Backlog Conquering - Aaru's Awakening On PS3 - Part 2 – Learning by Dying

I'm currently playing the PlayStation 3 version of Aaru's Awakening, from developers Lumenox, as part of Backlog Conquering. the first part, https://youtu.be/MbJ6A1BeL7U, revealed the game as being a platformer that has puzzle elements and enemies to deal with. But we didn't get much of a story and i felt a disconnect from the beautiful world we're playing in and the creature we're playing as. I hoped that in Part 2 something would be introduced that helped deal with that disconnect.

The story is mostly introduced at the end of each section. so for most of this video i'm trying to solve the platforming puzzles or working out how to deal with enemies. At times it does become a little frustrating as i feel like i'm doing the same thing but i'm not getting the same response in game. it could have something to do with the stick drift i'm having with my DualSense 3 controller or it could be that the game lacks a little bit of polish.

But what truly became clear as i tried to make my way through this section is that there are times when you have to die in order to learn how to progress. I say in the video that i'm not a big fan of this method of story telling and by the end of this video i've certainly become resigned to such gameplay mechanics. Like in part 1, this is also true with the final boss fight at the end of the section. at every phase of the fight, you die when something new happens or the action takes place in a different location. thankfully, the game does seem to be designed around such a mechanic as it very quickly takes you back to the last check point. even more gratefully, each phase of the boss fight is a checkpoint, so even tho i died a lot it did feel like i was chipping away at it.

What made this part feel good was the story. it doesn't fully address the issues i have, but it did make me realise that having those feelings was the point as it's revealed my character is starting to have them. it reveals that it's a not so subtle way of saying you shouldn't blindly follow orders. This was enough to feel satisfied at the end of this part and for me to want to play more so there will be a part 3.

Backlog Conquering - Aaru's Awakening On PS3 - Part 1

The new game for Backlog Conquering is the PlayStation 3 version of Aaru's Awakening from Lumenox. This game grabbed my attention because of it's PS3 XMB Game Preview, https://youtu.be/zarm7HwyTrQ. It's a long beautiful preview that's visually stunning. and yet i had no memory of this game. i don't remember getting news about it, when QTE Gamers was a news focused site, nor do i remember people talking about it when it came out. So i've been curious about this game for a long time and decided to play it for Backlog Conquering.

In-game, the beautiful backgrounds, the intricate world design, the clear monsters and hazards are all visually great but they also reminded me quickly of a previous Backlog Conquering game i tried called Outland, here's part 1 https://youtu.be/eCNE0cQbRZk. the more i played Aaru's Awakening, the more i started to compare the two negatively. 

in this part, i did the first tutorial section and the second section. in doing so i got glimpses of the story, but the world and the story didn't seem to tie together. my concern going forward is that the game will be a game and tell a story that is set in the game world without tying the two together and will focus on the platforming and enemies rather than the story. Already it feels like the gameplay mechanics game first and the story came second and the game wants you to focus on the mechanics. There'll be a part 2 so things could change.