I’m not sure where to even begin with Aztech Forgotten Gods, so let’s start at the beginning. Almost two years ago Lienzo studio teased an announcement for an alternate reality future of Mesoamérica people. Personally, the project having Mexican roots only added to my anticipation. The promise of blending future tech with Aztec culture sounded like a good mix; gameplay and story were the areas I was most curious to check out.
One of the themes in Aztech is historical erasure. Growing up I was interested in the history of Mesoamérica. It’s a history that would mostly be glossed over where I’m from. I was living through Achtli, our main protagonist, as we both discovered secrets of the past. Similar to what I experienced she was dealing with her own group of people hiding facts of some event that changed their civilization.
While uncovering these truths Achtli is balancing all types of relationships. Front and center is her relationship with her mother. Aztech reminded me how difficult that balance can be in proving your independence but at the same time being vulnerable. Achtli also suffers from the absence of a relationship. Early on we learn there’s self inflicted trauma from a loss in the family she was involved in.
Aztech weaves a focused and contained story which I can appreciate. It’s all taking place in a generally small region, Tenochtitlan. There’s not an immense amount of characters or relationships to juggle. The overall story has a twist that wasn’t too unexpected. Even still, I liked that twist because around the same there’s a revelation of another character’s intentions. It was a kind of bait and switch of who the antagonist is.
Throughout Aztech you’ll read a sprinkling of Nahuatl words; this was the language of the Aztecs which is still spoken today. Mictlan is a word you see often. After a couple of lines it shouldn’t be too difficult to define it yourself with context clues. I looked up the word mictlan and it translates to “hell.” Aztech’s approach to include Nahuatl language is surface level but it’s better for it. I liked the intrigue it sparked to find out the meaning.
Movement in Aztech is a tricky balance of weighty physics and wonkiness. Achtli picks up a gauntlet that harbors a god, Tez. This powered gauntlet is how you’ll get around. I was constantly fighting the camera while also trying to maneuver. Most of the boss battles had some sort of speed ring or area effect. There’s an upgrade that, for me, comes a little too late. It functions as an e-brake to make it easier to change momentum. The gauntlet does have a great sense of weight all due to the animations. It’s unfortunate that traversal ends up being a struggle more than it should be.
Similarly, the combat experience in Aztech wasn’t satisfying. There’s some form of combo system that can lead to a KO animation for smaller enemies. Which is to say there are only two types of enemies: fodder or bosses. I never felt confident with how the combat works. Most of my time in combat was spent hoping to not restart the encounter. One of my favorite moments is a dark trippy boss sequence that was overshadowed by resets due to controls or combat issues.
Aztech has challenges throughout its city. You’ll either be racing or fighting. These challenges were a low point for me. I was only getting a couple done to get points for upgrades. The races in particular are simple but frustrating. You’ll sprint to the finish line while following a machine. Stray too far, reset. Dust the machine, reset. Oh, tussle with the controls while trying to u-turn, you guessed it.
A quick mention of an unexpected feature in Aztech is a photo mode. Outside of cutscenes you’re able to pretty much pause at any moment. You have all your standard features of moving the camera around and the like. There’s some beautiful art direction in this game. My only flaw is internal as I kept forgetting there was a photo mode.
In concept, nearly all aspects of Aztech Forgotten Gods sounded fantastic. A future tech forward city that has to reckon with generational pain. Traversing that city through fluid movement and combat. Aztech Forgotten Gods has visible seams that took me out at times but I didn’t let that keep me away from finding its good moments.
Aztech Forgotten Gods is available now on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
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