Azazel's Christmas Fable

[h1][b][u]BottomLine at the Top:[/u][/b][/h1] A short but sweet Demon Themed Christmas P&C just in time for the holidays! [h1][b][u]Intro:[/u][/b][/h1] First thing as always is to note that this game was given to me for review by the developer (which I am always grateful for!) ------------------------------------- [h1][b][u]Pros:[/u][/b][/h1] ------------------------------------- -Starts right up, no setup nonsense -Stable, no bugs or crashing during my game play -Nicely detailed retro pixel art backgrounds -Fully Voiced -Atmospheric soundtrack -Double click fast travel ------------------------------------- [h1][b][u]Meh...:[/u][/b][/h1] ------------------------------------- -No object/interactivity hotspot highlight function -Comedy was hit or miss for me, seemed to get better as time went on. ------------------------------------- [h1][b][u]Cons:[/u][/b][/h1] ------------------------------------- -No Autosave. This is a sin for a AGS game in 2022. -A few flow breaking moon logic puzzles, and not so much pixel hunting but more like "I did not know that wasn't part of the background" type of a deal. -Taking Steam screenshots via the F12 key caused cutscenes to skip on more than one occasion. [h1][b][u]Final Thoughts:[/u][/b][/h1] This was a nice lil' game to play. Probably safe enough to classify as a demon themed family P&C. This would make a nice X-mas gift. As a gift, I would find the price acceptable. If I was buying for myself, I'd be a little happier if it was a few bucks cheaper. Still, not enough to break the bank either way so give it a go while sipping cocoa by the fire....IN HELLL BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAAH!!!!! [hr][/hr] [b][u][i]For more point & click goodness, check out our P&C fan Steam group, The Coalition of Point & Clickers!:[/i][/u][/b] [list][*] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/CPANDC] Coalition of Point & Clickers Main Page [/url][*][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34690626/] Coalition of Point & Clickers Curator [/url][/list] 👑 [b][u][i]Powered by HoI 4 Deu Curators group in German / English[/i][/u][/b] 👑⠀⠀⠀[list][*][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30388691/] Follow Main group [/url][*][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40282064/] Follow Second group [/url][/list]

Saw this game on Twitch and bought it to leave a review. This game is just a pure masterpiece! Unbelievable it's so cheap. I really hope for a second part :D

Azazel’s Christmas Fable is a retro point & click title with a lighthearted narrative and cheeky humour. Its Christmas theme makes it an excellent choice to play during the jolly season and is sure to appeal to the whole family. [b] [u]Pros[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Christmas themed [*] Creative and witty dialogue [*] Variety and difficulty of puzzles [*] All characters are voiced [*] Mixing devilish mischief with traditional Christmas characters [*] Exploration and unusual choices are rewarded [/list] [b] [u]Cons[/u] [/b] [list] [*] Difficulty to progress to other areas due to resolution issues [/list] [h1]Story[/h1] Players take on the role of a mischievous imp named Azazel. Azazel has not been earning his keep in the underworld and has been sent on a quest by his leader, Gorgoman the Great to demonstrate his allegiance to his fellow demons. His journey begins in the North Pole, in a small Elvish community that is suspiciously cheerful. Azazel must locate the source of joy from the town and destroy it to appease his leader. To do this, he must become the part and fit in as an elf. This quest introduces him to many peculiar individuals including an extremely moody gingerbread man, a reindeer, an overly energetic retail worker and Santa himself. Does Azazel have what it takes to fool them and prove his Elvin origin? Can he appease Gorgoman, or will the festivities cause him to have a change of heart? https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2902930108 The story is fantastic, it is lighthearted and fun, filled with both Christmas and dark references alike. It is supposed to be reminiscent of 90’s classics and whilst I cannot really comment on that, I loved the simplicity of it all. The narrations are all very playful and it is rewarding to click on everything just to hear Azazel’s humerous comments. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] It features classic point & click gameplay with standard inventory puzzles and the occasional complex puzzle such as aligning set points in a wheel or finding the right combination of symbols to unlock something. Describing the gameplay gives off the impression that the game is very basic, and whilst it is, mechanically speaking, it is this simplicity that adds to its charm. Each screen has a hidden collectable to find and arrows at edges of the screen are used to proceed to the adjacent areas. Hunting for the collectable was especially enjoyable and despite it being difficult to spot due to the pixel nature of the game, I felt that this was all part of the fun. These collectables can also be found after completing the game and there is optional exploration and post-credit scenes, a fantastic addition to the value of the game, particularly for achievement hunters. My only gripe is that I did struggle to transition to areas via the arrows at the edge of the screen. I believe this is a resolution issue, as there are no settings to adjust. It was quite difficult to find the exact right spot where an arrow would pop up to allow me to advance. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2902930297 [b][u]Creativity & Christmas Themes[/u][/b] Created by developer [i]Greg Muhlbock[/i], this game is BURSTING with impish humour. The characters are unique and well-defined, Azazel’s grouchy comments on Christmas and his devilish rendition of classic Christmas tunes all add to the wonderful atmosphere the game oozes right from the very beginning. It is abundantly clear the amount of meticulous thought that has gone into each and every character interaction, object narration and everything in-between. The subtlety of the jokes are fantastic, allowing this game to easily be played by young children, whilst adults will have a chuckle when a dark joke unexpectedly pops up. The protagonist can get up to some real mischief, and make some mistakes along the way. What is most impressive is that these optional extras, or “mistakes” are often referenced in future conversations with characters, or hilariously reflected upon at a later time. This is one of the many instances that demonstrates the depth and thought behind the dialogue, which I found to be quite impressive. If you are looking for a Christmas themed game, I highly recommend Azazel’s Christmas Fable. It features the favourites such as Gingerbread man, Santa, elves and it even has an elf night club! This is mixed with demons to create a simultaneously whimsical adventure experience. Another important element is that despite the theme itself, there is no mention of religion, it is all cheerful entertainment that also pokes fun at itself along the way. [h1]Visuals & Sound[/h1] Azazel’s Christmas Fable is an 8-bit retro-styled game, reminiscent of 90’s classic point & clicks. I definitely felt like I was playing a much older game than from 2022, just without all of the bumps and glitches. The backgrounds are hand-drawn and bright and despite the pixellated visuals, I found it quite simple to find the items I needed. However there are times when Azazel blended into the environment, especially when his skin colour was similar to the background. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2902930145 Each of the many characters are fully voiced with what I suspect to be only two voices (one male and one female). These voices added much personality to the many characters. The soundtrack is a brilliant match for Christmas. It features some traditional Christmas favourites whilst also introducing new scores and mixing the lyrics to better fit Azazel’s origin. [h1]Technical & Stats [/h1] [quote][b]This game was played using mouse only, and with the following PC specs.:[/b] AMD Ryzen R5 7600x 5.4 GHz 32GB DDR5 5200 CL36 RAM Radeon RX 6800 XT 2560x1440 resolution NVMe 3.0 SSD Windows 10[/quote] [b]NOTE:[/b] I did struggle on this resolution to move to different areas as the game did not seem to register where the edge of my screen was. There are no game settings to adjust. [b]Playtime & Price:[/b] The game is rather short at only 3-5 hours long (taking me only 3 hours to complete), but it is very adequately priced at $AU13.20, especially considering its high quality across all aspects of the game. [b] Controller Recommended? [/b] No [b]Replayability value:[/b] Somewhat. There are collectables to find, but they are all very simple to find on the first playthrough. However, there are also some post-credit things to do. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Azazel’s Christmas Fable exceeded any expectations I had. It is an excellent Christmas-themed game that does not take itself too seriously. It is frivolous, charming and an abundance of fun for the whole family. The gameplay is simple, whilst having enough variety and difficulty to keep your brain engaged. For such a creative and joyful game, it only has 21 reviews on Steam at the time of writing this and deserves much more recognition than it has received. I highly recommend this to fans of the genre and for anyone looking for a Christmas-themed game. [quote] If you would like to see more reviews written by me, please follow my curator page and help support my work [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724/] Cookie Reviews[/url]. [/quote]