Greak: Memories of Azur vs Spelunky
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!
Spelunky
Spelunky , developed by indie company Mossmouth Games, is a fun arcade puzzle platformer that puts you in the shoes of an adorable explorer with a bright red nose. In this game, you'll be running through plenty of platform-based mazes where you will not only need to collect as many treasures as you can, but also to defeat any enemies that stand in your way. The mazes are also puzzly in nature since you'll need to circumvent obstacles as well as figure out a way to maximize your profits and collect all the gold you can carry. There is even a damsel in distress that you can choose to rescue or kill, and a shop that you can buy useful tools at or steal from.With randomized levels, Spelunky is a pretty hardcore platformer that contains a wide variety of ways in which your character can die... some of which can be gruesome while others, hilarious! The game combines lighthearted fun with challenging puzzles in a very unique way and this will definitely appeal to fans of platform games like Mario.