AVARIAvs Review for Steam

Quick reflexes and sure decisions are requirements on the battlefield. One moment of hesitation and the opponent gets an opportunity to strike you down. Decisive, intentional, and deadly are the only things that matter when facing off against an enemy. Take too long or make the wrong move, and it’s over for you. That’s how it feels playing AVARIAvs, developed and published by Juncture Media. A timed strategy fighting game, the player selects different characters, either from templates or the player makes a team from scratch and faces off against another player in battle. Having to fight the timer and the opponent make for an intense, high stakes skirmish that makes the player consider their move very carefully.

At least, that’s the idea

              AVARIAvs does several things very successfully. It creates atmosphere and immersion particularly well. The timer burning away at the bottom of the screen very effectively conveys a sense of urgency. Each character boasts a variety of tactical options, from damage dealing moves to buffs and debuffs, to defensive actions. The player has a very limited to diligently select a move and target for each of their three team members every round, and it doesn’t get easier with time. When new to the game, in the time that it takes to read an action’s description, more than half of the timer is already gone. Part of minimizing that comes with a player becoming familiar with the game as time passes. But there is a definite sense of overwhelming when first jumping into a match. That would be mitigated by the player going through the game’s tutorial, except that is an entirely optional process that is not immediately attention grabbing when going through the game’s menus.

Depth and breadth

              Despite the game’s incredible talent for making a player stress out, the game’s depth in mechanics and lore and breadth of customizability of character teams makes it easy to fall into a rabbit hole. Each loading screen is full of character biographies and history of the world that they come from, it makes even waiting in a lobby an engaging time. The game’s strongest point is its strategic potential. Each character has two different menus of actions to choose from, and each of those are different from the other characters. Because a player can create a team of three, the combinations of actions available in a match are nearly endless and can be a field day for cerebral types who enjoy anticipating what an opponent will bring to a match and their next move.

The art and style of AVARIAvs take the player on a journey through space and time. Characters have sleek and chic designs, with an array of races and features. The battlefields and move effects make the scene that much more dramatic and investing.

All in all, AVARIAvs makes the player feel the suspense, both in a positive and negative light. However, the sheer amount of strategy and quick reflexes required make the game enjoyable to play.

8.3/10

Check Out the AVARIAvs Trailer:

AVARIAvs is available for PC and Mac for $19.99 via Steam.