Greak: Memories of Azur vs Orbital Bullet
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!
Orbital Bullet
Orbital Bullet is a rogue-lite platformer that comes with fast-paced and non-stop action, whether it is shooting at various enemies or stomping them into the ground, while featuring a unique 360˚ view. Play, die and repeat to accumulate points that you can then invest into your character’s talent tree, unlocking access to many useful and permanent perks like self-heal, a shield, and a better starter weapon. There are lots of biomes to discover and play through, bosses to defeat, and loot to collect.Orbital Bullet may seem rather gimmicky at first, and it does have a bit of that, but once you’ve gotten into the gameplay, the game will definitely make you change your mind. Even if you take away its iconic 360˚ feature, you’ll quickly realize that this game is truly an incredible rogue-lite platformer in its own right. Couple that with plenty of unique levels, thrilling boss fights, interesting enemies, and an overall progression that feels satisfying, you end up with a well-polished gem of an indie game!