Alwa's Awakening
Developer Elden Pixels
Alwa's Awakening is a 2017 Metroidvania video game developed and published by Swedish studio Elden Pixels. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
232 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
146 positive · 42 negative
95% range 71–83%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 146 | 42 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 13 | 0 | 16 |
| Mastodon * | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 5 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
What players are saying
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 191 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (765 of 957 positive).
Players praise the authentic NES aesthetic and chiptune soundtrack. [1][2][3] Many find the slow movement and backtracking tedious. [4][5][6] Some reviewers note a steep difficulty spike in later sections. [7][8][9]
- [5]
Morlan's shorts: Every time I try to go back to this game, every couple of years, I forget how painfully slow it is and I walk away again. From the start: you have to wait for the unskippable "Welcome" note, every time you start the game for 20''! Did I say every time? Yes, EVERY TIME.. See how annoying it is to read it again? Well that's what the game does.. every time. Annoy you by wasting your time. Walk through …
- [12]
Entering end game now and it has been a great ride. I wish they made more games like this as this one is a true rare treat. Not an easy game but the difficulty with assists is just nice for people like me with limited time and not so nimble fingers anymore. I find it thrilling to try to figure out the puzzles yet i must say the gloves came off somewhere around Void temple hours ago and right now even with a map …
- [10]
TLDR: If you like platforming, Metroidvanias, 8-bit graphics, and enjoy hating yourself for dying for the 98th time, pick up Alwa's Awakening. It's a surprisingly solid entry into the Metroidvania genre of games. 9/10. Gameplay: Look, I'm old, and my reflexes just aren't what they used to be, but the game is very tight in gameplay. The jump is the only thing that feels a little floaty, but aside from that, …
- [3]
A great little metroidvania with authentic NES aesthetics and fantastic music. Thankfully not too long or too difficult, though unfortunately it ends on nothing, leading straight into its sequel... which was unfortunately not as good.
- [1]
Would I recommend Alwa's Awakening? Sure. It has great nostalgic values with the artwork and music. The game looks very easy and childish but it can be very frustrating and demand you to look around every corner. Several times over. Most rooms and enemies aren't that difficult but those that are will stick in your memory... Your nightmares, lol! At two times I was very close to look on the internet for where or how …
Summarised from 34 of the 235 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
Alwa's Awakening sits at 78% positive across 188 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
On Metacritic, Alwa's Awakening received mixed reviews for PCs and positive reviews for the Nintendo Switch. Rock Paper Shotgun called it "a really splendid example" of early Metroidvania games that, while not revolutionary, adds its own original and interesting ideas to the formula. Describing the gameplay as "undercooked", Hardcore Gamer said it focuses too much on nostalgia for its own sake. Hardcore Gaming 101 said Alwa's Awakening is a likeable but unambitious game that "never quite feels like it reaches its full potential". Nintendo Life called it "a quality Metroidvania experience that’s well worth your time" that nonetheless fails to distinguish itself from its competitors.…
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 232 · most liked firstAlwa's Awakening. Great game with Linux version on steam cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/41348163 > Having played Alwa's Legacy first, I did not expect this ending! Great game, although I like the sequel better ☺️
positive · AI labelView post →Happy anniversary Alwa's Awakening! It was 8 (!!) years ago we released the game and it's still going strong. On Steam the sales have been steady since since the day we released it and it keeps selling. I would love to make Alwa 3 some day. Have you played the Alwa's Awakening?
neutral · AI labelView post →If Super Sunny World🌞 had a physical pixel art figure for the game, similar to what Alwa's Awakening did... Which pose would you prefer? Standing? Jumping? Ducking? Something else? Comment Below! 👇🗳
neutral · AI labelView post →Despite my growing Evercade collection, Alwa's Awakening has the distinction of being the first Evercade game I actually finished! I really enjoyed it. I might try the sequel on Steam.
positive · AI labelView post →Grabbed about half of my wishlist. Disappointed that Dark Souls Remastered isn't on sale at all, but it can wait. Frogun Mail Mole + Xpress Deliveries Toree 3D Toree2 Pseudoregalia Heckabomb Alwa's Awakening GRIS Spyro Reignited Trilogy Macbat 64 A Hat in Time - Nyakuza Metro DLC Cavern of Dreams Tails of Iron Super Kiwi 64 Lunistice Now begins the summer of platforming
neutral · AI labelView post →Yesterday's Lospec #pixel_dailies #pixelart prompt was *mystical* with a really funky palette -- lospec.com/palette-list... -- did a version of the sea monk shrine from a rad pixel art game called *Alwa's Awakening* here. Had a blast, I loooooove making a tileset/mockup in the NES style.
neutral · AI labelView post →Alwa's Awakening. Having played Alwa's Legacy first, I did not expect this ending! Great game, although I like the sequel better ☺️
positive · AI labelView post →Alwa's Awakening turns 8 years old today! This was my first commercial game as a programmer. What a journey that was! A lot of memories and fun milestones that I still remember clearly to this day!
neutral · AI labelView post →I was going to just say this game isn't for me and just not leave a review, but couple things towards the end encouraged me to not recommend. The game does not respect you as a player. It very much leans into ideas that modern game design has discarded because they're bad ideas. I found this a bit disappointing because the core gameplay loop is reasonable if not exciting. 1) There is an enemy in a specific dungeon. It flies around and chases you. When it dies it respawns and chases you. It…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Morlan's shorts: Every time I try to go back to this game, every couple of years, I forget how painfully slow it is and I walk away again. From the start: you have to wait for the unskippable "Welcome" note, every time you start the game for 20''! Did I say every time? Yes, EVERY TIME.. See how annoying it is to read it again? Well that's what the game does.. every time. Annoy you by wasting your time. Walk through from left to right on the screen, takes about 5-6''+. It may sound fast, but…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game starts with an explanation that it was a labor of love made in 2 years, and while I feel bad for telling a passionate team how their game failed to be any good, it's more akin to telling a toddler why their behavior was bad. If you don't, that team won't grow and mature to make something of actual value. As for the actual gameplay itself, dialogue and story are simple and barely there, but some random NPCs have information you might actually want for exploration, so talking to them is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Rarely do I resort to leaving a negative review considering the obvious efforts and care put into the game. But man, this one hurts. Metroidvania is plentiful on Steam, especially if you’re into purple hair female girlboss nowadays. Purple mania is not outrageous in this case with Zoe (our protagonist in Alwa’s franchise) as she’s mute + the 8bit aesthetic makes everything work fine when it comes to immersion and lore. There’s a lot to like in Alwa’s Awakening: the music is fantastic, the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is just way too damn slow. Spoiler warning: There's no movement items, only movement spells (of which there's 2.). How the hell are there no movement items when your character moves ridiculously slow, can only jump across gaps around 4 tiles across, and can only jump 2 tiles high? From start to finish I was wondering when I was going to get some way to get around faster. Maybe a dash, or a double jump, or hell even speed-walking boots. Nothing. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →#AprilSpins Day 20 - a green record: Alwa's Awakening OST (2020) by Robert Kreese. Lovely soundtrack to a great Metroidvania-style game. Apparently this record was limited to 250 copies (?) so I'm happy I was able to find one.
positive · AI labelView post →Alwa's Awakening by Elden Pixels. In Alwa's Awakening you play as Zoe, a heroine sent from another world to bring peace to the land of Alwa. Equipped only with a magic staff she awakens in a distant land and must set out to help the people. Traverse dangerous dungeons, meet interesting and fun characters and explore the world in this 8-bit adventure game. Just like the old classics you won't have a flashing arrow telling you exactly where to go and what to do next. Instead you are free to find…
neutral · AI labelView post →ALWA'S AWAKENING THE 8-BIT EDITION: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Where Ufouria had flavor, Alwa has depth. An incredible technical achievement for the NES, with some really good pixel art, a huge world and lots of puzzle-platforming. Either version comes recommended to fans of You Have To Win The Game or VVVVVV. #NESäkuu
positive · AI labelView post →Finished Alwa's Awakening for the NES last night & what a delight the game was! If you haven't gotten your hands on a copy I highly advise you pick it up. Fun Metroid-style game! Shoutout to @brad.rainwarrior.ca @drmoocowz.bsky.social and jordigh for the raids last night! :) Not sure what's next.. 🤔
positive · AI labelView post →I am really conflicted with this game on the one hand: -I absolutely love the pixel art -I love the music -The controls are crips -The first 3h or so were awesome -It runs really well on the steam deck but... the reason why I don't recommend this to most players is that, the game starts really easy but once you get to the sea monk section the difficulty spike is insane, seriously this game is harder than dark souls, I mean I like a challenge but this is just total sadist level, so.. if you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looks good, But if your here, pick up Astalon: Tears of the Earth instead. Slow movement, floaty jumps, unpredictable jump height, and a quick ramp from completely trivial, to forced damage, and instant deaths left and right, so when you fail the low jump you have no control over it feels like 15 minutes of travel through the 5 rooms to get back. I'm 2 dungeons in, and its not a metroidvania, there is no choices in your paths, but lots of backtracking points, so you'll just be peeking your…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The instant deaths that send you back screens and screens for you to do the same thing over again in order for 1 more chance at a jump is just not fun gameplay. There's really no reason that the instant deaths couldn't just do 1 damage and send you back to the start of the room.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was mid - not so offensive that I wanted to drop it, but not so good that I really wanted to keep going. I completed it, but it was a battle of wills until I turned on the Game Assist options to make deaths less punishing. The game confuses tediousness with difficulty - there are a lot of cool concepts at play, but by the end of the game each room is a platforming puzzle, and a misstep means an instant death and backtracking through all of the previous rooms to give the current room…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Entering end game now and it has been a great ride. I wish they made more games like this as this one is a true rare treat. Not an easy game but the difficulty with assists is just nice for people like me with limited time and not so nimble fingers anymore. I find it thrilling to try to figure out the puzzles yet i must say the gloves came off somewhere around Void temple hours ago and right now even with a map things are.... interesting. complex. fascinating. Reminds me of La Mulana at it's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This should be a neutral vote, mostly because it was the first work of a very small team who spent 2 years on it, but doing a retro-styled game does not completely excuse it for being tedious and a slog in places. Passing off some outdated and trollish game design, a dull world and non-existent plot as love for the "good old days" does not make these things automatically better. Sure, there are a few nice puzzles, but the glacial pace, constant one-hit-kill traps and annoying backtracking make…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Difficult to recommend. Does a great job at mimicking the NES era, but fails to deliver a unique or interesting experience. Feels mostly devoid of personality in it's music, level design, characters, and art. The gameplay itself is slow, boring, and littered with poor design choices. Deaths feel sufficiently punishing, but not always fair... leading to many mind-numbingly slow run-backs through areas you've already backtracked, and will likely need to backtrack again once you're in the late…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Did my part ✋. Together with Micro Mages (also available on Broke Studios website) and Alwa's Awakening the best new NES game I played. Can't wait to play both coop with my sons! My review here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=apRX...
positive · AI labelView post →Alwa’s Awakening is fantastic. What a great little game. It feels like a true NES game without the NES limitations. It has some quirks, though. Controls/Gameplay The pace of this game is SLOOOOOOW! It kind of feels like an NES game that the system can’t run any faster. I’m not going to say that I love it, but I don’t hate it either. It took me 11.7 hours to clear 100% of the map and almost 90% of the items. It feels significantly smaller/shorter than Astalon, another NES-like Metroidvania. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too frustrating. Pixel perfect jumps with slow, floaty controls - you can never be sure if some jumps can be made unless you try several times. If you breathe on a spike, you're dead. You have to be very close to enemies to strike them - usually they will just walk right through you or you walk into them because you misjudged how short the players attack is. Honestly, I can enjoy hard difficulties when there is a reasonable pace, but in this game - everything is just so slow. So even if it…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is one of the few metroidvanias I have not been able to finish. I have two issues with the game: -It is old school by design, and I do not mean the graphics. The gameplay is really slow, it is a little hard (sometimes) to figure out where a new item might be, there are hidden walls (some can be deduced but some not). -The map design could be improved. There are a few gems here and there, unique screens are usually quite good but the overall design of the map feels terrible to me.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alwa's Awakening is an ambitious puzzle-platformer metroidvania and I genuinely wish I liked it. The level design often feels extremely tedious. While individual rooms are generally fine in a vacuum, the areas are designed in such a way that you'll often need to platform your way through the same rooms 2-3 or more times as you collect keys, push switches, and open doors. If you plan to collect 100% of the items, you'll need to backtrack through most of the map yet again, often to collect orbs…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've tried to start playing this game multiple times, and I've mostly found it annoying. Your movement is very slow and your three-hit healthbar makes getting through long stretches without a checkpoint extremely irritating. Plus, playing some of the sequel, Alwa's Legacy, I hesitate to say this game has pretty much completely been replaced as it pretty much improves on everything this game is trying to do. Maybe there is some kind of merit to going back to this one, but I'm not seeing it nor…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Zoe from Alwa’s Awakening. A neat little game I found on the switch eshop a while back. #alwasawakening #zoe #pixelart
neutral · AI labelView post →A difficult puzzle-platformer. The combat, other than the bosses, feels almost pointless, as the game is designed around it's platforming challenges rather than it's combat. I'm also not a fan of your characters lack of mobility. Again, I can tell the can is designed around playing a slow character that has limited movement options, but at times it made the game feel like a drag. There were instances were I wanted to go back and heal at a well or I needed to go back to a certain area, but I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: If you like platforming, Metroidvanias, 8-bit graphics, and enjoy hating yourself for dying for the 98th time, pick up Alwa's Awakening. It's a surprisingly solid entry into the Metroidvania genre of games. 9/10. Gameplay: Look, I'm old, and my reflexes just aren't what they used to be, but the game is very tight in gameplay. The jump is the only thing that feels a little floaty, but aside from that, everything is pretty solid. The game doesn't tell you everything, you'll need to explore…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While the game is quite competently made, it replicates both good and the bad of classic NES game difficulty. The early game is very fun, but the second half of the game inexplicably becomes a precision-platformer rage-game. This wouldn't be a problem if the player's move speed wasn't SO gosh-darn slow. 90% of the end-game is simply waiting for platforms to move, dying to an instant-kill spike, and then waiting for the platform to move again. I'm not joking when I say that there are instances…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have only played Borderlands 2, Torchlight 2, Guild Wars 2, and Alwa's Awakening yet. It may get worse with some games, but the tricky part was to guess IF I want the Linux version of the game. Both Borderlands 2 and Torchlight 2 have long-not-updated Linux versions that are missing updates.
neutral · AI labelView post →Leaned a little too heavy into the NES difficulty curve. There's no easing you into it it's just like level one is insanely difficult. Story and game play wasn't fun enough to make me suffer through this when I could be playing Silksong. I think no one wants to give it a bad review because the developer start the game with a message that says they slaved over it for 2 years. But when the guys doing walk through videos on YouTube are playing it using "assist mode" that starts you back in the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is first and foremost a platformer. It was quite fun initially, but I grew weary of some design choices and didn't aim for full completion. It made me learn that I heavily dislike light press jumps, especially with so much instant death, A suggestion that could have helped a lot would've been to not have instant death hazards, and just make them deal 1 health like normal with room respawn, it's not like you have much health to begin with. The bosses were pretty neat and fairly…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just discovered this fantastic NES platformer called Sam's Journey, which is an upgraded version of another late-in-the-life Commodore 64 game made by fans. The graphics are gorgeous, very much on the level of Kirby's Adventure or Alwa's Awakening. #nes #homebrew #samsjourney #c64 #retrogaming
neutral · AI labelView post →here's a little fact about me: I playtested two commercial games. First was Alwa's Awakening The 8-Bit Edition, you can find my name on Elden Pixels' website. Second was A Void Hope from the same company, you can find my name in the in-game credits. I think I did good on that last one. FACT OVER.
neutral · AI labelView post →Would I recommend Alwa's Awakening? Sure. It has great nostalgic values with the artwork and music. The game looks very easy and childish but it can be very frustrating and demand you to look around every corner. Several times over. Most rooms and enemies aren't that difficult but those that are will stick in your memory... Your nightmares, lol! At two times I was very close to look on the internet for where or how to continue. I am glad at didn't and actually finished the game completely on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought the game because it looked like a fun retro-styled pixel art game but I was disappointed with the gameplay. Alwa's Awakening is an open world platformer. It's a lite-metroidvania but instead of scrolling levels, you explore the game world screen by screen. It started off well with it's smooth controls and presentation. But after a while, things got dull and playing started to feel like a chore. It felt like there's really nothing really going on. The rooms that need to be explored feel…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The level design was pretty good and despite only a few simple upgrades, it was cool to see what platforming tricks you could accomplish with them. I mean it's definitely more interesting than the generic Metroidvania mobility-based upgrades like double jump. The secrets and hidden rooms in this game are really well done, they don't feel especially cryptic, and you don't feel like you're doing an annoying pixel hunt where you attack the walls a hundred times per room looking for secrets like in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A little history about this game: this has been on my backlog for so long just waiting its turn. It is always the "next" one....and then something comes up, until now. This was a big mistake. Alwa's Awakening is exactly what I grew up on. It can be tough in spots, but not "punch your fist through the monitor" frustrating. It takes a bit of brain power, and perfect jump timing. But when those come together right, it gives you that feeling of accomplishment on the little things you didn't know…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just beat Alwa's Awakening on Evercade. Good game. Its the NES version which made looking for help online hard as most walkthroughs are of the version on Steam, but overal didn't need a lot of guidance. Decent metroidvania. Don't ask me how many times I died.
positive · AI labelView post →I beat Alwa's Awakening Final Stats --- Time: 09:21 Orbs: 99/99 Map: 98% Items: 100% Death Count: 44 It was a good game! I really liked the platforming, puzzles and exploration. Thanks for coming to my stream. = ' ~ ' =
positive · AI labelView post →Really simple and easy little platformer. I can't really call this a Metroidvania, as is. You only get spells that give you more movement options, there are no "upgrades" to give you double jumps ect. But the puzzles were elementary, combat was simple and easy, instant death spikes were the only real threat the whole game, only few bosses here and there. It's basically a nice introductory game to platforming adventure game genre. After couple of spells you could go anywhere and collect stuff.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game I will definitely play a third Alwa game if the developer decides to make it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alwa's Awakening is a retro-inspired action-adventure platformer developed and published by Elden Pixels that deliberately recreates the spirit of classic 8-bit console games while blending it with modern metroidvania design principles. The game draws heavy inspiration from the style and pacing of classic NES-era adventures, emphasizing exploration, puzzle solving, and precise platforming rather than fast-paced combat or complex RPG mechanics. By combining nostalgic visuals with carefully…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Keep playing TUNIC. It's great. Someone else mentioned Death's Door which I see as TUNIC's overlooked cousin. Some others that are similar, have either played them or purchased and not played yet, due to similar taste to yours: Alwa's Awakening & Alwa's Legacy Anodyne Blossom Tales series Fountains Lunacid The Messenger Moonlighter series Unsouled
neutral · AI labelView post →Tentative Recommendation A competent, if basic Metroidvania with an 8-bit era throwback aesthetic. The upgradeable abilities make for some somewhat interesting traversal challenges, but otherwise this is a slow and sometimes frustrating platformer that does little to stand out from the rest of the genre and as such only just barely ekes out a recommendation. We'll see if the sequel fares any better. 6/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The third part is out and the exploring continues! However, I'm not sure if I'll finish it, as I'm already realising how my focus is shifting to other things (maybe 2 more videos). But that says nothing about the quality of the game, Alwa's Awakening is a great game all round! #nes
positive · AI labelView post →A great little metroidvania with authentic NES aesthetics and fantastic music. Thankfully not too long or too difficult, though unfortunately it ends on nothing, leading straight into its sequel... which was unfortunately not as good.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My first impression in the first hour was that it was boring and I didn't enjoy pushing blocks around like an Amazon warehouse worker moving pallets onto the pressure switches that pass as paint-by-number gamer puzzles for the thousandth time. I could push through the confusion to get the equipment I needed to unlock new areas and solve the puzzles, but I hated the backtracking and it wasn't enough fun to begin with. The game somehow felt even slower than Super Mario Bros 3, and yet it had…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A wonderful old school Metroidvania game! If it had been made back in the days it would have been there amongst one of the greatest! Cheeky humor, fun puzzles and a lot of hidden secrets and items to find! You can tell that a lot of effort and love has gone into this one! I hate dying, but it was one of those games you just know that "just ONE MORE TIME" and you'll eventually get it. So 180 deaths later the game is beat :P I think the first 2/3 of the game was the best, where it was more…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An 8-bit 2D platformer metroidvania where you slowly gather three powers that will help you defeat the evil on the land! + Impressively designed boss-fights that require understanding (and a bit of skill) + A lot done with three simple powers. + Cute story and pixel art. + Incredibly well designed map with lots of shortcuts you unlock. + Some real great chiptunes as well, even if most of the loops are very short. - The final levels are true gauntlets of skill. - There's no "fake wall" item…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay feels good and the art is beautiful. I found it somewhat difficult in an NES-type of way, but there is an Assist Mode to make it less frustrating if you get stuck.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice retro metroidvania. All soundtracks are amazing! It's nice until you reach the last level with crazy levels, pls wish me luck
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →7. Alwa's Legacy I played the previous game (Alwa's Awakening) which was in an 8 bit style, and this one looks 16 bit. Makes it feel like they were some lost NES/SNES series, which is cool!
neutral · AI labelView post →What could have been a very nice 8-bit metroidvania, spoiled by the sheer amount of backtracking that is required. It's a pity as I was particularly fond of the graphics that reminded me of MSX gfx. Some of the sprites or backgrounds look particularly nice for some reason. Unfortunately toward the end of the game your main activity will be to examine the map to detect the cell you have a chance to progress through, painstakingly traverse a dozen screens to reach it only to realize you still…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There are some nice things about this game that are ultimately irrelevant because of the movement and controls. Everything moves in the most sluggish way possible, it feels like an unending water level, and the controls are slow and unresponsive. Besides, enemies don’t drop anything, which means that when you need to backtrack or, even worse explore, you have no incentive to kill anything and you’re moving incredibly slow throughout the entire world. I wanted to like this game but these…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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