Trials of Azra Demo

Necromancy is quite the popular motif in video games, especially when it comes to classic fantasy stories that include mages, dragons, and all the other stuff. In essence, necromancy is the magic school that allows wizards to control the dead, which is why most of its wielders are not exactly nice people. Raising the dead is rarely seen as something helpful, so they are usually the bad guys in stories.

Trials of Azra is a 2D retro platformer with an emphasis on puzzles, in which you control a young boy who must find his way around a strange castle. The game is surprisingly fun and enjoyable, despite the fact that most of the concepts it uses are not original. However, it does provide you with a challenge, given the fact that most puzzles require precise positioning and multitasking.

As for the story, it all starts with a boy named Sam playing catch with his dog in the yard. A terrible rain approaches all of a sudden, but it turns out that it’s more than just a storm. Thus, some sort of portal opens in Sam’s yard and he is sucked right into it. He wakes up in a castle full of traps and dangerous creatures, but he also possesses the ability to cast magic spells and control the bodies of dead enemies.

Since you can turn into rats and various other creatures, this allows you to reach otherwise unreachable places where door switches are usually placed. Thus, most of the puzzles challenge you to find the perfect permutation in order to get Sam past a door or a trap of some sort. As mentioned before, it’s very important to position your characters as efficiently as possible.

When it comes to graphics, Trials of Azra takes its inspiration from the old classics, and it actually looks like a classic thanks to the retro visual style. On the other hand, the gray environments can get a tad too repetitive and annoying after a while, even if you are distracted by the puzzles. The soundtrack is decent as well, so the overall experience should come pretty close to that of a classic platformer.

All things considered, Trials of Azra may not have the required spark to be a memorable game, but that doesn’t mean you cannot enjoy it from start to finish. The puzzles are quirky and challenging, the story is amusing, and the gameplay mechanics are pretty polished. Thus, it should provide you with a few hours of entertainment.