Alwa's Awakening on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information

Quick menu

Use your magic staff and progress through a large interconnected world where you'll solve puzzles, fight enemies and defeat bosses in order to help free the land of Alwa. Explore and uncover the secrets by using your platforming skills in this challenging and charming 8-bit adventure game.

Alwa's Awakening is a metroidvania, indie and adventure game developed and published by Elden Pixels.
Released on February 02nd 2017 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux in 8 languages: English, Swedish, German, Spanish - Spain, Portuguese - Brazil, French, Italian and Russian.

It has received 824 reviews of which 659 were positive and 165 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.6 out of 10. šŸ˜Š

The game is currently priced at 9.75ā‚¬ on Steam.


The Steam community has classified Alwa's Awakening into these genres:

Media & Screenshots

Get an in-depth look at Alwa's Awakening through various videos and screenshots.

System requirements

These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.

Windows
  • OS *: Windows XP, 7, 8, or 10
  • Processor: 2.1 GHz Dual Core
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
  • DirectX: Version 9.0
  • Storage: 280 MB available space
  • Sound Card: Yes
  • Additional Notes: Gamepad Recommended
MacOS
  • OS: Mac OS X 10.7
  • Processor: Core 2 Duo
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics or better
  • Storage: 280 MB available space
  • Sound Card: Yes
  • Additional Notes: Gamepad Recommended
Linux
  • OS: Ubuntu 16.04
  • Processor: Dual Core 2 GHz
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: Intel HD Graphics or better
  • Storage: 280 MB available space
  • Sound Card: Yes
  • Additional Notes: Gamepad Recommended

User reviews & Ratings

Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.

March 2025
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 focus on figuring things out. The last 1/3 was mostly one-touch deaths and very complicated movements and switches between abilities. One pixel wrong and you die and have to restart... again... and again. For me, I prefer the "I saw this somewhere" and gradually open up the world with new abilities and finding hidden stuff.
Expand the review
March 2025
Really fun and challenging game(but then I'm not the best on platforms) I can really recommend for ppl who want to spend some hours. My self is aiming for 100% the game as it looks of now
Expand the review
March 2025
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 that will help you. - You can only cycle the powers forward. A very solid little game with a lot of playtime available if you want to do everything.
Expand the review
Oct. 2024
Alwaā€™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 canā€™t run any faster. Iā€™m not going to say that I love it, but I donā€™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 finished that in 32+ hours at 100% for comparison. The controls are good. I never felt like I made a mistake because the controls were off. Enemies are mostly slow and very few. If youā€™re looking for engaging combat, youā€™re not going to find it here. Being a Metroidvania, the game focuses more on exploration. It also has lots of puzzles, but most of them are easy enough to solve on the spot. Save rooms are well distributed across the game. The last area has several since it is more difficult. There are warp rooms too--theyā€™re mostly functional. I guess itā€™s better than having no fast travel system. I hadnā€™t heard about the wall jump and double jump ā€œhacksā€ until nearly the end of the game and didnā€™t use them at all. Donā€™t feel like you need to. Difficulty The game felt well balanced and had no difficulty spikes. With that said, I did die some 120+ times, though. Either I was in a hurry and made mistakes or didnā€™t really learn the enemy patterns well enough. Iā€™m not super skilled either. Some reviewers are saying that the game gets too difficult towards the end (last area to be more precise). It does get harder, but I wouldnā€™t say itā€™s terribly difficult. It has a lot of consecutive puzzles and traps that kill you instantly, and you have to take your time getting through them. I did get stuck on one specifically and looked it up, then I felt stupid because the solution was super easy to figure out. The bosses are fairly easy, especially once you figure out the pattern. In fact, I beat the last boss on my third or fourth try. Graphics The graphics look simple, but super nice. The color palette is awesome and really stands out. However, I donā€™t know if this was done on purpose or if they developed the game planning on releasing it for the NES, but there is not a single moving background in the entire game. All backgrounds are 100% static. Again, I donā€™t know if they were going for NES authenticity, but I feel like it could have been done a bit better on PC. Not a deal breaker, though. Another thingā€”I had issues running the game on my 21:9 ultrawide monitor in full screen (5120x2160). The game stretches all the way to the edges and I couldnā€™t find a way to fix that. I had to turn off full screen mode and play it on a small window, which canā€™t be resized by the way. I played the native Linux version. Music The music is pretty good overall. While they reused assets in at least half of the songs, they sound good, even catchy sometimes. I enjoyed all of it. It sounds nostalgic to me. Other thoughts Hereā€™s my opinion on the ending (no spoilers, though). It sucks. I get it that this is supposed to be like an NES game, but holy crap, at least pretend like youā€™re trying. That may have been a hook for the next game, Alwaā€™s Legacyā€”I donā€™t know. Donā€™t expect a payoff at the end after all your hard work. I even looked up the ending on Youtube to see if I had missed something. Turns out itā€™s just that crappy. Thereā€™s not much of a story going on here. Actually, I donā€™t even remember it, and Iā€™ve been playing this game for a week now. Conclusion Iā€™m really glad I purchased the game. It is a fun, NES-like lite Metroidvania with character and interesting dynamics. I had a lot of fun.
Expand the review
July 2024
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 (*cough*useaguide*cough*) to find everything, but it'll still be fun. Music: It's pretty solid, eventually it gets a bit repetitive, because you've died yet again, and then yet again, and you shouldn't really haven't been in these sets of rooms, (did you just die again), this long, and so at this point, the music is $#%# damnit, starting to annoy you a bit, but it's your own GAH! fault. Graphics: It's an 8 bit game? Sure, if you say so. It's a pretty beautiful game for what it is. I really enjoyed it, except for the hidden things you literally can't see. But I guess that's what those who enjoy screwing around with games like doing. Story: Did you care about those things? Do you need one for this? Start, kill things. Save the land. I mean, there's a story I suppose. The NPCs are minorly amusing sometimes. Not really important. Overall: I really enjoyed this game, though I think I would have enjoyed it less if it didn't have "ASSIST MODE" aka "you suck and need a lot of help MODE." Thank you ASSIST MODE. I was able to enjoy the game and not put it down. Seriously get this game and play it if you enjoy these styles of games. Why not 10/10? The hIt box was sometimes super annoying. It didn't look like I hit sometime, but then I hit one of the instant death spike ball things. I hate you. :) Buy this game.
Expand the review

Similar games

View all

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon

Battle with swords and whips in this retro-style action game brought to you by game creator Koji Igarashi and Inti Creates! Play as Zangetsu, a demon slayer bearing a deep grudge, who must travel through perilous lands to defeat a powerful demon lurking in a dark castle.

Similarity 99%
Price 9.99ā‚¬
Rating 9.1
Release 24 May 2018

Gato Roboto

Pounce inside of your cozy armored mech and set off on a dangerous trek through an alien underworld full of irritable creatures and treacherous obstacles in a valiant effort to save your stranded captain and his crashed spaceship.

Similarity 99%
Price -80% 1.52ā‚¬
Rating 9.1
Release 30 May 2019

Shantae: Risky's Revenge - Director's Cut

Shantae: Riskyā€™s Revenge ā€“ Directorā€™s Cut brings hair-whipping, belly-dancing to your PC! Play one of the most critically acclaimed handheld series of all time, now with brand new features!

Similarity 98%
Price 9.99ā‚¬
Rating 8.2
Release 15 Jul 2014

Wings of Vi

Wings of Vi is a challenging 2D platformer in which the player controls the angel Vi, tasked with defeating the Demon Lord Jehā€™oul after he is freed from captivity. While inspired by masochistic retro platformers, Wings of Vi aims to cut out arbitrary difficulty in favor of skill based gameplay.

Similarity 96%
Price 14.99ā‚¬
Rating 7.6
Release 28 Nov 2014

Cyber Shadow

The world has been taken over by synthetic lifeforms. A desperate plea for help sets Shadow, the sole survivor of his clan, on one last mission to uncover what started the path to perpetual ruin.

Similarity 92%
Price -41% 11.78ā‚¬
Rating 8.0
Release 26 Jan 2021

The Messenger

As a demon army besieges his village, a young ninja ventures through a cursed world, to deliver a scroll paramount to his clanā€™s survival. What begins as a classic action platformer soon unravels into an expansive time-traveling adventure full of thrills, surprises, and humor.

Similarity 92%
Price 19.50ā‚¬
Rating 9.1
Release 30 Aug 2018

Horace

"The best platformer of 2019."Horace is a huge platforming adventure which pushes the boundaries of the genre with a profound story of a small robot learning of life, the universe and Douglas Adams. Made by videogame lovers for videogame lovers!

Similarity 92%
Price 14.99ā‚¬
Rating 7.6
Release 18 Jul 2019

Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment

Take control of Specter Knight, servant to the Enchantress, in a quest to recruit a cadre of knights and create the Order of No Quarter. Experience perfect platforming, world-class visuals, impeccable stage design, incredible music, and even meet a friend or two in Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment!

Similarity 92%
Price 9.99ā‚¬
Rating 8.7
Release 05 Apr 2017

Axiom Verge

Explore and uncover the mystery of a surreal alien world by blasting aliens and glitching your environment in this intense retro side-scrolling action/adventure.

Similarity 92%
Price 17.99ā‚¬
Rating 8.8
Release 14 May 2015

You Have to Win the Game

You Have to Win the Game is a free exploration platformer with a retro 1980s PC aesthetic.

Similarity 92%
Price Free to play
Rating 9.0
Release 06 May 2014

La-Mulana

LA-MULANA is an ā€œArchaeological Ruin Exploration Action Game,ā€ bringing the classic appeal of adventure with the punishing difficulty of retro-inspired gaming. Search inside ancient ruins, seeking out the ā€œSecret Treasure of Lifeā€ ā€“ which sleeps in the sprawling ruins of ā€œLA-MULANAā€ and is said to be the beginning of all civilization.

Similarity 92%
Price -75% 3.74ā‚¬
Rating 7.7
Release 15 Apr 2013

Mini Ghost

"Mini Ghost" is a mini metroidvania in the 80's MSX art style and gameplay. It's the mini prequel of Ghost 1.0.

Similarity 91%
Price 1.99ā‚¬
Rating 8.7
Release 28 Apr 2017

Data sources

The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.

Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.

Last Updates
Steam data 07 April 2025 11:10
SteamSpy data 09 April 2025 08:07
Steam price 15 April 2025 04:42
Steam reviews 13 April 2025 19:55

If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Alwa's Awakening, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.

  • SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Alwa's Awakening
  • SteamCharts - Analysis of Alwa's Awakening concurrent players on Steam
  • ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Alwa's Awakening compatibility
Alwa's Awakening
7.6
659
165
Online players
2
Developer
Elden Pixels
Publisher
Elden Pixels
Release 02 Feb 2017
Platforms