Treasures of the Aegean
- November 11, 2021
- Undercoders
- 12h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on Xbox Games Store"Treasures of the Aegean" is a captivating adventure game that takes players on a journey through ancient Greece. As the legendary explorer, Alex, players will hunt for hidden treasures, solve puzzles, and uncover the secrets of a long-lost civilization. With stunning graphics and immersive gameplay, this game offers an unforgettable experience for fans of adventure and history alike.
Nintendo Switch
PC
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Playstation 5
Steam Deck
Windows
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Xbox Series X|S
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Xbox
Reviews
- The game features a wonderfully smooth and flowing movement system that makes traversal enjoyable and fast-paced.
- The art style is beautifully adapted from the 'Ligne Claire' style of Franco-Belgian comics, creating a vibrant and immersive visual experience.
- The exploration and puzzle-solving elements are engaging, with a large and detailed map filled with collectibles and interesting lore.
- The time-loop mechanic can be frustrating, as it imposes a time limit that disrupts exploration and puzzle-solving.
- The mapping system requires players to manually mark important locations, which can be tedious and lead to confusion.
- Some players may find the lack of combat and the forced non-linear exploration to be off-putting, as it deviates from traditional metroidvania gameplay.
- gameplay42 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Treasures of the Aegean" offers a unique blend of metroidvania and rogue-lite elements, featuring a time-loop mechanic that adds urgency to exploration and puzzle-solving. While the core platforming and parkour mechanics are generally well-received, some players find the controls frustrating and the expansive map somewhat empty. Overall, the game is praised for its engaging gameplay loop, beautiful art, and satisfying challenges, despite minor issues with clarity in the environment.
“The gameplay is fantastic; the level design makes good use of the parkour system.”
“The general gameplay involves exploring the world while on a timer, collecting items as you do so to add more time to your next run, discovering various prophecies scattered throughout the map, and solving puzzles along the way.”
“Treasures of the Aegean is an open-ended, combat-free, exploration-focused, fast-paced sidescrolling puzzler with a time loop mechanic and an aesthetic/theme reminiscent of stories like Tintin or Tomb Raider.”
“Metroidvanias are supposed to be about open exploration at the player's own pace, and the sense of urgency added by the timer doesn't fit this style of gameplay.”
“I don't know if it is just because I am using a controller instead of the keyboard, but these controls infuriate me and make gameplay more tedious than fun.”
“But it is implemented in a giant empty map that has basically no gameplay to it besides falling down to the deepest spot each time.”
- story26 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story in "Treasures of the Aegean" unfolds through flashbacks and exploration, with players gradually piecing together lore and character backstories while solving puzzles. While the narrative is engaging and the mythology intriguing, it primarily serves as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a standout element. Overall, the game offers a satisfying blend of storytelling and platforming, enhanced by beautiful art and environments.
“Overall, it was an enjoyable game with beautiful art, an interesting story, and solid core gameplay of platforming and puzzle solving.”
“Treasures of the Aegean is an exploration game with a good emphasis on movement and platforming, featuring great artworks, environments, music, and an interesting story.”
“Unraveling the story and working out how to complete the puzzles from repeated runs is very satisfying.”
“The plot itself is nothing to write home about; the lore is solidly compelling, but a lot of it serves as puzzle solutions more than anything.”
“There are some quality of life issues, e.g., you have to tap through the story sequence at loop start to save and exit.”
“It's a 2D platformer with a pretty big map, and you just explore it, finding pieces of the story here and there, collectibles, and puzzles that are fairly easy.”
- music24 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its immersive quality, dynamic transitions, and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere. Reviewers highlight the stellar soundtrack, particularly in specific areas like the western island, and appreciate the inclusion of surprise vocal sections that elevate the experience. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, complementing the vibrant visuals and engaging gameplay.
“The music in the western island is stellar.”
“I found the look and music of the game to be immersive and adds to the overall vibe of the game.”
“I loved the beautiful music that has a few surprise vocal sections that are absolutely wonderful to listen to.”
“No need to announce the name of the zone when the change in palette and shift in the background music will do it for you.”
“The music did get my nomination though.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Treasures of the Aegean" are highly praised for their vibrant and stylish comic-book aesthetic, effectively adapting the "ligne claire" style of 20th-century Franco-Belgian comics. The art direction enhances the exploration experience with charming visuals and engaging environments, complemented by an evocative soundtrack that enriches the overall gameplay. Players appreciate the combination of fluid movement controls and visually appealing artwork, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The art direction is great, evoking a fun pulp-comics aesthetic.”
“Also, the visuals are vibrant and stylish, and the music is amazing.”
“The game's art style deserves a special mention for successfully adapting the 'ligne claire' style of Franco-Belgian 20th century comic albums into a video game.”
“Treasures of the Aegean is an open-ended, combat-free, exploration-focused, fast-paced sidescrolling puzzler with a time loop mechanic and an aesthetic/theme reminiscent of stories like Tintin or Tomb Raider.”
“It has a charming comic book aesthetic too, and from what little I saw of them, the characters are interesting.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to cumbersome controls, the absence of a fast travel system, and the challenge of navigating a large map filled with puzzles and items that can be difficult to locate. This often leads to repetitive gameplay and a sense of hitting "brick walls," detracting from the overall enjoyment.
“This can get tedious if you are stuck on an element and keep having to redo puzzles, and it does suffer from 'big map syndrome' at the later stages when, in addition to information, you also need a few items to progress, and those can be tricky to find.”
“Spending tons of time looping trying to get some parts only to find nothing is really tedious and frustrating.”
“That's kind of tedious when you just want to explore the island, but if you don't do it, then when you have the whole island explored, you won't know where everything you need to beat the game is, and you hit against so many brick walls.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability, particularly appealing to players interested in speedrunning, making it a great choice for those who enjoy revisiting challenges and improving their performance.
“If you're passionate about replayability and speedrunning, I would argue this game is a great fit for you.”
- character development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight that the game features iconic character designs and a visually appealing art style, contributing positively to the overall character development experience. However, there is no specific mention of depth or growth in character arcs.
