Greak: Memories of Azur vs Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
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!
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom is the highly anticipated sequel to the brilliant, story-driven role-playing adventure game. As opposed to continuing the previous game's storyline (not that the first game ended on a cliffhanger or anything), the game sets off on an entirely different yet equally story-driven route by narrating the adventures of a young king, Evan, who was overthrown in a coup but still aspires to establish a new kingdom of his own. There will be an whole new cast of characters to meet and interact with in this journey and eventually, you will need to, together with Evan, confront the dark forces that threaten the good people of the world.Ni No Kuni 2 certainly outdid itself this time around! In fact, the game is so incredibly immersive to the point where you sometimes forget that this is actually a game and not an anime movie, especially considering how well the outstanding visuals and music blended together. This is a game that fans of story-driven gameplay would greatly enjoy!