Aspire: Ina’s Tale is an upcoming indie game from Brazilian developer Wondernaut Studio. Trapped in perpetual slumber in the cruel Tower that feeds off the dreams of its victims, Ina awakens. Searching for a way out, she’ll traverse through areas seeking an escape while meeting enigmatic characters, solving puzzles, and conquering platforming. But this isn’t a story about how Ina was saved. This is a story about how she discovered she could be so much more.
You start in the dark basement of the Tower before making your way through the beatific gardens and escaping through the factory. On your travels you’ll come across three different spirits to aid you in solving the puzzles. These spirits have different effects, such as powering equipment, moving objects or causing them to expand. The player will need to master these abilities to solve puzzles in Aspire: Ina’s Tale.
The thing that struck me right away was how stunning the game looks. The environments are perfectly crafted with their own unique feel. Sometimes I would just stop and admire the scenery. The use of light and colour is amazing.
Complementing the outstanding visuals in Aspire: Ina’s Tale is the moving music. Each area has its own theme that suits it. The starting area is creepy, making you want to hide and reflecting Ina’s fear at just waking up and not knowing where she is. The music combines with the visuals to leave an impression.
You’ll meet the inhabitants of the Tower along the way with an option to search for hidden secrets to help them and learn some more about this mysterious place.
I had an absolute blast playing Aspire: Ina’s Tale but it did feel a tad on the short side. It left me wanting more of this immersive world. Including different save files would make me feel a lot better about going back and finding all the secrets but given the length of the game it’s not a bad thing to have to restart the game to find everything.
Overall, Aspire: Ina’s Tale is a treat for the eyes and ears with interesting puzzles. It creates a wonderful world, and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it.
Aspire: Ina’s Tale is out Friday 17th December on Steam, Switch and Xbox.
