Greak: Memories Of Azur Review

Siblings can be a nuisance but they can also be the best part of your family. Many plots involve familial bonds with plenty of games sending you on a quest to save them. This is part of the adventure in Greak: Memories Of Azur by Navegante Entertainment. It follows the separate journeys of three siblings who need to find each other in order to survive. However, just like in real life, working together with your siblings is not always a simple task. This becomes very apparent the longer you play, but it is something that must be overcome in order to make sure that the family succeeds.

Memories Of What?

Many stories involve some sort of evil force slowly conquering the world and the hero’s quest to stop it. However, Greak: Memories Of Azur takes a different approach to this in terms of the response. The lore is that there are two humanoid races called the Corines and Urlags. The Corines thrived and the Urlags tried to destroy them. They were continuously held back until gaining control of corruptive energy called the plague which could manifest into dangerous creatures. Now the Corines are in dire straits but rather than fighting back, they’ve opted to escape. This is what siblings Greak, Adara, and Raydel but first they need to find each other. Once they do, they need to work together to ensure they can get away safely. It’s up to you to reunite and keep them alive in a losing battle.

Better Together

In such dangerous circumstances, you can find strength and comfort in numbers. That’s definitely the case in Greak: Memories Of Azur. One of these strengths is the group control mechanic. This is another example of a cooperative game that you can play by yourself. You can control all the siblings at once or individually and switch freely between them. Each character has its own strengths, weaknesses, and items unique to them. You’ll need to figure out all of these to explore fully and win the day.

It blends quite a few elements together in effective ways. There’s plenty of platforming that takes into account the siblings’ different abilities and attacks. The latter is important considering how often enemies will appear and they can spawn almost anywhere. Then there’s also a heavy puzzle focus that comes into play frequently. You’ll need to switch between the characters strategically in order to navigate through dungeons and such.

Now, we can’t forget the aesthetics and presentation. It’s a beautifully created hand-drawn adventure with lovely music and a lot of lore to uncover.

Time Apart

Sometimes taking time apart can be healthy, but other times it can mean the difference between life and death. This sentiment comes through in various moments throughout Greak: Memories Of Azur. The first is the issues with group control. Even though you can control the siblings quite close together, the amount of platforming will lead to them getting stuck on the edge of terrain or missing jumps completely. This makes it frustrating when you’re trying to get through an area smoothly.

The group dynamics also create another issue with the siblings’ health. No matter which one of them you’re controlling, if any of them die, then the game ends. When they’re separated from each other, siblings don’t move but can attack nearby enemies. However, they usually don’t deal enough damage to avoid taking damage. Aside from healing items, gems and enemies can be used to restore health but make sure the sibling you want to be healed is leading the pack.

Then there’s the length. While there’s nothing wrong with a game on the short side, Greak: Memories Of Azur builds up such a grand world and then barely shows any of it. It doesn’t help that much of the game is spent backtracking through areas you’ll have memorized by mid-game.

The Reunion

Greak: Memories Of Azur is a 2D puzzle-platformer fantasy action game. You control three siblings and their different abilities to overcome interesting challenges and explore beautiful areas. This is somewhat soured by the frustrating group controls and rules, but relatively easy to get over. Maybe it’s time to take a trip to Azur so you can make your own memories.

TechRaptor reviewed Greak: Memories Of Azur on Steam with a copy provided by the developers. It is also available on Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.