Krystopia: Nova's Journey review — A great next chapter with a cliffhanger ending

In 2019, Antler Interactive launched Krystopia: A Puzzle Journey on the Apple App store and the Google Play store. This intriguing puzzle game tells the story of Nova Dune, a human adventurer who lands on the alien world of Krystopia where a mystery waits to be solved. This world featured vibrant graphics and delightful music, not to mention dozens of puzzles to solve as Nova made her way through the ruins of a lost civilization. The one complaint that echoed across each review, however, was the cliffhanger ending that left Nova's story unfinished. Now, her story continues in Krystopia: Nova's Journey.

What you need to know about the world of Krystopia: Nova's Journey

Set on a far off alien planet, Krystopia: Nova's Journey picks up some undisclosed time from the end of A Puzzle Journey. Our protagonist, Nova Dune wakes up with no solid memories of where she is or how she got there. In fact, she jokes that she's not even sure of her own shoe size. Krystopia, the planet she's found herself stranded on, is full of glowing plants and odd lifeforms, as well as the technological remnants of a missing civilization. Initially only accompanied by a strange doll she's dubbed, Creepyface, Nova isn't quite sure what is really real, but she has no qualms pushing on until she can figure it out.

Early on, her conversations are pretty one-sided, as Creepyface doesn't have much to contribute. Even after she meets her first companion, Nova's conversations remain fairly one-sided. Still, she's engaging and combined with the beautiful artwork and engrossing music, you'll be unlikely to want to put this game down until you reach the end.

Updates from A Puzzle Journey

Aside from the graphics being markedly improved, Nova's Journey has two significant changes. The first is that Nova is almost always on the screen as you move about the map. In A Puzzle Journey, you would see her silhouette as she crossed from one room into another, but now you get to see her climb about the maps. The second, and far more significant change is the addition of Skrii. In A Puzzle Journey, Nova came across an egg containing a small, orange lizard. Well, that lizard has hatched and is here to help Nova on her adventure.

Not only is Skrii a cute addition to "Team Nova", but he has a practical purpose in the game as well. When puzzles involve getting into small, tight spaces, you can swap over to Skrii. He can squeeze into areas too tight for Nova and solve puzzles to progress the storyline. He also at least attempts to provide half of the dialogue with Nova, even if all he can say is "skrii."

What is Krystopia: Nova's Journey gameplay like?

Gameplay in Nova's Journey is very similar to A Puzzle Journey. You travel about the map, tapping on various objects, gathering treasures and tools, and solving puzzles. Although the game does provide a tiny bit of guidance in the beginning, most of the puzzles require thinking outside the box. There are some hints in the dialogue and in the flavor text for the treasures you find, but for the most part, trial and error are your best tools. This can be a little frustrating at times, especially if you're not playing it all in one go. I highly recommend grabbing screenshots of the conversations if you aren't planning on playing through in one sitting.

Tap everything, play around a bit with the items you pick up, and go back to reference those screenshots if you get stuck. Maybe even go back through rooms you've already finished. Once you've completed your first run through, you might want to go back and do it again. There are lots of treasures to be found and you likely missed at least one or two along the way.

Bottom line: Should you buy Krystopia: Nova's Journey?

While this game is short, I had a lot of fun playing Nova's Journey and found it to be really engaging. The artwork is lovely and the music is beautiful. Nova is a compelling character due in no small part to an excellent voice actress. The world is a big mystery, so it's easy to see why Krystopia drags Nova in deeper and deeper.

I do recommend going through A Puzzle Journey first; however, because Nova begins the game with amnesia, you can play Nova's Journey alone and still have a solid grasp of her story. While I won't spoil the ending, it does feel like there will be a third part in Nova's future too.