AER – Memories of Old, by Daedalic Entertainment, in collaboration with Swedish indie developer, On The Outskirts, was an interesting experience to say the least. The story centers around our main character, who has inherited the power to transform into a bird and has been given the task of bringing peace to a land distraught with chaos. To do this, he must visit three temples where Guardians protect individual pieces of a legendary stone tablet. These pieces were once separated in order to make sure no single being could assemble the tablet and harness its power, but as the Void incarnate begins to creep out of its prison, it is up to us to collect these tablet shards and use them for good.
Starting off with the art style, this game does its aesthetic extremely well. I especially loved the little splashes of water while wading through rivers and small details like these. It was clear that a lot of thought was put into the art direction and I appreciated that. The music was very soothing and fit the soft low poly, solid color art style well. The whole experience could have been a relaxing bird flight simulator and would still have been enjoyable to play.
In terms of actual gameplay, despite including some intermittent puzzles and platforming, this game seemed primarily to be about the adventure. That’s not to say I didn’t love flying around as a bird (especially at the start with no further explanation). I only wish, though, that I had known going into it that the “puzzles and temples” talked about were not meant to be the main focus of the game. Of course, they do advance the plotline and you should mosey on over to them eventually, but personally, after exploring the entire map before even reaching the first temple, I felt like I was lost in a huge world with no direction. It was like looking for a needle in a beautiful haystack. The in-game map definitely helped a lot, but pinning down exact locations of temples was extremely difficult, so much so that I would just fly around in circles hoping to see something different.
Personally, I think it’s that aspect that this game gets wrong. Sure, flying around and adventuring is fun, but I should be able to get back to the story when I choose to do so. Being *forced* to adventure with a lack of direction and just hoping I stumble upon a hidden doorway in the side of a mountain is one of those things a developer can’t really expect a player to divine. The temples themselves were intuitive, but almost childlike. I somehow expected more from an epic journey to save the world than a Simon Says puzzle. That being said, some of the puzzles were a bit more difficult, but none that really had me thinking too hard. They felt more like an artificial way of hindering story progression, and couldn’t stand alone as “puzzles” in the sense you might think.
All in all, AER – Memories of Old tells an intriguing and detailed story of a people sent into disarray, but if you’re looking for anything more gameplay-wise, this isn’t for you. The art style and music complemented the story well, but the puzzles which were something of a draw for me did not. Personally, I wish there was a way this game could have incorporated a more involved puzzle aspect, but I suppose that would hinder story progression in the way the developers intended. That being said, this game shows an impressive and novel example of how to experience a story, but in my opinion probably would have benefited from not trying so hard to be a “game” and sticking to what it knows best.
8/10
Check Out the AER – Memories of Old Trailer:
AER – Memories of Old is available for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC/Mac/Linux via Steam.
Nintendo Switch Review
I am an aspiring game designer looking to explore the philosophy behind game creation. Some of my favorite games include Overwatch, Super Smash Bros, Portal, and Beat Saber.
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