Developer: Crescent Moon Games
Price: $1.99/£1.99
Size: 92.3 MB
Version: 1.03
Platform: iPhone & iPad
From Eva with Green is a game that almost feels like it could have been made by asking an AI to ‘make a tasteful indie narrative game featuring pinball’. It’s handsome to look at, simple to play, tooth-achingly sincere, and completely disjointed.
You play the role of the titular narrator, a teacher who at the outset of the game reveals that she has died. What ensures are a series of domestic vignettes from her former life, manifested as pinball tables. Stick with me here.
Hit the pendant, release and collect seeds
Tapping the screen to activate the flippers lets you ping a ball around to shake free the game’s supernatural seed currency. These must then be scooped up through classic pinball play.
Swiping and holding essentially lets you plant those earned seeds, causing plants to grow around the tablet. Fill the green gauge at the top to progress.
Each level has a domestic theme
In between levels, your reward is a little snippet of flowery text about Eva’s life and the things that mattered to her in it. It shoots for profundity, but too often tumbles into the drain of high school poetry.
Talking of falling into the drain, that’s not actually possible here, reflecting the game’s casual approximation of pinball. The lack of risk tempers the rewards, while the vague pinball physics dull the tactile appeal of manipulating those bumpers.
The pinball physics rarely thrill
I always felt that I was limited as to the angles and pace I could flip the ball off at, turning each stage into a bit of a dull trudge – especially when there was that one awkward seed that didn’t fall on any of the obvious paths.
Credit where it’s due, though: From Eva with Green looks lovely. By far its strongest point is its bold art style, which reminded me of the Dots series, albeit with an added floral motif. The audio design, too, is suitably calming.
The writing can be a little overwrought
It’s just a shame that core of the game feels so flimsy and hollow, and that its attempt at an emotive narrative falls so flat.