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Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan

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(Steam)
Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan
Cover art
Developer(s)Kiro'o Games
Publisher(s)Kiro'o Games, Plug-In Digital (Steam)
Director(s)Olivier Madiba
Designer(s)Patrick Hervé Meli
Programmer(s)Delphin Tcheckouloung
Artist(s)Georges Pondy
Composer(s)Yean Yves Bassangna
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is an action role-playing video game developed by the Cameroonian developer Kiro'o Games. In September 2015 Kiro'o started a Kickstarter campaign to complete their game, which was succesfully completed a month later. Aurion will be released April 14, 2016, by Plug-In Digital via Steam.

The player controls Enzo Kori-Odan, the prince of Zama, who is betrayed by his fiancée Erine's brother. Based upon African mythology, the couple visit other countries to seek help defeating the usurper.

Gameplay

Aurion is a single-player[1] action role-playing game, in which the player controls main character Enzo Kori-Odan. The gameworld is a two dimensional setting, which the player can explore. Six surrounding continents must be visited to forge an alliance against his brother-in-law.[2] Combat is in real-time,[3] like a brawler.[4] The game puts emphasis on making combos to defeat enemies.[5][6] The player character Enzo can summon Aurion, an ancient energy, which can be used in Aurionic modes, which allows for powerful abilities.[7] The player can unlock greater abilities and increase their power.[8] The gameplay is inspired by Tales of Destiny,[3][7] and has been compared to the gameplay of Dust: An Elysian Tail.[6]

Story

Setting

While Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is set on the planet of Auriona, it is based upon the culture of Africa and the announcement trailer was dubbed in the Bassa dialect.[9] Music, fashion and myths from Africa are used as inspiration.[8] Its setting is based upon African mythology,[6] and beasts from myths are featured as enemies.[4] The player can use their ancestor's powers to help in combat.[3]

Plot

The story follows Enzo Kori-Odan, a prince of the fictional land of Zama.[8] He is the last heir to the Kori-Odan family, rulers of Zama.[7] Moments before his coronation as King as well as marrying Erine Evou of Soma he is ambushed, overthrown and exiled from his palace in a coup led by his embittered brother-in-law. In order to regain his throne, the two embark on a quest seeking help from other countries and meet new cultures, to form an alliance to defeat Erine's brother, and restore the throne, and save their kingdom.[3]

Beyond retrieving their position, the dethroned Royal couple will precisely discover the geopolitical and existential dilemmas attached to their functions of King and Queen. They will have to find answers in order to secure the fate of Zama.

Development

Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is being developed by Kiro'o Games, a video game developer from Yaoundé, Cameroon,[2] the first video game developer from Central Africa.[6] Because of lack of video game development in Cameroon, Kiro'o Games' staff is self-taught.[10]

For the game's story, Kiro'o Games invented the Kiro'o Tales; a name that comes from Swahili, meaning "Spiritual Vision".[2] Founder Olivier Madiba said that the fictional world of Auriona is based upon a fantasy view where Africa wasn't colonized,[8] and while the story of Aurion is fantasy, it takes inspiration from real-world history. The different cultures in Aurion have suffered through a "horrible history" together.[2] "In Aurion, with the story scenario, there's a symbolic analogy between the trials of Enzo and Erine and the common history of Africa and our place in the stakes of the world", said Madiba.[8] The game takes inspiration from several African cultures; Enzo's battle gear is inspired by Masai clothing and the outfits of non-player characters are inspired by many people, like the Tuareg, the Yoruba, the Fula and others.[8] The game focuses on working together,[2] and Kiro'o Games wants to "unify and transmit African culture by combining myths, tales, and values", and hopes that African influences will be inspire other creations.[3]

Kickstarter

To complete the game, Kiro'o Games started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter on September 15, 2015, with a goal of 40,000,[4][7] which was completed on October 20,[8] with a total of €49,775.[11] Aurion will be released on April 14, 2016, on Steam,[9] which will be published by French company Plug-In Digital.[12]

Reception

Pre-release reception

Destructoid's Joe Parlock thought that Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan "looks fantastic".[6] Kill Screen's Michelle Ehrhardt thought that Aurion is "a loveletter" to games such as Guilty Gear and to Dragon Ball Z and saying "Aurion asserts that Africa is just as capable of creating wonder and fantasy as any other culture (perhaps even more so)".[13] Christ Priestman, also of Killscreen, called the game "accessible" and spoke of its "global appeal".[2]

References

  1. ^ "Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan". Kiro'o Games. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Priestman, Chris (2015-09-16). "Finally, African Fantasy Is Getting Its Own Gorgeous RPG". Killscreen. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  3. ^ a b c d e O'Connor, Alice (2014-11-14). "African Adventures In Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  4. ^ a b c Priestman, Chris (2015-09-23). "African-Fantasy RPG Aurion Is Now On Kickstarter". Siliconera. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  5. ^ "Aurion : l'Heritage des Kori-Odan". Jeux Video. 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2016-02-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  6. ^ a b c d e Parlock, Joe (2015-10-08). "African-developed Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan looking for funds on Kickstarter". Destructoid. Retrieved 2016-02-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  7. ^ a b c d Fuller, Alex (2015-09-16). "A Trio of Kickstart Check-Ins". RPGamer. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Narcisse, Evan (2015-10-23). "A Video Game That Transports Players to A Different Kind of Africa". Kotaku. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  9. ^ a b Parlock, Joe (2016-02-18). "Cameroonian game Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan gets a release date". Destructoid. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  10. ^ "Update #4: The Team". Kickstarter. 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  11. ^ "Final Update: Almost 50k€, thanks everyone!". Kickstarter. 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  12. ^ Campbell, Colin (2015-05-15). "African action RPG Aurion signed by publisher, offers new gameplay trailer". Polygon. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  13. ^ Ehrhardt, Michelle (2016-02-18). "Beautiful African Fantasy RPG Aurion Comes Out April 14th". Killscreen. Retrieved 2016-02-18.