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"Avaris 3" is a rather strange indie / doujin game by a team with quite a bit of history, though they have a small International presence. In short, it's kind of a gem. To elaborate, it's kind of a gem that blends a few genres in an interesting way but is grindy and is also compared to mobile games (most notably, "Clickers"). If you're somebody like me who likes big numbers that go brrrrrr and seeing almost indescribable carnage filling your screen that goes pew pew pew and then you get a bunch of stuff only to boost your dopamine and do it again a lot more times, then this game is for you. Developed by "StudioGIW" in 2023, the team actually goes back more than 20 years to 2001 when Giwa, the owner of StudioGIW, went freelance (and "Avaris" was his inaugural game, though he has made many more since). Prior to this, he had been working on games commercially since 1997 and was best known for the isometric Action RPG, "Elder Blaze" (in conjunction with "Nihon Create", who are best known for "Elder Blaze" and Sega Saturn's "Tryrush Deppy").

"Avaris" is a series of tactical grand war games (with a loose RTS feel, but it is too simple to be a full-fledged grand strategy game or 4X title) that takes place in the Avaris Empire. in Avaris 3, the player controls Genie Princess Alvia, a young woman who was destined to die as a half human, half demon hybrid despised by humans as an ill omen and put to death through a holy execution (trial by fire at the cross). As the last princess of this allegedly unholy union, all seems lost until she manifests the powers of the "Eye of Horus" which speaks to her soul and allows her to tap into the powers of the God of Demons. The "Eye of Horus" (Based on Udjat and depicted as a giant staff here) has multiple properties, but its main benefit is that it allows you "sight beyond sight" (you can see enemies anywhere on the map, far further than you can see on your own) and the ability to summon greater demons with the power of souls harvested from the dead (you can't attack directly). Your goal is to subjugate others in the empire, increase your ranks and protect demons and the humans who support the demons. You also have two aids, Shine and Light Nightmare (twin sisters and Alvia's half-sisters) who, along with Alvia, utilize abilities and special tools known as "Malice Eaters".

A3 has an addictive gameplay loop and battles are waged on a large scale... so large, that the devs tout the game's ability to render over 12,000 units on a battlefield and does so with zero load times and proprietary pixel technology (known as "Lixel Technology", it can even run on older phones and PCs). In spite of this, combat is snappy with most skirmishes not taking more than two minutes, giving the game a rather Arcade feeling that's easy to pick up and play. There is some in-game terminology you'll have to make sense of as you play, or a few things will seem like gibberish (and not just cause of the translation, which isn't very good). The player is dropped into battlefields with Alvia and her different platoons (which have a leader and two sub units, the order of which determines how many "Organization Points" or demonic power a unit will use). Besides players creating a bunch of units, you will also have to pay attention to their "Siege" rating as some stages have siege warfare (simple battles where you have a certain number of turns to assault the castle by pressing X or whatever button per version). Victory is primarily obtained by killing the enemy's general, and the faster you do it, the better your stage bonus.

Demon cores are different monsters you receive which are randomly rewarded based on the stage. Getting the same core of the same monster allows you to power them up with Velis, an enhancement stone, through core synthesis. Additional enhancements can be gained through a system known as "Zvald", a synthetic fusion of two monsters where the "Zvalded" entity passes down some of their resistances to the primary demon as well as offer them a 4th skill. You can also hire human mercenaries with gold to increase your ranks and upgrade Alvia's demon power and Organization Points with Velis. The PS4 game is an "offline" (mostly) version where online features are limited, but other versions include tournaments and PvP functions. The PS4 version still includes "Hunting Grounds" (challenges against the CPU) and other features. Visually, the game looks like an early -mid PS1 game (in a good way) and the game runs well. Menus are a bit cumbersome but the gameplay itself isn't complicated and it's fun. The music and general audio is fantastic. The biggest problem is the game's price... it's VERY expensive for an indie game and doesn't go on sale nearly enough (almost $30 on PS4, $35 on Switch and $45 on Steam... and Steam is usually the cheapest option), which makes it harder to recommend.

This is a video of some things in action. Enjoy.

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