After the mundanity of working 9-5 in a heaving city takes its toll, adventurous redhead Isla heeds the call of nature. Fresh air and picturesque views aren’t the only reason she’s strapping on a backpack and kitting out her 4×4 – her brother Kai also enjoys mountaineering and has recently gone AWOL after trying to locate the mystical Albatroz Mountain. It’s a journey that’ll take Isla across rugged terrane, snow-covered cliffs, and through quaint rural villages while shielding herself from the blistering cold and scorching heat. Of course, no journey is complete without a trusty companion – and there are plenty of new faces to meet along the way.
Albatroz essentially plays like a mixture of Death Stranding, due to its focus on skillfully navigating rugged and hilly terrane, and a typical modern survival game with hunger and thirst gauges to monitor. You’ll need to forage food, locate fresh water, and regulate temperature by removing/adding layers of clothing. Alternatively, red and blue peppers can be consumed to adjust body heat – one of the more fantastical elements. Isla can only withstand a certain amount of climbing too; push her too hard and she’ll collapse, resulting in waking up in the last village or rest area. Over time, stats can be improved by using TP (travel points) that are handed out upon making discoveries. It also charts the distance away from home and days spent travelling, making the trip feel more like a journey.
This adventure begins with a short tutorial sequence focusing on the driving aspect, requiring you to follow a paper map (there’s an odd lack of cell phones, despite Isla seemingly being a millennial) while staying on track and occasionally stopping for fuel and repairs. While it isn’t long until exploring on foot takes precedence, this intro does make for an impressive opening – Albatroz is nicely presented, with stylish menus, vibrant visuals, and plenty of alluring views to take in as soon as hitting the road. The vehicular aspect is easy to get to grips with, too, with Isla’s 4×4 sticking to dirt roads like glue. You won’t be cranking the handbrake here.
When you’re outside the car, Albatroz starts to lose its footing. You’re provided clues about where to head next, such as compass directions and landmarks to look out for. Most elements here are implemented well enough. Rivers can be heard quietly as you approach, and sometimes even the sound of the wind can help put you on the right path. Food is found regularly, and there isn’t too much climbing to endure for the first couple of hours. Isla is pretty resistant too, able to withstand minus temperatures and high heat, although it does take a while to learn what’s tolerable. Temperatures change often, plummeting at night and rising at day, and there are also things like getting wet to factor. There’s definitely quite a bit to monitor, right down to the steepness of hills, making for something curiously demanding. If the weather is poor, you may even need to return to the hotel.
Sadly, the joy of relishing the view after an arduous climb is greatly undermined. Albatroz has a framerate that’s rarely stable and glitches that take you out of the experience, such as the sight of Isla juddering on rugged rocks, falling through scenery, or randomly scaling vertical ascents automatically. There are other irritations to contend with, such as a 12-second pause when using a telescope or entering a village abode. One early mountain climb was so glitchy that it was a miracle I made it out to the other side.
As distracting as these performance issues may be, they don’t detract too much from the great sense of discovery and the handful of ideas that are implemented well. Isla eventually meets another backpacker, along with a free spirit looking for a ride. They have their own skills and stats and can be switched between, following behind while traversing the various environments, much like Dragon’s Dogma’s Pawns. Visiting villages provides a change of pace, as you’ll need to talk to locals to learn intel and plan the next step of the journey. These locations are also drenched in culture, with Isla gradually learning more about the world. Stepping foot into a new location is genuinely exciting, and full of potential. Depending on how well you are prepared, things can go remarkably smoothly or take a wrong turn quickly. It’s fascinating how Albatroz is able to mimic the highs and lows of backpacking so accurately.
To call Albatroz open world is a little off the mark; there’s a running gag that backpackers never backtrack, which is merely a ploy to stop players from returning to past areas. At one point I wanted to return to a nearby forest and forage, but no – I had to push ahead with limited resources. While exploring it’s easy to get off the path and end up somewhere not intended to be explored on foot – with the problem here being that your health, thirst, and hunger gauges will take a pounding while you try to get back on track. At the same time though, there is potential here to explore… when the game allows it. An early jaunt has an optional cave that can be found by following directions, while the larger savanna-like environment has towers in the distance to scale. There are traveller stones with words of wisdom to find as well.
Albatroz is a strange proposition, almost constantly at odds with itself. For something centred around freedom and adventure it can be very restrictive and seeing developers struggle to master Unreal Engine 4 in 2024 is largely unexected. It’s still one of the more interesting games out this winter, and despite the performance issues, there is a lot to become engaged in due to its multifaceted nature. If the storyline hooks, you’ll likely want to see it through until the end. I can’t shake the feeling though that the developers bit off more than they could chew, and perhaps a smaller, tighter, experience would’ve been better. Like a real backtracking adventure, Albatroz loses its way often, but if you’re patient you’ll always end back on track.
Among Giant’s Albatroz is out now on PS5, Xbox Series and PC. Published by Soedesco.