Reviewed on: Nintendo Switch

Candy Crush Saga kicked off a fad of generic puzzles about matching 3 identical pieces in a sea of others scattered across a board. Some games were born as quick clones to ride the wave of hype and make easy money, but some make a genuine effort to innovate and evolve a developing genre. Azkend 2 is one of these rare gems, a product that will probably be remembered as an important influence on the direction of this puzzle subgenre.

Story: 8

Despite being a game about finding identical icons in a sea of other images, Azkend 2: The World Beneath has a story. Az2 follows the adventure of a shipwreck survivor who is sucked into a whirlpool and ends up in the underground ruins of a long-extinct lost civilization.

Each new puzzle aims to obtain a new piece of an object that, when complete, can help the adventurer progress in the story or offer a new power to help in future puzzles. The minigames of searching for fragments of an enormous scene are used as a transition from one stage to another, and their beautiful art helps reinforce the experience of exploring a lost world and the ruins of a lost civilization.

Mechanics: 9.5

Azkend 2 is a game that tests your powers of observation, concentration and memory – three of my weakest points. When I saw what it was about, at first I turned up my nose… But the countless hours I have already invested in the game without even noticing speak loudly of the quality and polish of the game and its mechanics.

Before talking about what the game does differently, let’s talk about the basic mechanic. Each puzzle is a board with numerous pieces. You must look for groups of identical pieces and “draw” a line through at least 3 of them, making them disappear and the neighboring ones fall and rearrange. In the Switch‘s handheld mode, this can even be done using the touchscreen – which should become everyone’s favorite mode, mainly for its greater speed and precision!
Some puzzles have special objectives such as making pieces disappear when placed in specific spots on the board or destroying obstacles. Completing this initial objective reveals a new piece of the object the character is looking for, and it is up to you to destroy pieces to make this special item touch the bottom of the board. All of this must be done within a time limit.

That said, we can talk about what makes Azkend 2: The World Beneath such a different experience, so much better than that of other similar puzzle games. Perhaps the main factor is the way the game motivates and holds the player’s attention. While several puzzle games are ‘static’ and force you to discover the solution devised by the developers, Az2 offers an experience more characteristic of a video game: the power to make decisions about how you want to play, to customize your experience to fit the gameplay and difficulty to your style and taste. This happens because completing levels gradually grants new power-ups, and you must choose two of them (one active and one passive) to take into a puzzle… This item is represented as an additional type of piece in the puzzle, and its powers are activated by matching 3 or more identical pieces. Instead of overwhelming the player with new mechanics to the point where they no longer know everything that is going on, Azkend 2 is simpler, but at the same time more concise and more varied.
At several moments you will find yourself engaged, looking for the power-up you need and developing strategies to bring the pieces close enough to be used. You have a strategy, you prepared to execute it and then you work to make it work… Overall, it is a much more dynamic and engaging experience than just looking for 3 identical pieces together because you have priorities and need to make real choices, driven by priorities that you set.

The game also features some minigame passages in which a (beautiful) image is presented and you have a very limited time to find a sequence of specific points in it based on a clue (a small fragment of the image). The idea is good and helps increase variety, but the level of challenge doesn’t grow linearly… Some kind of extra aid could reduce the frustration – possibly a sound/vibration signal to notify whether you are closer to or farther from the point you’re looking for.

Audio and visuals: 8.5

For a game about looking for simple icons scattered on a board, Azkend 2 does a phenomenal job of standing out in terms of presentation. Although the amount of art at times seems insufficient, the images presented are stunning, with great richness in detail and color. All the game’s visual elements make clear the size of the developers’ polish and affection for every aspect of the work.

The sound work is also very careful and worthy of note. Each power-up has its characteristic sound, which reinforces the satisfaction of successfully activating its effects. But the biggest highlight goes to the narrative passages, which are all told by the adventurer herself, with voice and subtitles. Even with static images, the quality of the art, the voice work and the soundtrack manages to create the perfect mood of mystery, discovery and adventure.

Final thoughts

Azkend 2: The World Beneath is a rare case in the world of games. The game takes an overused proposal, adds its own ideas and still presents everything with great care and polish in every aspect – from presentation to the design of its mechanics. It is a simple but promising game, one that should certainly make everyone who plays it wait for a sequel even bigger in size and equal in quality and care.

Score

Story = 8

Mechanics = 9.5

Audio and visuals = 8.5

Worth the 8 dollars? Definitely! Whether you are a puzzle fanatic or a Switch owner looking for an interesting pastime, Azkend 2 is a game full of charisma, quality content and great care – the kind everyone can appreciate!

Overall: 8.7

Played on the Nintendo Switch version