Dang, I've waited months to play this open-world blend of Zelda and Studio Ghibli, and now I'm gonna have to wait a few more

27.03.2024 - 21:31 / gamesradar.com / Jordan Gerblick

Europa, the utterly enchanting open-world indie game that looks like the love child of The Legend of Zelda and Studio Ghibli, has been delayed.

In a Steam update, Europa creator Helder Pinto announced the "tough news" that Europa won't be ready to release in time for its previous April 16 release date. There's no new release date, but Pinto said it'll likely be this summer.

"This was a very hard decision and came after a lot of discussion between myself and the rest of the team," Pinto said. "Europa began as a side project I created alone, and in the years since it has grown more than I ever could have dreamed, though we are still working in the evenings and weekends around our day jobs."

In an accompanying YouTube video, Pinto gave some additional detail about the delay. Although it sounds like there isn't one specific element to blame, Pinto did say "we've been working on our cinematics a lot and I've also been working a lot on the pacing of the game." He said the game is "basically finished" and just needs a little more time in the oven.

"I'm very proud of what we’ve done together - which is why I can’t stand the thought of releasing the game before it’s in the condition we want it to be. Unfortunately, it looks like that’ll take a little bit longer than we expected."

I played Europa's Steam Next Fest demo back in October and really fell for the undeniably Ghibli-esque presentation and open-world Zelda exploration, while my colleague Jasmine Gould-Wilson found an appreciation for its more melancholic themes. I've been waiting months to get my hands on the full version, and I'll just have to wait a few more now.

That's alright though, I'm still plenty occupied with Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, and Persona 3 Reload .

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more