AWAY" Play Review!　Become a Owl Monster and run, fly, and have great adventures in the great outdoors!

In "AWAY," an action-adventure game set in a future Earth after the extinction of the human race, in a world where civilization has declined and nature has encroached, players take on the role of "Joy," an owlmonger who has been forced to leave her nest and explore a harsh, wilderness-filled island in search of a safe haven while helping her family. The player will explore an island full of harsh wilderness in search of a safe place to live while helping his family.

Survive the wilderness with resilience!

The story begins with the protagonist's father, mother, and younger sister living in the harsh natural environment, supporting each other, until one day a natural disaster strikes their family and they are separated from their father.

The story begins with the family being separated from their father, but in order to survive, the mother and the main character begin a journey to find a safe place to live while protecting their younger sister.

During their journey, they find traces and messages left behind by the extinct human race, and as they continue their journey and find these messages, the mystery of why the human race was destroyed is gradually revealed.

Control the unique and peculiar Owlmonga!

As you take on the role of a flying flying squirrel, you will hunt and eat mushrooms and insects for food when you are hungry, and escape from threats such as natural disasters, natural enemies, and predators as you progress through your adventures.

As the adventure progresses, the hunger meter decreases with the passage of time. Furthermore, when you become completely hungry, your HP will gradually decrease. You will also need to eat to recover your strength (HP) in case you are damaged in battle with hostile creatures or by falling. You can eat mushrooms, nuts, lizards, butterflies, and other food creatures by pressing the "□" (eat) button.

However, fast-moving prey such as lizards and butterflies cannot be caught immediately. When you find the prey, you must first aim at it by pressing the L2 button (Aim) and then attack it by pressing the 0 button (Attack). Once the prey is caught, you can eat it with the □ button or carry it back to your family with the R2 button (hold it in your mouth).

The L2 button (Aim) can be used not only to aim at enemies and prey, but also to jump to small footholds.

However, be careful in areas with small footholds, as touching water or red spiky plants will cause damage. If it is difficult to jump, use the L2 button to aim at the scaffold and press the X button (jump) to safely jump to the target position.

Of course, you can jump without using the sight, but if you are not good at action, you should use it as much as possible to proceed easily.

And the greatest feature of the owl-monster is gliding using the membrane between its front and hind legs. The greatest feature of this work is the use of this gliding flight for movement.

×Pressing the x button again during a jump with the x button (jump) allows gliding flight.

While gliding, it is not possible to ascend on one's own, so the player must determine the landing point, start gliding, and control his or her posture in the air.

By catching the updrafts that sometimes occur in the field while gliding, you can further increase your flying distance.

Instinct, a very important function for wild animals, is activated by pressing the R3 button. This function provides a variety of information that is useful in advancing the adventure.

For example, when instinct is activated, objects that appear red are dangerous, green are food and other useful information, and if you lose your way, a white dotted line will appear to indicate your route.
Instinct, however, uses a special gauge. The gauge recovers over time, so use it proactively when you are in trouble.

Stand up to Mother Nature to protect your family!

Although they are small and fragile, owl monkeys sometimes have to face strong enemies.
As the three animals travel in search of a safe home, scorpions, tarantulas, and other formidable enemies stand in their way.
When facing a strong enemy, use the L1 and R1 (evade) buttons to avoid the enemy's attack and wait for the enemy to become exhausted.

When the enemy gets tired, a gap will appear, and you can counterattack with the 0 button (attack) at the right moment.

However, there are some enemies on this island, such as foxes and crocodiles, that the small owlmonga cannot win against no matter how hard you try.　Against such opponents, you have no choice but to run away. They will run from grass to grass, climb up trees, or jump from tree to tree like a flying squirrel until they give up.

Incidentally, if a nearby animal spots you, the entire screen turns red, so if you are being targeted by a large predator, hide in the grass until the display disappears.

In order to survive in the harsh wilderness while protecting your family, it is important to learn the controls well. Get accustomed to controlling the unique and peculiar monkeys so that you can handle a wide variety of situations.

Explore at your leisure with the snail in the exploration mode!

In addition to the "Story" mode, in which you adventure as a Siamese flying squirrel, there is also an "Explore" mode in which you can explore the island by controlling a total of more than 20 different animals.

When you start the game in "Explore" mode, you begin as a spore called "Kelkus Fungus," which looks like a ball of light.

As a Kelkus Fungus, you can explore every corner of the island, but the Kelkus Fungus has the ability to possess animals.

Using this ability, you can control the various animals that inhabit the island and have adventures with them.

You can also become a butterfly to fly around, or a lizard or snail to roam the earth.

There are more than 20 species of animals that can be transferred. Some rare animals may appear in the field, so it may be interesting to enjoy a journey in search of them.

This is how I played "AWAY".

There are countless games in which you control a human character, but this is probably the only game in which you can go on a great adventure as an owl-monster.　It was a fresh experience to enjoy the viewpoints and environments not seen in other games, and to go on a great adventure in the wilderness, sometimes running, sometimes flying, and sometimes being preyed upon, with constant threats to your life.

In the exploration mode, in which you can transfer to a variety of animals, I was astonished at how helpless snails are. ......

We hope you too will take on the role of the owl-monster, explore the post-apocalyptic world from a different perspective, and try to solve the mystery of how this world was destroyed.

• Title Information
• ■AWAY
• Release date: May 25, 2023
• Price: Normal Edition 2,178 yen (including tax) / Digital Deluxe Edition 3,278 yen (including tax)
• Genre: Action adventure
• Compatibility: PS4/PS5 (download only)

• Buy downloadable version PS4 version
• Buy downloadable version PS5 version