ankora is a strange mix like final fantasy meets Minecraft. As you play an explorer Crash Landed on an alien planet, it comes to no surprise that one of the main mechanics and themes is that of exploration. You spend a large portion of the gameplay walking through the wilderness of Ankora. Not that this is a bad thing. Games like The Trail and Minecraft allow us to immerse ourselves in a beautiful landscape and Ankora is there with the best of them. Of course, Ankora systems are enjoyable like their crafting and combat systems. But take a backseat to the expiration. Some people might see this as a detriment but I don't one of the best assets is its sense of discovery. The world of ANkora is strange enough but familiar  enough not to be enough but familiar enough not to be confusing.  it Primes us to look around rather then run from city to town looking for fetch quests. 

I remember one quest that used exploration and discovery particular well throughout the game you'll find these empty villages which if you complete the requirements(build a well, build 6 fences, etc). the village will become inhabited and you can speak with the villagers. A villager tells me that her daughter had grown up and left to start her own village as is the Ack Custom. The mother didn't know where her daughter was but if I met her in my travels to deliver a salad. Fortunately I had helped fix another village where the leaders name was Umi the name of the daughter. When I went to Umi's Village and spoke to her she was very happy. I had connected Mother and Daughter for just a moment and gotten a nice salad recipe. 

Ankora is an open world but there isn't a magic glowing line or floating arrow to show you the way. It gives side quests, a sense of accomplishment instead of what would otherwise be pretty generic Fed-Ex Quest. The Story itself helps bring the world together. That is not just another nameless village or un-important NPC. They all have a life and a purpose. The Relatively small amount of NPCS makes all of them seem important rather then the hundreds of blathering extras who offer little more then a witty line or the need for you kill a hundred chickens for them. Ankora focus on exploration but in a way hat allows to enjoy getting to the next area or finding a village no one told you about. ANkora uses exploration so that you enjoy losing yourself into the world why discover more about the story. I loved ankora and have played it for hours and will play it for hours more. But I can say that it might not be for everyone. Those who enjoy more high pack action style game might become bored by its slower pace and exploration style and the games minimal guidance and direction can become frustrating at times. When you get a quest to find someone who could be anywhere in the world. But Ankora thrives because of its exploration. 

For those who enjoy survival and exploration games and those who are fans of Minecraft and similar I recommend AnKora its a thoughtful, serious game in a sea of casual numbness.