With games using a retro aesthetic being a dime a dozen these days, and development kits allowing for anyone to join in on the game development side of the industry, being able to discern what’s worth your money and time becomes harder and harder. I love a good Metroidvania, but in today’s market, it’s possible for the genre to be over-saturated. The newest game to take on the retro feel with Metroidvania gameplay is Alwa’s Awakening, which is faithfully old school.

When I first heard the name Alwa’s Awakening, I confused it with the Aaru’s Awakening. Both have their own charm and appeal, but they are far from the same experience. This has the style of a later NES game, and the music is as charming as you’d hope based on that assessment. My one year old daughter was dancing to all the different songs she heard, pointing at the screen as I traversed the map. Suffice to say, they nailed the aesthetic.

The game’s story is that which you’d find in older games. Zoe must save Alwa from the evils that have it in its clutches. She must travel and defeat the various keepers of the land, acquiring power ups for her magic wand in the process. Like any good Metroidvania, you’ll be taunted with areas you can’t access until later, several of which open up early on once you unlock the first power of creating a block. This power serves not only as a means to climb and jump to areas that were just out of reach previously, but also doubles as a shield against projectiles. The first boss is not impossible without the power, but it’s a whole lot easier with it. The powers following include a bubble for increased verticality, and lightning for those doors that show up now and then.

In addition to the items you’ll be picking up for progression, you’ll be able to attain blue orbs that make the journey easier. Collecting them will level up your orb power, which determines how easy a boss is – again, this is optional, but you’ll probably be nabbing these if you’re playing this game since it speaks to completionists. The journey is not all monsters, but contains some NPCs as well. These characters aren’t all that exciting, but do provide some helpful tips now and then. They definitely could’ve benefited from some more diversity though, adding an additional layer to the game and making it unique.

The game plays much how you’d expect if you spent time with an NES in the 80s or 90s. The sprite work, physics, and hit-boxes are all very familiar despite being a new game. All the mechanics seem to follow the rules of yore, so while this is a retro game in modern day, it feels more like a lost game of the era. This plays to some frustrations as well, such as being locked to a certain area and forcing you to go all the way around or die in order to get where you want. There’s a portion early in the game that demands you have full life as you must sacrifice all but one hit point to progress (edit: you are able to do smaller jumps by pressing lightly on the jump button, making this a tutorial for later on, but my controller didn’t register these). And without the power you’re heading to, you’re more or less stuck in certain areas, so death is the only way to explore. This isn’t game breaking, but it’s frustrating when the death count is artificially enhanced due to wanting or needing to go somewhere else.

For anyone that’s looking for a relatively short and sweet NES game that plays like the Metroid games that came later, Alwa’s Awakening is a lovely distraction. It’s by no means going to revolutionize the genre; it doesn’t provide an infinite replay loop like Dead Cells, nor does it offer extreme difficulty like Hollow Knight, but it offers heart and a promise of much to come.

8 out of 10

Pros

• Perfect Retro Aesthetic
• Fun Powers
• Plays as Expected

Cons

• Some Level Design
• Boring Dialogue

Alwa’s Awakening was developed and published by Elden Pixels. It is available on NS, PC, and PS4. The game was provided to us for review on PS4. If you’d like to see more of Alwa’s Awakening, check out the official site.

 

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