Indie RPGs - Aztaka Reviews & Patch

There are a few reviews out for Aztaka and a patch that updates the game to v1.04. The patch is a minor one that adds support for widescreen resolutions, mouse speed adjustment, and overall stability of the game.
Here are two Aztaka reviews . The first is from Gametunnel giving it a score of 8.3/10 and coming in second in their monthly 'Indie Game Round-Up':

The most striking aspect of Aztaka is the mood and/or atmosphere of the game. Authentic structures, costumes, and artwork are everywhere and have great detail. The trees, statues, waterfalls, and roads are all masterfully rendered in all their hand-drawn beauty.
The game plays like a mix between a side-scrolling platformer and an action-RPG. Huitzillo levels up after gaining enough experience (from killing monsters), and then the player can spend their new skill and attribute point as they see fit. The customization capabilities are pretty deep, and the player can easily create a character that fits their playing style. The combat is mostly clicking to attack and jumping to dodge, so it's pretty much typical in that respect.

The second is from Holy Ramen Empire who had high praise for the game and giving it a score of 9/10. They were quite impressed with the visuals, control scheme and storyline of the game:

The most outstanding thing about Aztaka is the art direction. All of the environments are hand-drawn lush areas which will have you craving more of the stylistic direction. Huitzilo will travel from lush jungles to dark swamps and hidden temples, with each area exquisitely detailed and truly immerses you in the experience.
No attention to detail has been left out in the UI either, with an easy to use and follow system that displays all your stats and information in a clear and concise manner.
Of course, all of this beauty and attention means nothing if the game is hard to control, but Aztaka excels in this area as well. Huitizilo is controlled using your basic movement keys on the keyboard, while you attack with the mouse. This control scheme works very well with the game, as spells are cast via your hummingbird companion with the mouse in a sort of Simon-like mini-game.

More information.

Just give the demo a go…color me impressed.

I was also surprised by this little indie. I thought I gave up sidescrollers for good back in the 90's, but then this game popped up and got me interested in them again. Well at least interested in this sidescroller. I don't think I could play another one without any rpgish elements to them.

I must say that I'm a bit surprised that someone does side-scrollers at all.

Originally Posted by St.Penguin
Just give the demo a go…color me impressed.

Here you are : http://aztaka.citeremis.com/?p=262

Trine is a great side scroller, short and fairly easy but a lot of fun. Looks gorgeous too.

Yes, I saw it the other day. I might perhaps buy it in the next years.

Looks quite original, might buy

Well, I've played the demo today a little it, and I found it quite good. The very first chapter looks like a "small snack", so to say, a very beautifully drawn adventure game for breaks.

This doesn't mean it's cheap, and that I have only played the first chapter doesn't say anything about its later difficulty, but I found this game very, very good.

The beautifully drawn backgrounds look in my opinion much better than many 3D things I have seen.

To me, it is a dream combination : RPG + side-scrolling adventure.

If they use this engine for pure adventure games - maybe even in the same setting ! - then they could build a small, but steady franchise, imho.
Plus that the Aztecs are imho a very, very good setting for adventure games of any kind (including RPGs), so it's kind of a shame that no-one has tried this before.

I must say that I'm quite a lot surprise of this, because Mexico lies not too far away from the U.S. , but instead the bigger game developing companies rather chose to pursue settings like China (Jade Empire) or Sci-Fi (Deus Ex, Mass Effect) or other (Alpha Protocol), apart from the "traditional" fantasy settings.

South-American culture is so rich of potential for adventure games (of any kind) that I just can't believe no-one has seriously looked there before !

(On a more cynical tone this could be a hint towards how main game developing companies regard South America and Africa, for example, in general. It is a shame that they appear to believe that "western" settings are regarded so much more interesting and better that anything else.)

I agree Alrik. Both Africa and South America are mostly untapped. Seven Cities of Gold and Heart of Africa were the only games that I've ever played that took place on these continents. Those were way back in the C64 days!

Don't forget about Worlds of Ultima: The Savage Empire. It might have been set in South America or Africa, but it had a lot of culture from both continents. At least it wasn't the usual castles, knights and wizards. You had tribes, huntsmen and shamans. The skulls were a nice touch though far too few spells in that game for my liking.