Aaru's Awakening Demo

Even if video games are still not considered art yet, it is at least accepted that they include some form of art most of the time, such as graphics or music. Given the fact that video games are designed with a different purpose in mind than what a painter might envision for his work, it is indeed pretty difficult to call them art as a whole, regardless of how much gamers complain.

Aaru's Awakening might feel and play like your usual 2D platformer when you first try it, but it quickly becomes obvious that the game features a more artistic approach to the genre than most titles out there. Besides the sublime artwork that decorates the levels, a mighty interesting story slowly evolves in the background, one that touches on a variety of intriguing concepts.

As such, the action takes place in a strange land called Lumenox, where there’s a constant struggle between Dawn, Day, Dusk and Night. Each one of these lands has its own unique inhabitants, as well as a different environment for them to thrive in. Because of this, the gameplay style changes from one world to the other, even if the mechanics remain the same.

The main character you get to play as has two different abilities you have to use in tandem to successfully navigate the levels. As such, you can either use the boost in order to break weak walls and make your way forward, or use the teleport and skip difficult sections entirely. Naturally, the teleport ability is quite tricky to use and it has a certain limit, which makes it both useful and frustrating.

Finally, probably the most refined aspect of the game is the visual style and the level design itself, because the magnificent artwork truly does leave you in awe from time to time. The animations are not always on point and you may notice a few glitches here and there, but as a whole, the game looks phenomenal. Good tunes too, although maybe a bit too repetitive sometimes.

In the end, Aaru's Awakening has its fair share of flaws, but that doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy it from start to finish. The visual component should make you turn a blind eye to some of the inconveniences, especially if you enjoy admiring fantastic new worlds.