Video Game of the Day is a daily show available on Amazon Alexa devices and here on this website. Each day, we briefly discuss the history of a single game, randomly chosen. If you would like to listen on your daily flash briefing, you can enable Video Game of the Day here: https://amzn.to/2CNx2NJ.
Hello and welcome! My name is Katosepe and I’ll be your host for today’s Video Game of the Day!
RPGs typically come with one of two tones. They are either deeply western, inspired by the likes of Tolkien and feature lots of medieval European lore, or they are anime through and through, with melodrama and character archetypes galore. There are a few exceptions, for sure, but the majority fall into these two types. For those weary of these types of stories who are looking for something different, today’s game may be worth checking out. Today’s game is Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan, developed by Kiro’o Games and released on PC in 2016.
Aurion is an action RPG steeped in African culture. The main character Enzo, is the last heir to the Kori-Odan family, rulers of his homeland of Zama. As he is about to be married to a princess of another line, his brother-in-law-to-be launches a coup, exiling Enzo and taking his lands by force. Enzo and his fiancee, Erine, must fight to regain his throne.
Aurion plays as a 2D action-RPG using a brawler-style battle system focused heavily on combos against the various enemies Enzo must face. Aurion is a special energy that Enzo can use to pull off special moves as well. As the game progresses, players can unlock new attacks and specials.
Aurion is an interesting game in its own right but its development story is also unique. Kiro’o Games is a development studio in Cameroon, making them the first game development studio in Central Africa. As trailblazers in the region, all of the developers at Kiro’o Games are self-taught, learning through online tutorials as they developed Aurion. Aurion’s story and lore is based around many different African cultures, tying them together in the overall fantasy of the world, which is their image of an Africa that was never colonized.
Aurion received moderate reviews when it released. Critics often stated that the team deserved praise for the accomplishment but that the game needed some more polish and lacked certain quality of life improvements common in the industry in 2016. Fans looked more positively upon the game, giving the game a Very Positive review score on Steam. The story and art is typically praised while the gameplay and animations are seen as somewhat lacking. Kiro’o Games is currently working on a mobile port of Aurion with no announced release date at this time.
Thank you so much for listening! I did try to get the names right, as best I could, but please forgive me if I mispronounced some things. This episode was filled to the brim with tough names! If you are willing to give me a pass, maybe consider leaving a review for the show on Amazon and let others know. If my pronunciations were unforgivable, follow me on Twitter @vg_oftheday and let me know how they should be pronounced. Don’t forget to check back here tomorrow for another Video Game of the Day!
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Devin "Katosepe" Sloane is a long time gamer and host of the show Video Game of the Day. He firmly believes Darklands is the pinnacle of gaming achievement and this is a hill he will die upon. Where his nickname came from is a secret to everybody.
