Treasures of the Aegean is a hand-drawn, side-scroller adventure game developed by Barcelona-based indie developer Undercoders and published by Numskull Games. The game releases on Nov. 11, 2021, for the PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S|X.
Treasures of the Aegean incorporates a unique combination of hand-drawn comic book-style animation with video game graphics to tell its storyline. According to a developer’s diary, Undercoders explained that Treasures of the Aegean was based on a trip to the island of Santorini, specifically the Aegean Sea surrounding the island, along with the Minoan culture and Greek mythology. You play as Marie Taylor, an experience parkour adventurer who receives assistance from treasure hunter and historian James Andrew to explore the island of Thera, a prehistoric island that collapsed in 1639 B.C. due to an explosion that recently resurfaced in the present day. Throughout the game, you will pick up clues and artifacts that tell you more about what happened to the Minoan civilization, as the game’s narrative includes three different timelines: the period where the Minoan civilization thrived under King Minos, the protagonist’s past, and the present.
As Marie, you need to parkour your way across the various non-linear platforms throughout the different levels. At each level, you will need to solve the puzzles that you encounter to get all the hidden treasures throughout the island. You must complete all the objectives and discover all the hidden treasure for the level before the island collapses again, or you will need to start the level over again. The game also incorporates a time-loop feature, where you can use the time-loop to your advantage to replay a level if you miss some treasure. However, every time you use the time-loop to reset time, the puzzles for that level also reset.
Treasures of the Aegean is available for purchase on Steam, the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store for the regular price of $19.99 on Nov. 11, 2021. The game is currently on sale for $17.99 on Steam and the Microsoft Store. Additionally, a physical collector’s edition of Treasures of the Aegean will be available on Nov. 12, 2021.