In this side scrolling action game we will be controlling three brothers, Greak, Adara Yes Raydel flee the evil that ravages the world of Azure. We will start the adventure by controlling Greek the little brother, as we search for our missing brothers. The mythology of the game is very rich, where the Courines were faced with Urlag… but so as not to get lost in the meantime, we can simplify it in that it’s a fantastic fantasy story. The artistic and sound style stands out from the rest of the sections, helping immersion very well. Later we will come back to the story, but now I want to focus on the control, the other point where Greek: Souvenirs d’Azur, stands out fundamentally.
Although at first we only control Greek, We will soon find our brothers, and we will have to control the 3 characters at the same time. Once we have more than one character, we can alternate the controllable character with the crosshead. While we are controlling a brother, we can decide if the others are moving at the same time as us (jumping, running …) or if they are waiting, as well as calling them to come closer if there is no obstacles. This 3-character control is the foundation upon which all puzzle solving is built.
Each brother has his own characteristics. Greek it can shoot arrows, and being smaller it can enter some tunnels. Adara, it uses magic to attack, and instead of doing a double jump, it can float in any direction for a few seconds. Ultimately Raydel He has a shield that allows him to block attacks and a grappling hook to access more remote places, although he cannot swim. Alternation and interaction between the different skills will be the key to being able to advance in the adventure.
The fighting deserves a point of its own, which is not as well resolved as we would like. The movement of the brothers is simultaneous as shown, although they automatically attack when we don’t control them, so far very well. The problem comes when we receive damage and we have to heal. Each brother’s life is only 4 or 5 hits and can easily receive 2 hits of damage within seconds. To heal, we need to change the damaged brother, open the menu, and consume the elixir or food. This is all done without stopping the action, and most healing items gradually increase their health. There haven’t been a few times I’ve found the endgame screen, just when I was already healing.
Poorly balanced difficulty
Whenever I am confronted with the analysis of a new game, I fear that my perception is too different from the rest on certain aspects which are generally very subjective. It’s not the first time I’ve faced a tough game, but since it’s a new IP, I was afraid I was the one that was too clumsy. As soon as I started there were 2 times I died before I even hit the first save point, having to start all over including part of the intro. And it turned out not to be an isolated experience.
I have already mentioned the difficulty of boss fights where it is easy to die. In addition to this, the game has a style of cartography metroidvanie, but with far fewer secrets, although without a menu on the menu. It is therefore easy to get lost in its caves and tunnels without knowing where to go. Those 2 things added up made a game that has an achievement to complete it in under 3 hours, it took me almost 12 to complete, and I honestly doubt it’s easy to complete in under 6 or 7. time. Maybe a co-op mode would have helped compensate for some of the glitches and make the difficulty more affordable, improving the experience..
