Treasures of the Aegean

It’s like Lara Croft’s and Prince of Persia’s love child. Minus the polygonal tits. My wife’s boyfriend described it as a Poor woman's Tomb Raider. Daaamn, I didn't know parkour Archeologist was a viable career path! Treasures is such a great game. They created something great and the gameplay is just as great as its visual style. Love stumbling across games like this one, genuinely overlooked and underappreciated gems that slipped through the seams on release. Really enjoyed this game a lot, when a metroidvania manages to make its basic movement options feel good, you know it has potential and this one has it in spades. It plays really good and the parkour feels smooth, like a 2D Mirrors Edge. It's an open-world platforming/puzzle solving game with a historical theme. Dropped into the world with little instruction, your goal is to locate and solve the puzzles and see how they connect in repeated 15+ minute runs of the map. You keep all of the information you’ve found out and artifacts that you have collected. The timer can be annoying sometimes, but there are elements that give you more time and the optional boons to make things easier, but if you don't like time limits, this might not be the one for you. The controls can be a bit floaty and somewhat imprecise - they work much better moving horizontally than vertically. But really, it only was a problem for a few puzzles. I’ll admit it was really difficult to solve some of the puzzles because I would be in the middle of figuring it out and then run out of time. Still, with some perseverance I got a great sense of accomplishment every time I was able to finally clear an area. The whole game felt like this. I cannot say how weirdly satisfying it was opening up the map in one run, and then seeing it fleshed out in the next. I know that sounds silly, and its hard to explain. Just trust it makes sense and is strangely fun once you’re playing. It took me about 12 hours to get 108/110 relics and complete the game, which I think is just about the right length. Really great game. If it sounds remotely interesting to you, I highly recommend it. But it's definitely better in short playsessions in between something bigger, specially if you’re one to get stressed out about the timer. With a sale, this would be a no-brainer for me. 8/10

Found this game during Steam Next Fest October 2021 and loved the demo. Just under three years later ( 😱) I finally got around to playing it. The game is an [B]eccentric take on the metroidvania/rogue-lite genre[/B], adding a [B]time-loop mechanic[/B] to the usual platforming, collecting and map-exploration - the player only gets between 15 and 25 minutes per loop to explore (finding collectibles extends the loop-time), but retains information and the map from the previous runs. The [B]starting location on the map is randomized for each loop[/B] (within the parts of the map that have already been explored / uncovered). For the first ten loops, there are also special stages, which are not connected to the main game map and serve to illustrate a part of the story, which is largely told in flashback sequences. The [B]map is very large and detailed[/B], with 110 unique collectibles to find and dozens of puzzles to solve, some of which require finding and carrying items from one part of the map to another. To make this fun, the game implements a [B]wonderfully smooth and flowing movement system[/B] that lets the player-character run, climb and jump their way through the map really fast with really easy controls (on game controllers, haven't tried with mouse/kb). There are a enemies on the map, but they are few and far between and really only serve to slow the player down on occasion - [B]the player character cannot actually die[/B] either and brushes off both getting shot (thanks to a bullet-proof vest) or falling too large a distance (because ... she's just that much of a badass?) with ease. But recovering does cost a whole minute on the loop timer and that becomes significant as the game progresses and some of the puzzles require quite a bit of time and travel to solve - and it needs to be done before the loop strikes and resets the puzzle state. The game's [B]art-style deserves a special mention for successfully adapting the "Ligne Claire" style of Franco-Belgian 20th century comic albums[/B] into a video game. Due to its unique design choices, [B]this game might not be for everyone[/B]. Among the things that will irritate anybody looking for either a traditional metroidvania or a linear platformer: * [B]Forced non-linear exploration[/B] due to the "time-loop", which really is a time-limit plus a randomized starting location * A [B]huge[/B] map without any metroidvania-style skill-gates. Exploring the entire place first and then [B]remembering where to go to do what is an explicit part of the challenge[/B] in this game. * A "semi-automatic" mapping system, which does reveal the game's world as the player explores it and saves the state across loops, [B]but does not automatically mark collectibles, items and locations[/B]. Instead, the mapping screen provides a plethora of symbols that the player can use to make their own marks on the map, which are also preserved through loops. * Complete focus on exploration, navigation and puzzle-solving: [B]The player character is unarmed and can neither shoot nor fight[/B]. However, [B]I had an absolute blast[/B] with this game, 100%-ed it immediately on the first playthrough (in roughly 12 hours of playtime) and it's now the latest entry in my "All Time Favorites" category of my Steam library.

Not what I was expecting. It has metroidvania listed in it but it is anything but. All it is is you running around a vast interconnected world with no direction on what to do or where to go or what the point is. You stumble across these random collectibles then some random puzzles. And I guess you solve small puzzles to help with bigger puzzles. But since the map doesn't even get filled in, you have to do your own markings, and theres no listed objectives, markers, directions, etc. I ran around for 20-30 min and kept going further in further in a bunch of different directions and had found a few things that caused dialogue and cutscenes but it was just people going "oh theres a mural" or "oh I wonder what you do with this" and that was about it. Provided no context or clues. Once I found out theres a stupid tacked on time loop mechanic where you have to repeat puzzles and get it all done in 1 loop just for the sake of elongating the game but with no meaninful point for its inclusion I was tapped out. I could spend forever lookin at guides and walkthroughs to figure out wtf to do but life is just too short. The parkour mechanics seem decent, wish they would have been with a more tight world with some signposting or on linear levels or a true metroidvania with fast traveling and objectives, etc. And knowing theres no unlockables just vague puzzle solving sounds kind of boring tbh. May be for some people but seemed to have almost no redeeming qualities for me and many of the game designs in it seemed counter intuitive. 5/10.

Treasures of the Aegean is a decent metroidvania with an annoying time loop feature that drags it down. Luckily the rest of the game is good enough to make it worth putting up with, but it would be a much better game without the time loop. You play as Marie, who's an ex-mercenary turned treasure hunter joining her academic friend on an expedition to Crete, where a volcanic eruption unveils long-lost secrets of the Minoan civilization. But after 15 minutes, the volcano blows up in such a massive explosion, it destroys the entire world. Then the game resets and you get to explore the island from the beginning again. The automap fills out while you explore and shows you which areas you've already been to in previous runs, but this game-resetting time loop feature is still annoying. 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 to this style of gameplay. Especially since there are plenty of Tomb Raider style jumping and block-pulling puzzles around that take a while to figure out. On your explorations, you will discover ancient artifacts (which increase the timer: the more artifacts you find, the more time you have on later runs) and special quest items required to solve puzzles. You can acquire new abilities by freeing the spirits of ancient Minoan priestesses, which requires finding three gemstones and bringing them to the right place. But you have to find all three gemstones in the same run, as your quest items will vanish from the inventory after the reset. As you slowly figure out what you need to do, the final challenge is to solve three major puzzles in the same run (which lasts, at most, 20 minutes!) to find the ending. I greatly enjoyed the puzzles themselves, and the environments were quite varied. There are plenty of different areas to explore: shipwrecks of an Ottoman fleet, Minoan tombs, palaces, residential districts, a whale graveyard filled with giant bones. The art is beautiful and a joy to behold. The core platforming gameplay works decently enough; I've played games with smoother controls, but Treasures of the Aegean plays well enough that the controls were never a problem. Overall, it was an enjoyable game with beautiful art, an interesting story, and solid core gameplay of platforming and puzzle solving. I just would have liked it even more if it weren't for that stupid time loop system, which took me a long time to get used to, and even when I got used to it, it was merely bearable, not good.

This is the perfect example of why simplicity can give you better game than over-complicated system. its a 2d platformer with a pretty big map, and you just explore it, finding piece of story here and there, collectible, and puzzle that are fairly easy. I wish this game was bigger or that there was more similar game cause its just so fun to move around and find stuff

Promising ideas here, but the game feels put together with spit and paperclips. The controls are super-messy, and the environmental hazards, especially those you can manually move or avoid, don't seem to react as they should. Overall it plays like a flawed game of the late 1990s. Not so cool post-2020.

UN VRAI REGAL D'UN BOUT A L'AUTRE Ce jeu est une pure merveille pour les amoureux d'explorations : 17h pour le finir à 100% avec tous les succès en mode tranquillou, et un plaisir du début à a fin. Qu'en dire dans le détail? * Niveau graphisme, le jeu est globalement beau dans le style qu'il se donne (pour peu qu'on l'aime, mais ce fut mon cas) et l'aspect BD des éléments d'histoire et d’interactions est plutôt sympa. La carte est riche, grande et intéressante. Seul petit bémol au niveau graphique : au début j'avais un peu de mal parfois entre le décor sur lequel on pouvait marcher et que l'on pouvait escalader et le décor de la trame de fonds, mais j'ai vite pris mes marques ensuite. Au final ça passe vraiment très bien. *Niveau son : Globalement très agréable, avec des changement en fonction des environnements dans lesquels on se trouve. L'ensemble est très agréable et colle bien au jeu. * Au niveau de l'histoire et des personnages, le tout est plutôt bien mené et les personnages sont agréables. Des scènes intermédiaires en avançant dans le jeu sont sympa pour en apprendre plus sur le passé des protagonistes principaux. Bon, ne vous attendez pas au scénario du siècle, ni à une fin transcendante, mais pour un petit jeu comme celui-ci axé plutôt mode détente, le tout est vraiment très agréable et assez bien géré du début à la fin, sans se prendre la tête plus que cela. Bref, on aurait pu faire mieux c'est sûr, (et ajouter certaines quêtes ou clarifier encore mieux certains points de l'histoire) mais en l'état c'est amplement suffisant pour apprécier le jeu à sa juste valeur sans prétention aucune. * Au niveau du gameplay c'est un vrai régal également. J'avais eu un peu peur avant de l'acheter par certains commentaires disant que la gestion du perso était parfois compliquée, notamment pour descendre d'une plateforme juste sur le bord. Pour ma part, dès le début la fluidité du personnage et la maîtrise qu'on en a m'a ravi. Et pour les petits aspects un peu plus techniques, au bout d'1h grand max, je pense qu'on a le perso bien en main, même pour certaines subtilités du gameplay. (je précise que j'ai joué avec une manette, et non pas un clavier) La traversée de la carte se veut facile, dynamique et agréable. Le fait aussi de ne pas pouvoir "mourir" dans ce jeu est vraiment sympa également, tellement ça devient extrêmement rare. Et pour les quelques ennemis que l'on rencontre, c'est plutôt bien qu'ils ne soient pas nombreux pour ne pas freiner à outrances nos courses; quant au fait que les balles n'aillent pas très vite quand ils nous tirent dessus, oui c'est pas très réaliste c'est sûr, mais on est pas vraiment là pour ça. Au final ça colle bien avec l'ambiance globale du jeu et ce pour quoi il est fait, donc rien de gênant, au contraire ;-) *Déroulement du jeu : En achetant le jeu, nous voilà prévenus, il s'agit d'un système de boucles temporelles. Ces boucles courtes qui permettent des sessions de jeu pas forcément longues sont sympa et nous permettent une maîtrise du temps de jeu IRL. On commence avec des boucles de 15 minutes, et on pourra augmenter jusqu'à presque 30 minutes au total à force de récupérer des trésors et un certain "pouvoir". A noter que le chrono s'arrête quand on va consulter notre carte ou les éléments de la prophétie récoltés, afin de nous permettre de prendre le temps dans notre cartographie sans stress, un peu comme si on mettait vraiment le jeu en "pause". Lors de nos premières boucles, quelques courtes mais agréables séquences de jeu particulières s'intercalent entre 2 boucles pour nous faire découvrir la passé des personnages et enrichir un peu la trame de l'histoire. Là encore c'est bien mené et plutôt plaisant. * Côté exploration et énigmes, c'est parfait : La carte se dévoile pas à pas en découvrant et il y a des trésors ou "éléments clés" un peu partout, et les énigmes pour certains passages ne sont ni trop faciles ni trop difficiles. Le curseur est vraiment placé au bon endroit pour garder le plaisir de la recherche et devoir réfléchir régulièrement mais tout en restant tout de même en mode détente. Pour ceux qui aiment cartographier comme moi, en mode liberté totale, c'est vraiment extra. Il y a de quoi faire, faites vous plaisir, car c'est bien nécessaire. SEUL GROS BEMOL DU JEU A CE NIVEAU QUE J'AI MEME BEAUCOUP DE PEINE A COMPRENDRE : Pourquoi avoir mis tant de repères différents qui sont à notre disposition (pour les placer sur notre carte) alors que pour la grande majorité, je ne vois aucunement leur utilité puisqu'ils ne correspondent à pas grand chose d'exploitable, et alors que d'autres repères dont nous aurions voulu disposer instinctivement pour plus de clarté ne sont pas du tout présent ???? (je serai curieux de savoir qui utilise le dernier onglet des repères disponibles par exemple... et je suis certain que même sur les premiers onglets, certains repères n'ont été utilisés par aucuns joueurs... par contre, il y a des formes et des objets que nous aurions voulu avoir comme repère direct, mais dont nous ne disposons pas... allez comprendre... pour le coup, c'est l'aspect du jeu qui m'a été le plus désagréable, et je pense qu'une mise à jours serait la bienvenue à ce niveau et appréciée de tous)... Le fait de pouvoir mettre toutes nos annotations sur la carte est super, mais si les éléments à notre dispositions sont trop flous au point que certains joueurs devraient avoir d'autres annotations hors game pour s'y retrouver avec les codes qu'ils ont placés sur la carte, ça perd de son intérêt... Autre chose, qui aurait peut-être mérité plus de clarté : Faites attention à la distinction entre les "trésors" et les "éléments clés" que vous récupérez. Au début, je me suis fait avoir sur ce sujet, du coup ensuite dès que je récupérais un éléments, je vérifiais si c'était un nouveau trésor entourant la gravure de la prophétie, ou si c'était autre chose (donc un élément clé) : en effet les trésors sont récupérés "une fois pour toutes" et n’apparaîtront plus dans vos prochaines boucles, tandis que les "éléments clés", utiles pour certaines énigmes et pour débloquer certains passages, sont perdus à la fin de chaque boucle et doivent être de nouveau récupérés dans les boucles suivantes si on veut les utiliser. D'ailleurs sur ce point, encore une très bonne chose que le jeu gère bien , c'est que certains "éléments clés finaux" ou "portes" particulières qui nécessitent déjà toute une aventure et des combinaisons d'éléments clés pour être débloqués, restent ensuite débloqués lors des boucles suivantes... heureusement, sinon ça aurait vraiment été trop pénible. Encore une fois, à ce niveau, le jeu met le curseur au bon endroit, bravo! Je pense avoir fait le tour. Voilà un vrai jeu détente qui saura ravir tous les âges (pour peu que que vous aimiez les mystères et l'exploration évidemment)

Класний швидкісний платформер з чудовим візуальним стилем. Ще би трішечки чіткіше керування, було б узагалі супер.

[h2]Off-brand Tomb Raider with a bloated world and meaningless time loop[/h2] [b]Look, this is not a bad game, in fact, it is [i]almost[/i] good, and I enjoyed parts of it. Take this as a mixed review, there is both good and bad here. [/b] Overall a pretty respectable 2D platformer attempt at capturing the Tomb Raider vibe. The story is good. Not great, but good. The map is absolutely enormous and almost every part of it is immediately accessible to you right out of the gate, you can go wherever you want. So don't let the tag fool you, this is not a metroidvania, there are no ability/item/skill gates, only some very light puzzling here and there. The world, while big (maybe too big for its own good imo), is ripe for exploration, which is mainly driven by hunting collectible treasures and various lore scattered around, so if you like doing that a lot in an antique setting, you might enjoy this game. [b]So what's wrong with the game?[/b] First off, the way items work. The game doesn't tell you, but you [b]MUST[/b] know before you play, that there are two kinds of items in this game: collectibles and Key items. Collectibles are just slightly extending your time loop duration and you [b]will[/b] keep them after the loop finishes. Key items are what you need to actually finish the game (not all of them though). BUT, you LOSE the Key items after each loop, they return to their original place on the map and the game doesn't tell you that! This is a problem, bc as I said, the map is HUGE, and keeping track of where the key items are in this enormous map is essential. Collectibles go on the side of the "canvas" (progression tracker UI), while Key items go in the middle. Tag every one of their location if you don't want to comb through the entire map for a Key item you missed, or just picked up and assumed you will keep it forever. (There are 110 items. You only really need like 12 of them to finish the game) The aforementioned problem directly leads to the real problem: the core mechanic, the time loop. Every 15-20 mins, you start a new run. While it makes sense for the narrative, the devs forgot to make it feel warranted in the game itself. Halfway into this game, I asked myself: what is the actual need for the time loop anyway, gameplay wise? And I don't know. It is just there for the story, and little else, maybe a "get 3 specific key items under one loop and put them into the keyhole" thing. And even most of that is optional. That's not nearly fleshed out enough. [u]The time loop actively works against the fun of the game, and doesn't elevate the experience.[/u] It is really annoying when you are in the middle of some puzzle solving or just exploring an interesting location, and the loop timer runs out, respawning you into an another part of the (I must stress this: huge) map, janking you out of the flow. This game would play much better without the loop mechanic. Other issues: [list] [*]I found the jump to wall run to be super unreliable with a controller. It was the bane of my existence, could never get it to work consistently in 10 hours. Whenever I had to use it, I switched back to my keyboard. [*]The interludes are ridiculously bad and uninteresting as a gameplay element. [*]The priestess' blessings are really underwhelming, and you can totally live without them [*]The guards aren't really doing anything, they are mostly just annoying roadblocks. [*]The tags you can put on the map to keep track of the key items are super small and hard to see, even zoomed in. I had to use multiple for 1 thing, just to make them somewhat visible zoomed out. [/list]

What a fantastic game. I didn't know anything about it until I saw it in a bundle on Fanatical, and checked it out. I'm really glad I did! The time loop mechanic is used well, although I will warn new players to make sure to note where you pick up things - there are some items that don't stick around in the next loop, and you might not remember where you picked them up until well after you realize what to do with them. Graphics look really nice - the comic style really fits the adventure. And the controls are really fast and fluid, although it may take you a bit to get used to, as the main character is quite fast. The puzzles are complex enough that you at least need to pay a little attention while you're solving things, but nothing is insanely cryptic, either. Anyway, kudos to the dev team on this one - this is my favorite modern game I've played so far this year.