Greak: Memories of Azur Review

Some of the best indies of the last decade have utilized the notion of a player controlling multiple characters in tandem as their key mechanic. There have been many solid entries to single-player cooperative games, from Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons to Trine. Greak: Memories of Azur is proud to join these titles with a similar premise, and enough charm to be successful on its own terms.

Greak is set in Azur and focuses on three siblings from the elf-like Courines race. The Urlags, a more cunning and brutish race than the Courines, begin to invade and conquer their kingdom. The Courines decide that leaving their homeland is the only way out. Greak, the main character, is eager to help his people with this plan. However, Adara and Raydel, his older siblings, are his first priority. These are the main driving forces behind this hack-and-slash puzzle platformer.

These two stories form the core plot of Memories of Azur. Greak must travel across the kingdom to find supplies that will allow the Courines to escape Azur. He also needs to search for Adara and Raydel. Although the first hours are fairly straightforward, Greak battles enemies, solves puzzles and does light platforming. Once Adara joins him, things get much more exciting.

Greak can swing a sword and can double jump and dodge forward. Adara can fight with arcane magical blasts, floats instead of double jumping and can swim underwater for much longer than her brother. The game's name is now: which sibling should be used for which situation, and how to safely and effectively get them both from A to B.

This approach is more complex because players must manage both sibling characters. You can control both characters at once by holding the L2 button. Alternatively, you can only manage one character by releasing it. You can switch between them by tapping the D-pad in different directions. Raydel appears later in the game, after players have located him.

Greak has one of my few issues: Memories Of Azur. Raydel's inability to join you until the game has been completed two-thirds of the time feels like a missed chance. But when he does, it is a great way to shake up the game and adds a lot more excitement. Raydel is unable to swim but has solid attack power, a grappling hook and makes the puzzles and combat even more difficult.

Greak: Memories Of Azur is another challenge that players will face. Each character has only a handful of item slots so managing the essentials, food items for healing, as well as items of value and attack-enhancing items can be difficult.

Greak has a cooking mechanic that helps to alleviate this problem. It allows players to combine multiple healing items into one item that better meets their needs. You can find 11 recipes here that you can learn how to cook. Each recipe is made from ingredients that are available in Azur, either on the ground or in bushes.

Combat is sometimes frustrating but generally rewarding. Although players can use all three characters simultaneously to increase their attack power and make it nearly impossible to win, this opens all three characters up to potential damage. This strategy is a bit tricky because if any one of the characters loses their health points it ends the game.

You might consider putting unused characters out of harm's reach for boss battles, and instead opt to only use one character. As Greak: Memories of Azur progressed, this became more of my strategy. However, I do wonder if that was the plan of Navegante Entertainment for this game. It probably isn’t, I think.

Even with these small nitpicks and caveats, Greak is still a captivating and enjoyable adventure. As beautiful as the animation is, the Azur environments are stunning. Simple character designs give each character enough personality. Their height, clothing, and weapons will tell you everything you need to know. You'll understand what I mean if you have played Salt & Sanctuary.

The PS5 version uses the DualSense's haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and surprising effectiveness. Every time one of your players hits the ground, you'll feel a slight thump. Your siblings' screams for help will also register on the controller's microphone. This immersive design choice helps to increase tension. Enemies can randomly spawn, so even seemingly safe characters can suddenly be attacked.

This isn't as frightening as it sounds. Usually, a bubble will appear onscreen to show what's going on with the other character. Even though they are left to their devices, characters can defend themselves. However, it is not as effective as when they are under your direct control.

While Greak: Memories of Azur may not be a perfect debut for Navegante's, it is filled with enough compelling ideas and world-building to make up for its shortcomings. Greak is a fun and quick puzzle platformer that will delight.