Alwa’s Awakening – Open Beta (NES)

Alwa’s Awakening is a fantastic retro 8-bit remake of Elden Pixels’ Alwa’s Awakening that aims to faithfully recreate the entire game as a functioning NES ROM!

Previously featured on Alpha Beta Gamer during the closed Beta sign up, Alwa’s Awakening looks set to be a one of the best games playable on a Nintendo’s classic NES. The original Alwa’s Awakening was released in 2017 and had an 8-bit visual style, but obviously wasn’t actually an 8-bit game. Developer Elden Pixels and NES guru Brad Smith are now planning to go one step further and turn the whole game into an actual NES game!

Alwa’s Awakening is a fantasy action platforming metroidvania with puzzle elements, which follows a girl with a magic staff as she explores a strange land made up of over 400 unique rooms. As you progress you unlock new abilities for your staff – such as spawning blocks that you can use as platforms.

When the full game releases you will be able to buy an actual NES cartridge to play the game on your NES, but until then you can download the Beta and play it via an emulator. It’s a very impressive game with some of the best spritework ever to grace the NES, fun action platforming gameplay, excellent world design and an incredibly catchy soundtrack. A brand new NES game that already feels like a classic.

You’ll need an emulator to play, such as RetroArch which is now in beta on Steam (Click “Request Access” for immediate access)

Download The Alwa’s Awakening Open Beta Here (NES)