There are times when lesser-known video games or in which there is not a huge production behind them end up becoming big surprises that are worth talking about. That case could perfectly be that of Greak: Memories of Azur, a fantasy adventure by Navigator, a study based in Mexico.
With the help of Bromio, creators of Pato Box, in a few days this title will go on sale for PS5, Xbox Series X / S, Nintendo Switch and PC through Steam and we have had the opportunity to play it thoroughly in order to do so. tell you what we thought in the following analysis that we have prepared.
A fast-paced journey to reunite the group of protagonists
The adventure takes place in the lands of Azur, where the Courines have long clashed with the Urlags. An army of creatures and monsters that is trying to take over this kingdom, causing the Courines are looking for a way to survive to escape their own lands in the face of such a threat.
In the middle of all this mess is Greak, our little character that we will control in the first place and who in turn is the little brother of a total of three. After a series of events, our young protagonist will set out in search of his sister Adara and his brother Raydel, who have disappeared.
The point is that you must hurry, because in a town where the Courines are gathered, you are manufacturing an airship that will allow this race to flee to another place. Although we will begin the trip by laying a cable with the collection of materials for the construction of this vehicle, at the same time we must not neglect our main mission of looking for the other two brothers.
One of the aspects that stands out is the fact that everything that appears on the screen, both the art and the animations, it is hand drawn, with very colorful and different scenarios from each other. Thus we will pass through dark forests, enter underground caves and visit imposing fortresses, but in each of these places countless dangers await.
Therefore, the mission of reuniting the family of brothers will not be an easy task for our characters who will try to show that the love they feel for each other can do everything to get back together. Even so, the plot is relegated to the background most of the time, because what mainly characterizes this title is its playability, which we will talk about later.
At least all the dialogues have been localized to Spanish for conversations that we will have with other inhabitants of the kingdom or to read books and papyri that include information and details about the history of this race or the lands. What is a shame is that the latter only serves to learn more about the background of everything, but in the long run it does not end up having a great weight in the story.
Teamwork pays off
As we have previously pointed out, the gameplay is undoubtedly the strong point of this action and platform adventure. More than anything because each of the characters will differ from the others by having their own gameplay and we will have to carry everyone together at the same time everywhere when we go from one place to another of the stages.
In this sense it has reminded me in many moments of The Lost Vikings, because the trio of characters will have to help each other to fight against enemies and especially for the solving tens and tens of puzzles there will be for the different scenarios. In addition, in another aspect that also resembles the well-known Blizzard title is in the fact that neither can die or that will mean starting from the last save point.
Unfortunately, these points will not be very close to each other and we strongly recommend that you remember well where each one is located, especially if you have progressed too much in the game, because otherwise you will have to repeat everything from the last time you went through one. On the other hand, another reason to memorize your position is that at no time will we have a minimap at hand and the truth is that sometimes it is slightly missing.
The problem is that, although each area has nothing to do with the others, the scenarios themselves are full of very similar places. For example, in the forest there will be roots, lianas and small lengths for countless places that sometimes cause us not to be clear where we have gone or we get lost, because we have to emphasize that every territory on the game map is huge. At least they are worth exploring well because they hide secrets and improvements for the group.
Going back to talking about our characters and their abilities, not all will serve the same actions: Greak will wield a sword and will be very agile to be able to perform a double jump; Adara will launch energy balls and thanks to her magical powers she will be able to fly briefly; and Raydel will be the most powerful with his sword and shield that will serve to block rays or a hook that will be very useful to reach places that his brothers cannot access.
On paper, the idea is very good and in general it is very well executed, but there will be moments when this situation will be a headache. With a single button we can make all the characters move at the same time if they are close to each other, but because not all are controlled the same, quickly loses consciousness, especially with the jumps, so most of the time we will have to do the same route two or three times to take all the characters from point A to B.
In any case, it will constantly be necessary to take into account their respective abilities to solve the puzzles, because most will require collaboration between the protagonistsespecially when we get the three of us together. Of course, it is appreciated that a great effort has been put into ensuring that the puzzles that we will come across are very different from each other and that they are always presenting us with new mechanics to make it more entertaining. That does not mean that sometimes some are repeated or mixed with others that we have seen previously.
But not everything will be moving columns, pulling levers or lighting bonfires to thaw blocks of ice, since the enemies will also give us war on the way. In general, the normal creatures that we see will be easy to defeat for the most part, except for some something more powerful. However, the final bosses will be a tremendous challenge and the ones that will probably make you bite the dust on more than one occasion, so the difficulty curve is not too well balanced.
VidaExtra’s opinion
The truth is that Greak: Memories of Azur It was generally a very pleasant surprise for me. It is one of those adventures that draws your attention due to its hand-drawn graphic section and once you get to the controls you realize that there are other aspects that make it a game worthwhile, mainly for its gameplay and its mechanics of controlling the trio of brothers.
Nor is it that the title is perfect because there are also other aspects of its mechanics that work against it and spoil the experience a bit. A cooperative multiplayer mode would not have been bad at all, whether local or online, because of course he is screaming for it so that it would have been even more fun, but to spend a few hours of the most entertaining is an option to take into account.
Greak: Memories of Azur
Platforms | Nintendo Switch, PC, PS5 (reviewed version) and Xbox Series X / S |
---|---|
Multiplayer | Do not |
Developer | Navigator |
Company | Team 17 |
Launch | August 17, 2021 |
The best
- The fact that each character is unique.
- The many puzzles and how well crafted they are.
- The graphics are beautiful.
Worst
- A minimap is missing on more than one occasion.
- The mechanic of moving all the characters at the same time is not very successful.
- The save points are very far from each other and when dying repeat everything again …