APRÉ LAPLI: A trip to discover ourselves

A short and relaxing experience that will let not only us find out the history of Maya and her grandad, but also a scenario that belongs to all of us.

Apré Lapli - Gameplay Trailer

Apré Lapli is the first game and baptism of 2112Games.

A fleeting experience that takes us to a dry world and left without water, where we’ll accompany and learn abut Maya and her grandad, who day by day try to survive.

Hearing, during our journey, grandad’s tales that will make clear about the origin of the girl and her unbelievable dreams of Maya that show what she hasn’t seen, water as we’re used to think about it, by now nonexistent in the world she was born.

A RELAXING ADVENTURE 

The trial of Apré Lapli I made it was made on Nintendo Switch and I have to say that even if the game runs on really well in portable mode, we cannot claim the same about docked modality, where the play suffers graphically a lot with drops of the frame rate, that go to deface the good work conducted during the creation of the landscapes. 

Locations mostly wide, as the above – mentioned deserts that thanks to the chromatic construction succeed to please the player mixing optimally hot colors with cold ones, blending with the horizon, resulting not only really pretty but also relaxing, bringing in the scene a good mixture between 3D and cel-shading for the artistic building. 

Characteristic on which the development studio has focused highly both graphically and sonorous side, that guides us during our adventure with relaxing rhythms, minimals accords and environmental noises pretty well re-created that help with the construction of the basis of the game. 

Foundations that With the narrative department acquire a strong framework, assisted by a gameplay that accomplishes the task of proposing and experience far from the hectic and full of action to which we’re accustomed to, building the first part of the future trilogy that wants to be relaxing for the player, telling a tale and giving point for reflexion, that everyone should reflect on. 

SURVIVE BUT NOT LIVE 

The gameplay of Aprè Lapli is simple but functional for the purpose that wants to achieve, that is telling the story of Maya and her Grandad, who try to survive, being able to play alone or in co-op with a friend. 

During our adventure fortunately we won’t be alone, we’ll have by our side a reliable giant lizard, that will help us during the trip, dragging our convoy that will accompany use during the whole voyage. 

The main aim will be the one of finding from time to time food, water and a place to relax. 

Doing this way we’ll be able to hear the tales of the grandad around the bonfire created by us, they will help us to understand not only why the water runs low, but also the origins of Maya and the story of her parents.

To be able to do everything of that, sometimes we’ll have to control over the caravan with whom, if we want, we can get lost in exploring the landscapes and manage to find collectionables, that increase the longevity of the gaming experience, or follow the indicator that always shows us where to proceed with the story. 

Other rimes we’ll have to control simultaneously Maya and her grandad with the two analog sticks, bearing in mind that each of the characters has far different characteristics, for example even if he is slow, the grandad could help Maya to lift up boulders and heavy objects, revealing what hides under them, or checking Maya, who will be able to both gather water and food, that will be useful for the construction of the bonfire.

We will encounter ourselves full-fledged to be able to survive creating a shelter for the night that defends us from the risks of the desert, for proceeding in our adventure. 

Even though a good gaming structure, I hope that the following two titles that will conclude the trilogy, 2112Games will be bale to expand the formula, creating new dangers and more explorable place that will enlarge the possibilities of the player, obviously arriving to create more interactions with characters donating a bigger introspection of them, succeeding in having more interest towards the public. 

A STORY BELONGING TO US 

Undoubtedly what the study 2112Games tries to let us find out during our gaming experience is a point for reflection on a problem crucial for us, a silent issue to which we do not give importance, the global warming. 

The player can reflect on with many cues during the entire adventure that that world even if with many imaginative additions could in a certain way link to our, bringing ourselves to think how much is plausible that keeping to exploit our planet we could finish to confront with a shortage of water out of control. 

Everyone of us, at least once, during the last decade has faced to deal with problematic and lightning weather conditions to whose anyone was prepared to, as long droughts or torrential rain, that before didn’t exist, making us reflect on how we’re exploiting our ecosystem in a permanent and dangerous way for everyone. 

Issues that are part of everyone day by day more and more and on which we should give our contribution, a topic that you should all deepen and trying in their own small to put a remedy, since as I don’t have time in the review, nor enough expertise in this field, I invite you to do a small research to understand more and find out a problem that belongs to each of us. 

It’s really good to see how the software house has committed so much in the creation in a history that is able to give points for reflection to the player and I find really courageous debut with a title as Apré Lapli that he’s successful in his aim proposing to the gamer a relaxing experience and at the same time gives reflexive points for whom decides to approach to the adventure. 

In conclusion, even though with some criticisms and limits, Apré Lapli can narrate really well an interesting story and finding ways to send forth the adventures, even if not always in the best way. 

Lastly, I find that I should promote the first act of the trilogy and first game made by 211Games and I’ll wait their new interaction to find out how the story will go on and which will be their plans for the gameplay of the second act and how the software house continues to treat its main plot, the exploiting of the most important resources for humanity, that is water and every possible set of problems related to it. 

I remind you that Apré Lapli is available on Nintendo Switch and PC.