Aka Reviews
Aka is a thrilling yet simple game that will have you asking yourself about the choices you have made in life, and if they may have impacted others without you realizing it. Though there isn't a great deal of challenging content, it is refreshing and just overall a lot of fun.
A strange mix of fuzzy charm, farming sim, and an aim to help people permeate this unusual adventure
In Aka, you get to be a cute hero in a pretty landscape, taking naps and strolling through trees. So dreamy! It's just a shame the game has launched with this many bugs. The frequent stalling of progression and basic tasks is a little wearisome and players need a little more paw-holding to grasp the objectives. At this stage we'd recommend waiting for a few more patches, then playing the game in all its fluffy glory. That way, you get to soak up a red panda's life of luxury. Who wouldn't want that?
Aka is a simple game with a very compelling idea. It tells you about the mental and physical difficulties faced by people who are adjusting to a new life. You are left to your own devices and made to explore these at your own leisure with no forced narrative pushing you forward.
Cuteness is about all Aka has going for it.
Overall, Aka is a solid attempt at the life sims genre, with it truly hitting the mark of being casual and cozy rather than being like the others within the same genre that are more-so grindy time and resource management games.
The game depicts the veteran soldier's mental rehabilitation process with well decorated watercolor arts and cute characters. Even without too many mandatory quest lines, it fluently delivers the entire story of the main character and others. However, disastrously uncomfortable UI/UX and instability of the game ruins the aftertaste.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Despite being eye-catching with its amazing art direction, Aka doesn't manage to captivate the player and it feels more like a mix of not-deep-enough gameplay mechanics.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Aka is a game with a generally sound concept and a laudable goal of a relaxed life sim, but quite a few issues come up along the way.
Aka is a game with a great idea at its core. The promise of a peaceful, directionless experience can be something that greatly attracts a certain type of player, who will definitely find the game worth the time. However, Aka sort of fumbles in the execution. This is a game I recommend picking up after a few updates and quality of life changes, because the potential, much like the game, is limitless.
Aka bolsters charming visuals, an emotional storyline, an adorable red panda protagonist, and chirpy sounds, but the gameplay drags the experience down.
Aka is an easy game to be charmed by, with an endearing world and uplifting messages. However, the routine crafting systems and frequent minor bugs lead to an experience that feels more like work than play.
Unfortunately, playing the game offers too little of an incentive for how challenging it is to control your red panda friend. While it may be true that a good deed is its own reward, such a proverb doesn't lend itself well to the medium of video games. There are some worthwhile moments to be had in this world, but they're just too few and far between.
Aka is a big disappointment for me, because I was actually really loving what I was able to play of the game until it essentially broke. It’s far more than just a casual slice of life sim, especially if you choose to help the other inhabitants you come across. I really wanted to see what the rest of Aka had in store, but at this point, I can’t. I can’t in good conscience recommend this game in its current state, even if it feels so promising. As of right now, I have to say to hold off until the game breaking bugs are all patched before picking it up.
Aka is cute, smart, clever, and sad. It’s beautiful and a kid-friendly introduction to loss. Players can choose their own adventure here; there is no pressure to get anything done in this game. You can do as you like and take as much time doing those things as you want. That being said, it has its issues. I think this game just needs a little more love, and it could be a perfect relaxing game for the whole family.
Aka clearly has its heart in the right place, but it doesn't have anything that goes a little deeper or that asks anything of its players, and without that it just feels like a cut-rate version of Animal Crossing.