The first thing that strikes you about Greak is the overall aesthetic, it's gorgeous. No doubt about it, this is one of the most beautiful metroidvanias I have ever played.
The introduction, the character design, the backgrounds have obviously had an incredible amount of effort gone into every aspect.
Developed by Mexican studio, Navegante Games and published by Team17.
In Greak, you play three siblings pitted against the evil race of Urlags as you platform, puzzle and slash/zap your way through levels in classic metroidvania fashion.
The games initial tutorial section gives you control of one character, the eponymous Greak, as you become accustomed to the controls it's not long before you meet your first sibling; at which point you are able to switch between the two in order to solve puzzles. (One stands on pressure plate, other walks though door level of puzzle).
It feels like a huge missed opportunity here not having local co-op, but the game is firmly single player.
Juggling multiple characters at the same time as well as managing the cumbersome control system can seem a little overwhelming at times. The game does offer full button rebinds, but even with this, it just doesn't sit as comfortably as other games of the ilk.
In fact my main gripe and disappointment with this game stems from the controls, everything just feels slightly "off". The tight responsiveness of games such as Hollow Knight or Ori (to which this title will obviously be compared) is just not there.
Add in to that, the infuriating inventory system and the interaction button often locking you in place unable to react to enemies and this soon becomes a frustrating problem.
The characters have some great mechanics and interesting level design but really nothing that breaks the mold and nothing original.
There was a slurry of quite nice looking (but ultimately lackluster) metroidvania style games from Chinese developers that flooded Steam during 2020 and this unfortunately has the feel of those.
While Greak is of a overall slightly higher quality and the art style is incredible, it unfortunately doesn't live up to its full potential.
This really is a case of style over substance, it's so close to hitting the mark but ultimately falls short.
That being said, this is by no means a bad game and for fans of the genre it's well worth picking up to check out.
Just be prepared for its shortcomings temper your expectations and enjoy it for what it is.
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