Aaru’s Awakening PC review
Summary: Inconsistencies aside, Aaru's Awakening does make for a relatively enjoyable experience, even with its control flaws
3.4
Inconsistent!
Aaru’s Awakening
Developer: Lumenox ehf
Genre: 2D Platformer
Format: PC (Steam)
Reviewer: Peter Bourke
Aaru’s Awakening is a very stylised game on the PC that has some great hand-drawn inspired animation in this classic side scrolling platformer. In the story, players control Aaru, a mythical creature ordered by the “god” Dawn to help restore the balance of the world which includes Day, Dusk and Night. The story serves well in creating this sense of wonder and danger.
With puzzles and enemies, Aaru does have a few tricks up his sleeve that include the ability to jump which is a stock standard feature in all platformers, the ability to charge through walls and enemies, the ability to shoot magical orbs and finally in conjunction with these orbs, the ability to teleport. All of these abilities must be used in conjunction to successfully complete the game, not to mention the puzzles. The game also supports both the keyboard/mouse and also a gamepad.
However the biggest issue with the game are the controls themselves which do feel a little stiff and unresponsive. This is more evident when you need to use your teleport ability to get through a puzzle and timing is crucial. Although there are checkpoints, some of these are in the wrong spot which does at times make the gameplay frustrating, especially performing mid-air teleports and then fast dashes.
Where this game does shine is through its stylised hand drawn graphics that look quite stunning, especially in FULL HD. Another highlight of the graphics are the lighting effects and splashes of colour used throughout the level design. To complement the graphics, the game does have a very soothing soundtrack that suits this mythical world well but unfortunately the gameplay is a little difficult at the best of times.
Final Thoughts?
Even though Aaru’s Awakening does suffer from control issues, there is actually a good game to be found, especially with the beautiful stylised graphics. The controls do get better as you play but it definitely needs to be fine-tuned but once you bypass the inconsistencies, the level design, puzzles and story does create a relatively enjoyable arcade experience.
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