Alwa's Awakening Reviews
The sunlight cuts through your slumbering daze like a razor blade. Your surroundings are unfamiliar. How did you get here? Where are you supposed to go now? A stranger approaches with a request, no, a statement. You have much to do, so much to do… No! This isn’t the recovery of a wild Friday night, this is “Alwa’s Awakening”! It’s time to embark on a quest!
The small team at Elden Pixels created a game that measures up to the games that were released during the NES golden years during a modern time.
Despite its imperfections, Alwa’s Awakening is an enjoyable experience. The retro art style, rich colors, and music accompany gameplay that is quaint, yet engaging. Those who grew up on the NES will find it a fine tribute to games of yesteryear and those who did not will still enjoy a pleasant, playable adventure.
All in all, Alwa's Awakening is an enjoyable retro romp built from the ground up for nothing other than retro-junkies. If you grew up on the old Amiga, NES, SNES, or even Mega Drive titles, then I'd certainly say for you to give this title a fair chance...However if you're just looking for a way to get into the subgenre...Then I'd look elsewhere.
This is a game I can see myself replaying over and over again. The price is outstanding at only $9.99, and every single Switch owner should buy this. Elden Pixels has created a timeless classic with Alwa’s Awakening and I hope to see many more games from them.
If you’re looking for an experience that in almost all regards feels like it’s a lost NES title, some warts and all (I’m looking at you, fake walls) Alwa’s Awakening does an almost disturbingly good job of it. Though the pacing may be a bit on the slower side there’s a solid adventure to be had with your humble hero Zoe, and the option to reduce downtime retracing your steps is a modern convenience I can really get behind. It may not be for everyone, but it should check pretty well every box for its intended retro-loving audience.
Visually breathtaking, Alwa's Awakening is a phenomenal feat for such a small team of developers. If the gameplay had been given as much attention as the art and sound, we could have had an instant classic.
Any Metroidvania or Retro fans would enjoy this treat, it truly feels like a modern NES game. Especially at the $9.99 price point.
"New-age retro wizards."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Alwa’s Awakening is an incredibly accurate throwback to the NES games of old, and despite it focusing a lot on authenticity rather than trying anything new, it manages to hit all the right notes for a Metroidvania. With a lovely soundtrack, several routes to take on your journey and more, Alwa’s Awakening managed to engage me more than I was expecting it to, and for the $10 price tag I can easily recommend this without hesitation to fans of Metroidvania titles.
Alwa's Awakening offers a solid challenge and a great sense of exploration which makes it a satisfying experience.
Alwa's Awakening is an interesting homage to a classic game that manages to stand out -- but not by much.
Alwa's Awakening is altogether a very impressive effort. It takes full advantage of its 8-bit aesthetics to create a game that wouldn't look out of place on a shelf next to Clash at Demonhead and Whomp 'Em. More importantly, this action-adventure does more than enough to stand out by relying on a foundation consisting of great controls and mechanics. Zoe's three powers strike the perfect balance. They're flexible, but they also show the right amount of restraint. The result is a tightly-designed title that is sure to pleasantly surprise even the most seasoned gamers.
When taking everything into consideration, Alwa's Awakening fits right into the genre and the gaming generation it tries to emulate.
Final Thoughts Alwa's Awakening is a very fun and polished Metroidvania that has finally found its way to the Nintendo Switch, a console where things come full circle on a Nintendo console, what with the game paying homage to Metroid and other action platformers of the Nintendo Entertainment System era. We had a lot of fun playing the game for this double review, so we highly recommend that you get it today!
At worst, this is a well designed and well made Megaman-style game. At best it's hours of addicting yet frustrating gameplay to finish the main storyline. Given it's reasonable price ($10 USD), it's absolutely worth picking up for anyone who enjoys these style of games.
The boss fights range from pretty easy to dozen-death difficult, but the real joy is in thoroughly exploring the map, seeing heights you can't reach and doors you can't open and then returning later with newfound powers that enable you to continue your adventure. Alwa's Awakening is a great investment for those who grew up with old-school Castlevania games or those who prefer Zelda II to The Legend of Zelda. It's not fast-paced or action-packed, but it has plenty of nostalgia and is well-suited to those who prefer jumping to shooting, spell-casting to sword-swinging. Well, how can I forget you, Zoe? When there's always another Metroidvania to remind me.
Alwa’s Awakening is a truly excellent game. While it’s true that we’re not exactly short on open-structure exploratory platform games these days, there’s enough that is distinctive about Alwa’s Awakening to make it stand out from the crowd. So what are you waiting for?
Alwa's Awakening takes its players to pretty pixelated places filled with NES challenge, but mars the whole experience with a clumsy magic system that makes the game's difficult platforming segments needlessly frustrating.