Glyph vs Greak: Memories of Azur
Glyph
Glyph is a marble-based platformer designed to specifically delight speedrunners. The game puts you into the little legs of a scarab as it rolls across various increasingly challenging obstacle courses, collecting keys, coins, and artifacts along the way. As you unlock new sections of the ancient temple and complete more levels, you’ll eventually reveal the story behind the desert world you find yourself in, and why the sand is like lava (will kill you when touched) here.Glyph is one of those indie games that will definitely surprise you. The controls feel smooth and responsive, a crucial factor in platformers that sometimes require precision jumping, and the level designs are flat-out fantastic. Personally, I’ve had some absolute joy, and frustration, playing this game so far, and similar to Distance, I’m sure that the sense of accomplishment at the very end, once I’ve managed to complete every level, will be truly unbeatable.
Greak: Memories of Azur
Greak: Memories of Azur is a gorgeous action-adventure game featuring a young boy in search of his sister in a world engulfed in turmoil, no thanks to the bloodthirsty Uglars. Playing as the boy Greak, you’ll venture across various regions in Azur, exploring every inch of it for hidden stashes, completing quests, and battling enemies along the way.The game starts off like a relatively regular action platformer, where you’ll get to jump, swing your sword around, and solve relatively simple puzzles by switching characters once you manage to reunite him with his sister. This part is actually pretty similar to the gameplay in Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, a favorite of mine.
In fact, you’ll get to control both characters at the same time, which is interesting, though it does complicate things a bit during combat especially considering that the sister is a magic user and deals damage from afar while the brother is a sword-wielder and does best dealing damage from a much closer range.
In a way, Greak: Memories of Azur also feels a bit like a Metroidvania in the sense that the game hides secret chests and rare flowers in places that you, if you don’t pay too much attention, might miss. Even if you spotted the items, you will still need to figure out a way to get to them, which usually involves some creative and sometimes very precise jumping. Expect to get frustrated… a lot!
The gorgeous hand-drawn art in Greak is definitely one of the highlights of the game as well. The out-of-focus background in the distance matches well with the stuff at the front too.
In a nutshell, not only is Greak: Memories of Azur a gorgeous action-adventure game with a heartwarming story about a brother trying to reunite with his sister in a world embroiled in war and infested with dangerous creatures, it also comes with a fun gameplay that's perfectly "midcore". So, if you're into story-driven platformers, you'll want to check out this one!