Alwa’s Awakening was an interesting throwback Metroidvania that harkened back to the days of the NES and Turbo Grafx 16, that told an excellent but minimalist story and well thought out gameplay. Now a sequel has arrived in the form of Alwa’s Legacy. Whereas the first game went for more of an 8 bit aesthetic, this game goes fully for the 16 bit presentation style, and shows Elden Pixels learned well from their first outing and what works and what does not.
The game has tight controls like the first game, but this time around there are more unique obstacles to overcome, as well as new platform mechanics to use. These new mechanics have managed to enhance the overall Metroidvania aspect of the game, by expanding on the interconnected nature of the world. You will want to explore more, and as the game goes on, you will find a variety of new ways to do so. You will also find new ways to get around, like turning save points into warp points for instance. Alwa’s Legacy constantly throws new ideas at you using a small amount of means to solve them, but it is the creative ways you use the means that make the game stand out far more. Using blocks at certain locations to solve a specific puzzle for instance, may seem obvious afterward, but it is getting to the solution that is part of the fun. Elden Pixels knew what they were doing and have evolved their formula well.
The game’s dungeons remain a great draw and use the Zelda style of levels to advance. There is a reason that many consider Alwa’s Awakening to be a successor to Zelda II in many ways, as it built on ideas pioneered by the side scrolling segments of that game. What is neat is how the dungeons interact with the overworld in interesting ways, that will open your mind up to new ideas of how to explore. Some dungeons are laid out in extremely inventive ways as well, with each having a well established gimmick to them. This can be in the form of puzzles, or unique layouts, and figuring things out will show just how deep the game can be.
I would say the game is an improvement in every way over the first game, but I do feel the music is a bit of an issue for me. It is not bad by any means, but I feel the first game simply had better music that stood out far more. There was something about the retro inspired tunes that just gave Alwa’s Awakening a sense of character, and I can still hear the music in my head long after I played. Alwa’s Legacy doesn’t have bad music, but it just is not as iconic or memorable for me.
I do like that the game’s story is handled a bit better, and goes for more of a soft approach, especially since this lends itself to worldbuilding much better. Visually, the game is a treat for the eyes, and its clear a lot of love went into the production of the game to make things look this good. The effects were also nice, and lent themselves to a more epic feel for the game. Bigger and Better seems to have been the theme of the game and I life that. Alwa’s Legacy is not detached from the first game either, as the characters and enemies from that experience play a big role here. Rather it is the sense that this is the natural direction for the game to take, It is a tricky thing for sure, to make a sequel to a game that made throwback visuals such a part of its charm and then change those visuals, But I think Elden Pixels managed to pull it off quite well here.
While the story is built more softly than you might expect for a game of this nature, Alwa’s Legacy does do a decent job of building up the world and the characters that inhabit it. The characters stand out well, and feel more realized than previously. I do like the minimalist approach to storytelling, but I also wonder if the developers could have done a bit more with what they hand. Perhaps include some more concrete moments to stand out, or find other ways to make things even more involved. Still, the game is good for what it is, and I appreciate what was done here.
Overall, I liked Alwa’s Legacy and feel it is a worthy follow up to the first game. I definitely recommend checking this one out for yourself to see what I mean.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided