We live in a world where technology gives ordinary people the tools to do extraordinary things, like creating video games in their own home or small office. This glorious time for technology allows indie game creators and indie studios to unleash their imagination and create digital interactive art to be shared with the masses. While not every indie title will give AAA titles a run for their money, there’s a certain nostalgia that’s captured in these titles. Aeon Drive, by developer 2Awesome Studio and publisher Critical Reflex, is one of those such gems that, while set far beyond our own future, opens a portal to the past and allows us to enjoy a style of gaming that built the foundation for the industry.
Story
The story of Aeon Drive takes place in a massive cyberpunk city where an interdimensional space-ranger named Jackelyne, has unfortunately crash-landed. Now, not only does she have to find a way to repair her craft and leave this dimension, the city of Neo-Barcelona has its own issues; those which Jackelyne inevitably becomes involved with in order to repair her craft. You’ll spend your time in Neo-Barcelona running, jumping, sliding, and teleporting through each branching stage while slashing enemies and phasing through obstacles, which is where the story and the gameplay begin to merge.
Gameplay & Mechanics
2Awesome Studio, along with developing a beautiful action-platformer, has created a speedrunner’s paradise. Armed only with incredible reflexes, a beautiful sword and an awesome dagger that allows you to teleport to its location, you’ll be tasked with guiding Jackelyn through a maze of hazards, in order to complete the level before the timer expires.
Aeon Drive is a fast-paced action-platformer with a big emphasis on speed, and while there are plenty of time capsules that will grant you an extra 5 seconds, there is always another jump that needs to be perfectly timed or another enemy that needs to be taken out. It can sometimes feel overwhelming, near-impossible at times to complete a level, but the sense of reward that follows the completion of a stage is like no other. While the difficulty of this platformer might turn away some casual players, anyone willing to invest time into learning the tight mechanics and surprisingly responsive controls will have a chance at defeating any challenge they meet within Aeon Drive.
Aesthetics & Sound
If not for anything else, the level design is absolutely stunning. We’ve seen a lot of cyberpunk-styled media over the last couple years and 2Awesome Studio has added another beautiful piece of art into the collection. Beautiful lights, sharp platforms, and a gambit of robotic enemies all feel right at home atop this futuristic canvas.
The classic arcade-style artwork lends itself to the retro platformer that 2Awesome Studio has created. It’s also amazing to find some hidden gems in the design work that the developers dropped in when modeling this setting after the city of Barcelona. Anyone who is a fan of pixel art will immediately appreciate the time and effort 2Awesome Studio put into Aeon Drive.
Summary
This fast-paced action-platformer is a difficult challenge, but one that feels incredibly rewarding to overcome. Aeon Drive has some incredibly responsive controls for a game of its genre and plays to the favor of platformers and speedrunners alike. While the story itself is only as important as you make of it, the design work and setting 2Awesome Studio has put together is one that takes a retro style of art and modernizes it for a new generation of gamers. I enjoyed my time with Aeon Drive and found an addicting loop of trying new ways to overcome levels. It’s a wild ride that everyone should attempt at least once.
For more information, please visit: https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/aeon-drive-switch/
Nintendo Switch Review
As the (self-proclaimed) King of Casuals, I'm always seeking out new titles to play and experience across all platforms. Eventually, I have ambitions to take the many different styles of this medium to create titles that will wow the masses in fresh, innovative ways.
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