A superb game with a high artistic value and freedom of exploration...
Graphics 10/10
The graphics are wonderfully artistic. You will visit shallow waters near The Veil, which are illuminated by sunlight, and the border which you can actually use to pass onto the normal world also looks superb. Than you will visit (or rather start in) deeper waters, where the shades of blue turn darker and which are full of ruins of the previous civilizations which have inhabited Aquaria before Naija and which all been mysteriously wiped out. Than towards the end you will visit deep waters of the Abyss which are fully dark and you will likely not pass them without a source of sunlight. And you will end your journey in a quite horrid place...
Sounds 9/10
Music is just great, I got hooked on a few of the music tracks and even though about ordering the released OST. Each area has a different tone and the tracks played in The Veil, The Abyss or The Kelp forest add great depth to the already very nice atmosphere. It has been quite a long time for me since any game managed to nail atmosphere in the music so well. Another big plus to the sounds are the voices, more or less one voice actually, the voice of Naija, which is the only one that speaks for most of the game. One minor minus is perhaps the dialog context itself, the heroine is female and the game really emphasizes that, so at times you will be feeling like you are playing a really girly game, which can be a nice change for some, but didn't really address me at some spots whereas at other spots it felt adequate. For example I liked the way she was not oversexualized like Lara croft is for example, but I disliked that she was being too girly about love, loneliness and such, which shows off in some monologues.
Story 7/10
I see the the story as a bit of a weak link in the game. While it is quite original, there is just too little going on, too little movement forward. And the ending leaves some things to be desired as well. Especially if you unlock the special ending, which requires you to gather 3 of Naija's lost memories which are unlocked at certain places. The special ending itself is just not satisfying enough, on the other hand it was probably meant to be a foreplay for a sequel, but even so...
Gameplay 9/10
Aquaria is a 2D platformer, but instead of jumping around Mario style you will be swimming around large open spaces or spend the time crawling through tight spaces and ruined pillars in ancient ruins. The monsters you face are very varied, many times during the game you will encounter a non-boss monster which is one of a kind, this adds real depth to the gameplay. Naija herself starts out very basic, with only one spell which she can cast though activating certain symbols around her by singing them, the game calls this playing the verse. Soon you will not only get more spells, but more importantly learn to change forms and Naija can learn 7 different forms which all play in a different style. The first one is a typical shoot'em up form, while the second one is a melee form, etc. My favorite was the sun form which allows you to illuminate dark places, absolutely a must down in the Abyss. A big plus in the gameplay is the freedom you get after getting the first form. The freedom is of course a bit restricted, you will not be able to access some areas before you unlock certain forms, but believe me, there is quite enough to explore without unlocking most forms and more importantly there are loads of secrets along the way. You don't even have to unlock the forms in a certain order, many forms can be unlocked in a different than default order. Another plus is the cooking art, which functions more or less like alchemy does in most RPGs, you gather items, find recipes and then combine items to get better healing and regeneration items. A minus to the gameplay are the fights themselves, you will not have much choice in this matter and really most on the time you will just be shooting everything that moves with the first (energy) form, because it is the easiest and most effective solution of them all. And another minus is the fact that your character doesn't somehow grow in abilities, sure you can learn new forms and spells, but you have little motivation to slay the hordes of enemies you face for example, since there is no experience from them and they get respawned. A lot of times I went on, just dodging the enemies without fighting them and instead just enjoying exploration itself.
Replayability 7/10
The special ending you can unlock and lots of secrets along the way as well as the nice atmosphere are all pluses. Yet, the repetitive and ultimately boring fights (exploration itself is way better, but once you explore the entire game you have little motivation to explore it again) bring the replay value down.
All in all, I consider this to be a gaming gem. Why, because of all its good aspects? Yes, but also because you can feel quite distinctively that this game was made with 95 percent love and the rest was hard work. And it has paid out.