Race Against Time on Aeon Drive, Available Today for Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S

30 seconds to complete each level. The ability to teleport without restrictions. Just one life and an unlimited number of attempts. That is Aeon Drive – and if that tone doesn’t sound exciting to you, we honestly don’t know what would.

Aeon Drive is an action platformer with a touch of speed, brought to you by 2Awesome Studio and Critical Reflex.

You will play as Jackelyne, a space ranger from another dimension. He was trying to get home, when his ship crashed on an unknown planet in the city of Neo Barcelona. If you can’t fix your spaceship in time, the city is doomed.

The challenge seems impossible at first glance: the city streets are dangerous and difficult to navigate, and Jackelyne only has a few seconds to reach her destination. But luckily, she has a lot of tricks up her sleeve, and you’ll have to learn how to use them all to save the city and get Jackelyne home.

These are some of the main obstacles that Jackelyne will face in each level of the game, and some tips to help you overcome them.

Avoiding pitfalls

Neo Barcelona looks absolutely beautiful, but it is actually quite a dangerous place. The streets are littered with deadly lasers, spikes, circular saws, and other traps. Try to beat any of the 100 levels in the game just by running and jumping like you probably would in a traditional platformer, and you’ll probably be dead before the timer even expires.

Solution: It is good that one of the main characteristics of Aeon Drive It is the ‘teleportation dagger’. Jackelyne can launch it in any direction and then immediately teleport to its location with the push of a button. It’s a great way to deal with unavoidable pitfalls, and it’s also a much more efficient way to travel than traditional walking. And aside from all that, it’s so satisfying!

Running against time

If Jackelyne doesn’t reach the end of the level in time, the race is over, plain and simple. That time limit is a big part of what he does. Aeon Drive great fun to play, but also one of the main challenges of the game. Some levels in the later parts of the game are so wide and complicated that it can seem impossible to complete them in less than 30 seconds.

Solution: So this is where Jackelyne’s second ability comes in. She can control time, so if you’re having a hard time keeping up with the timer, you could add some extra time to the 30-second limit. But it’s not as simple as it sounds: to get the precious extra seconds, you’ll need to collect time capsules scattered throughout the level and activate them, well, on time.

To be in danger

Jackelyne only has one hit point: every collision with an enemy or a trap is lethal to her. That means you probably won’t complete any of the levels on the first try; something will definitely catch you, or you’ll run out of time trying to avoid particularly nasty traps or enemies.

Solution: This constant sense of danger makes each race more intense, but does not make it stressful. All you need to remember is that you have an infinite number of tries – all thanks to the time loop mechanic. The new version of Jackelyne from another dimension may begin a new run moments after the death of its previous iteration.

Dealing with enemies

Neo Barcelona is known not only for its numerous traps, but also for the fierce guard bots that patrol its streets. They are all hostile to Jackelyne and determined to end her career before she reaches her destination, so she will have to constantly deal with them in some way.

Solution: The most obvious solution to this problem is the Power Sword, Jackelyne’s main weapon that can incapacitate any robot with just one slash. It is also possible to get rid of a hostile bot by slipping through it or simply stepping on it. But in some cases, brute force won’t be the best approach – these precious seconds spent in battle could probably cost you the attempt if you run out of time because of it. Sometimes it is wiser to avoid the robot in some way or run away from it.

Dealing with the competition

Let’s say you’ve cleared 100 levels in Aeon Drive, and now you are the absolute master of teleportation. But now there is a new problem: there are new rangers in town, they are faster than you, and they can even teleport just as well as you! Now you must show them what you are worth.

Solution: Well, there is no solution to this, honestly. Aeon Drive it is a competitive game; after all, we call it “a fast racing platformer” for a reason. The game keeps track of your results with leaderboards: you can always compare your performance with the results of other players, and even find yourself on top one day. Or you can simply call your friends and compete with them in co-op and PvP modes to increase the challenge.

On Aeon Drive You always have room for improvement: are you really sure you have completed the level in the most efficient way? Maybe you took too long at the beginning? Or was your teleportation dagger throw a bit off? Did you use the most effective way? There is always a reason to try again and try new tactics.