Review: Flutter Away (Nintendo Switch)
Flutter Away is a cute game that allows you to engage with the calmness and excitement of nature—specifically the rainforest. In this game, your main objective is to capture pictures of butterflies and examine their species. You spend five days in the rainforest, and you need to find three new species a day. You can also capture pictures of other animals and their tracks, as well as plants.
You keep track of all your findings in your journal. In fact, the game starts with you writing about how excited you are for your trip to the rainforest. You set up your tent and camp area, and then start your adventure.
You start each morning off with a log entry, and then obtain objectives for both the day and night. Once you find your daytime butterflies and complete your morning objectives, the game automatically switches to nighttime, where you have the same goals. There are three different paths in which you can find butterflies and other creatures. Each path opens on a different day and consists of new findings.
To find butterflies, all you have to do is walk around and look for them. Some are super easy to find, as they may just be resting on a tree or a rock. Others may like to hide in bushes, so to find them you have to shake some trees and leaves. If you have trouble finding any butterflies, a beam of light will eventually appear and point you into the right direction.
To take pictures of butterflies, you simply open your camera and take a picture when they are clearly in frame. You are given directions on how to do this in the beginning of the game. Once you take a picture, you enter it in your journal and find out its name and some information on it. However, in order to completely log a new species, you must inspect it by using a stick to get a closer look at it. Once you do so, more information will be added to your journal and your job will be done.
Although the most important part of the day is finding three butterflies, you have to complete your other objectives to follow the game’s story. These objectives are super easy, mostly involving taking pictures of specific plants (which are identified through the camera lens). However, on your first day you find capybara footprints, and one of your objectives becomes taking a picture of the animal. From here, your objectives surrounding the capybara grow more personal as your friendship with the animal grows.
Other animals mentioned in the game—such as toucans, deer, and owls—and there are even waterfalls, caves, and rainbows you can discover. Taking pictures of these things, though not required, adds more logs to your journals in a secret discoveries page. To get 100% completion, you must find all of the hidden discoveries.
Though Flutter Away is a very simple game with not much variety, it is very fun and relaxing. It also can be completed in about an hour. That’s something to consider with its $12.99 asking price, but you can replay it if you want a higher completion percentage. Also, the graphics of the game are quite pretty, featuring picturesque nature scenery full of cute animals. It all combines to present a very cozy atmosphere that’s difficult to leave once you venture in.
