"Alwa's Awakening"

"Alwa's Awakening"
Reviewed By: Carless Yen
Platforms: Switch, PS4, Pc, XBOX
Developer: Elden Pixels
Release Date:Feb 02, 2017
Price: 9.99

Alwa's Awakening you play as Zoe and your objective is to save the town of Alwa after the horrible Entity Vicar steals the town's powerful ornaments. He put's them in the hand of four protectors, and without them the town grows dark and is taken over by horrible creatures. Alwa calls upon a mysterious character from another realm to save it. Her name is Zoe, and she is the character you will play as. Armed with a magic staff you must journey out into the land and return the ornaments, and have your final confrontation with Vicar to return then land to what it once was.

Elden Pixels is a bunch of nerdy guys who left development teams like Zoink to make their own games. Alwa's Awakening is the result of this so i'm glad they did it. They also have funding right now for a sequel called Alwa's Legacy. I believe it is completely funded so really looking forward to seeing it soon. In my opinion Alwa's Awakening is one of the best modern retros of this generation. It is one of those games that are new, but still feel classic. Like if this had been around on the NES,Genesis, or SNES I really believe it would have been a massive hit. It does so many things right. It reminds me of a lot of classics like Mega Man, Kid Icarus, Alex Kidd, and so many others. It really takes a lot of elements from those, but delivers them flawlessly. They call these games Metroidvanias, and I think this would have been right up there with those classics If it would have been in that time.

Alwa's Awakening really should be a huge speed running title. I don't think it is yet, but in the future I think it will be. There are Achievements for beating it under 2 hours, and under 5 continues. You'll have to be pretty talented, and know the game very well to pull that off. It is really challenging. Especially the later bosses. I know I wasn't any where near that on my plays of this game. I've played it on Switch, XBOX, and Steam and no where even close to that. The negative reviews I have seen have been about difficulty. In my opinion that shouldn't be a negative on a game. Maybe if your reviewing yourself and your skills, but isn't a reason to lower the score of a game. I think Alwa's Awakening is a near perfect experience. Like I said one of the best if not the best modern retro of this generation of consoles. I still play my NES, I wish this game was on it. I know you can get a emulator, but I'd like actual cart. I know you can get the soundtrack on a NES cart, and I plan to but I won't get into music until the next paragraph.
The soundtrack for this game is outstanding. It has 25 different 8bit tunes that really add a lot to the experience. It is one of the best soundtracks for a modern retro, and I can't wait to own the entire thing to listen to while I'm writing out these reviews. I really put it up there with the Duck Tales game's Soundtrack. So many just amazing tracks. It looks really great as well.They did an amazing job, at keeping it looking 8bit. Elden Pixels did outstanding with this title in my opinion. All their awards are really well deserved. The over 400 unique rooms really add up to a can't miss indie title for lovers of retro platformers.

I realize I didn't get into the game play much so let's take a step back. Zoe is such a cool character, she moves kind of sluggish I've heard a few people say to me I think maybe a little, but it isn't something that takes away from the overall experience. She is so cool breaking stuff with her wand, hitting enemies with it. She can unlock abilities with it like a bubble you can ride, or a brick you can hide behind or float across water with. She can even shoot lightning out of it. You can find upgrades for these abilities as well. They are challenging to find, and really well hidden but well worth the adventure. There is so much stuff hidden in the land of Alwa. Walls you can walk through, floors you can fall through. Nothing is simple, and I think that is why I enjoy it so much. Don't use a walk through. Discover it for yourself it is well worth it. Like Zoe all the enemies, and bosses are really well designed, and super cool. They also are very challenging. The levels are set up as puzzles to, so your going to revisit places and be able to go some where else from there, because your bubble last longer or because your brick can now cross water. It's going to have you back tracking trying to find everything to make the final boss battle a little more simple for you, or just because you like to 100% games like myself.

IS this for you? I think this is for almost every one. Almost any one except for maybe people who can't handle a challenge. If you like retro games, puzzle solving, battling cool bosses, finding hidden items, you are going to be in Heaven with this title. It is one of my favorite games this generation, and I hope a lot more people discover it, because it deserves to be played and enjoyed.

Pros:
25 amazing 8-bit tracks
Over 400 rooms full of puzzles and surprises
Great for Speed Running
Awesome bosses and enemies
Really classic retro feel, look, and sound
Challenging

Cons:
Controls can feel slow and sluggish at times

Overall: 9.5
Alwa's Awakening in my opinion does every thing you loved about classic NES and SNES titles today. It is a can't miss for retro game fans, and one of my favorite in this genre this generation. Alwa's Awakening when we look back at this Gen will be considered a Gem, and popular speed runner in my opinion. I at least know in my eyes it will

@EldenPixels #AlwasAwakening

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