Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan

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 successfully completed a month later. Aurion was released April 14, 2016, by Plug-In Digital via 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, James Thorley
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Release
  • WW: April 14, 2016 (2016-04-14)
(Steam)
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

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, allowing 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

Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is set on the planet of Auriona, based upon the cultures of Africa.[9] African music, fashion and myths are used as inspiration.[8] Monsters from various myths are featured as enemies.[4] The player controls main character Enzo Kori-Odan, who can use his 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, 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 was developed by Kiro'o Games, a video game developer from Yaoundé, Cameroon,[2] the first video game developer from Central Africa.[6] Development on the game started in early 2014. Because of lack of video game development in Cameroon, Kiro'o Games' staff is self-taught.[10][11]

While most fantasy role-playing games take inspiration from European history and mythology,[12] Aurion is based upon African mythology.[6] 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; the announcement trailer was dubbed in the Bassa dialect,[9] Enzo's battle gear is inspired by Maasai 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 inspire other creations.[3]

Kickstarter campaign

To complete the game, Kiro'o Games started a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter on September 15, 2015, with an initial goal of €40,000.[4][7] During the campaign, possible higher goals were also set. With €75,000 translations into Spanish and German would be made. Two video game industry veterans— Paul Bertone, former design director of Bungie,[13][14] and Didier Chanfray, former art director of Adeline Software International[15][16] —would be hired as consultants. Meeting the goal of €100,000 would make the game available for PlayStation 4.[17]

The campaign was completed on October 20,[8] with a total of €49,775. Despite not reaching the higher goal, Bertone was confirmed to be working with Kiro'o Games.[10] Aurion was released on April 14, 2016, on Steam,[9] which was published by French company Plug-In Digital.[18]

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 and shows such as Guilty Gear and 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)".[19] Christ Priestman, also of Kill Screen, called the game "accessible" and spoke of its "global appeal".[2]

Post-release reception
Reception
Review score
PublicationScore
Hardcore Gamer3.5/5[20]

Kyle LeClair of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 3.5 out of 5 saying, " The end result is an African tale that should at least be commended for its ambition and desire to share such traditional fables with the rest of the world, along with its superb style and combat mechanics, but that also could have used more polish in delivering said fables while intertwining them with solid gameplay."[20]

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References
  1. "Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan". Kiro'o Games. Archived from the original on 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  2. Priestman, Chris (2015-09-16). "Finally, African Fantasy Is Getting Its Own Gorgeous RPG". Killscreen. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  3. O'Connor, Alice (2014-11-14). "African Adventures In Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  4. 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.
  6. Parlock, Joe (2015-10-08). "African-developed Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan looking for funds on Kickstarter". Destructoid. Retrieved 2016-02-17.
  7. Fuller, Alex (2015-09-16). "A Trio of Kickstart Check-Ins". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  8. Narcisse, Evan (2015-10-23). "A Video Game That Transports Players to A Different Kind of Africa". Kotaku. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  9. Parlock, Joe (2016-02-18). "Cameroonian game Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan gets a release date". Destructoid. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  10. "Final Update: Almost 50k€, thanks everyone!". Kickstarter. 2015-10-20. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  11. "Update #4: The Team". Kickstarter. 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2016-02-22.
  12. Plunkett, Luke (2015-02-10). "Not Every "Fantasy" World Has To Be European". Kotaku. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  13. "Paul Bertone". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  14. "Paul Bertone". MobyGames. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  15. "Didier Chanfray". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  16. "Didier Chanfray". MobyGames. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
  17. "Update #6: Veteran Game Designers Join the Kiro'o Games Team at $75,000 Stretch Goal!". Kickstarter. 2015-09-30. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  18. Campbell, Colin (2015-05-15). "African action RPG Aurion signed by publisher, offers new gameplay trailer". Polygon. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  19. Ehrhardt, Michelle (2016-02-18). "Beautiful African Fantasy RPG Aurion Comes Out April 14th". Killscreen. Retrieved 2016-02-18.
  20. Robertson, Tyler (29 April 2016). "Review: Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
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