Aaru’s Awakening (PC, PlayStation 3 & PlayStation 4 & PlayStation Vita)

Aaru's Awakening

Developer(s) – Lumenox ehf

PEGI – 3

Aaru’s Awakening is a 2D platformer with a strong emphasis on time trials and having to get through each level as fast as possible. And overcoming the many obstacles throughout each level. Personally, I didn’t like this game very much, since I felt as if the gameplay structure didn’t allow for adequate enough time to be able to fluently enjoy every facet of it, making it a much more inconsistent and fleeting experience than if it had been developed as a Metroidvania game instead; or even a traditional 2D platformer.

Graphics – 9/10

The game’s best feature is by some distance its visuals. I would best describe the graphics of this game as Okami meets Child of Light, with hand-drawn visuals and the main character being a divine animal. Each level has its own unique design to them, ranging from sunset-ridden mountainsides to dark woods. And they have all been very elegantly designed. The game’s soundtrack also adds a sense of tranquillity to a game where its world is wrought with danger.

Gameplay – 4/10

Admiring the scenery in Aaru’s Awakening will, unfortunately, bring progress in the game to a halt. Requiring speed, revising the basic structure of each level instead of appreciating the exquisite designs of each level becomes difficult. There is a projectile ability thrown in, in a bid to keep the game interesting, but any fluency in gameplay is eliminated with players having to constantly backtrack until they have earned a gold medal in each stage; similar to Angry Birds. After having played Dust: An Elysian Tail, I couldn’t help but draw comparisons whilst playing. The problem being is that Dust is the far superior of the two.

Controls – 6/10

Having experienced the controls scheme, it’s obvious this game will work better on PC than it will on home consoles. And even then, using a mouse in a 2D side scroller under the circumstances of gameplay is particularly questionable in my opinion. In the middle of being marred by every obstacle in each level, it doesn’t feel practical to have the player character pointing in specific directions to use abilities in the fashion that it forces players to.

Lifespan – 5/10

Novice players will most probably complete this game in about 4 hours. Although back in the days when the genre was at the height of its popularity, the average lifespan of a 2D side scroller was around that much time, the bar has been set considerably higher ever since, and 4 hours now seems like an incredibly fleeting experience for any video game to me; especially when it requires players to rush through it, and not take their time.

Storyline – 4/10

The story takes place in a kingdom governed by four deities of dawn, day, dusk, and night after peace was negotiated following war. However, as the night god attempts to usurp the others, the dawn god calls upon his champion Aaru to enter the mortal world in a bid to stop him. Its basic premise is fairly exciting, but the problem is, like many other games with an extremely short lifespan, that not enough time is given to players to think about the events as they unfold. Everything simply happens in the background, as the player rushes through each level.

Originality – 3/10

In my opinion, this game is unique, but for all the wrong reasons. Titles like this, with potential and a fair bit of artistic merit attached to them, should never be this fleeting. I had the same problem with Shadow of the Colossus, but it was nowhere near the extent this game perpetuates. Even despite its lack of substance in gameplay compared to others, Shadow of the Colossus was immersive in every aspect. But this title does very little to immerse its players in anything to any thorough degree.

Angrii

Overall, Aaru’s Awakening to me is wasted potential. It was a game clearly made for the sake of art. But a video game will lack in quality if gameplay is not immersing enough to match visual or dramatic merit. And this is certainly the case in this game.

Score

31/60

5/10 (Far Below Average)

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