Aeon Drive (Switch eShop) Review

Speedrunning has been an integral part of the gaming community for decades. People may rely on glitches or exploits to “break” a game, but often it’s just a matter of learning the mechanics, inside and out, to define the most efficient route from A to B. Aeon Drive is all about speedrunning; that’s his hook, and it’s a well one.

The game, which takes place in the cyberpunk environment of ‘Neo Barcelona’, stars Jackelyne, a space ranger who is on a desperate race through the city to find the power cores to repair her ship. Armed with a teleportation sword and dagger, you must guide Jackelyne through a wide variety of levels, all of which have different routes with their own advantages and disadvantages.

Running through the levels is sufficient, but the game immediately encourages you to move as fast as possible by implementing a 30-second timer on each level. If the timer hits zero, then it’s game over and you’ll have to start over (a minor inconvenience thanks to the small scale of the levels and lightning-fast loading speeds). Fortunately, to make up for the countdown, you can collect the egg timers scattered throughout the levels; If you are fast enough and manage to collect 5 in a row, you can activate his power and immediately add 5 seconds back to your timer. It sounds like a small, insignificant boost in theory, but when you’re just a few feet from your final goal, those extra seconds make a difference.

While the supporting narrative in Aeon Drive is simply a distraction at best, the gameplay shown here is an absolute joy once you get the hang of it all. There is a small learning curve at the beginning; You’ll need to master jumping, sliding, sword swing, and throwing your teleportation dagger at the right time to maintain any semblance of speed and momentum. It’s a lot to take in, but once each mechanic lands and becomes a simple part of your muscle memory, you’ll be racing through the stages with ease.

The teleportation dagger is ultimately what sets Aeon Drive apart from other speedrunning platformers. Essentially, you throw it at any wall within range by tapping ‘A’ along with the desired direction on the analog stick, and it will stay locked in place until you tap ‘A’ again to teleport to your dagger; like a futuristic grappling hook. Using the dagger allows you to avoid obstacles like deadly lasers and bottomless drops, but it also adds an incredible sense of momentum, particularly when you manage to throw it. in the right place at the right time, allowing you to skip a good portion of the stage with one quick move. It is incredibly satisfying.

Although Jackelyne is quite agile on her feet, she is nevertheless extremely vulnerable to enemy damage and obstacles. Get hit alone one time It sends you back to the start of the level, so you not only have to complete each stage in the shortest time possible, but you also have to do it in a perfect race. Naturally, it is vital that you learn each stage like the back of your hand if you want to climb the online leaderboards, including the location of enemies, the optimal place to throw your dagger, if you can jump over a particularly long space and much more. . The replay value here is obvious, especially if you have a competitive and compulsive nature.

Visually, the game is also absolutely beautiful, with gorgeous pixel graphics showing a good level of detail in the levels and their respective backgrounds. There’s little variety with the overall aesthetic beyond the different color palettes, but we’d say anything else would risk distracting the gameplay. There’s a bit of additional customization to Jackelyne’s own color palette, mostly for when playing optional multiplayer, but there’s little incentive to pick a specific color if you’re playing solo (we often go for the yellow hair option; It looks like a Super Saiyan, okay?).

Speaking of multiplayer, the story mode allows up to four people to play cooperatively, with an additional PvP mode that pits you against up to three local competitors. Unfortunately, local play is the only option at the moment, but online play is on its way through a future update. However, the good news is that the game’s performance is practically flawless, whether you’re playing alone or with friends, with solid frame rates and minimal load times throughout.

Our last cry goes to the game. Excellent soundtrack. The cyberpunk vibes are evident in the music, which bears more than a passing resemblance to Purturbator’s work, with sweeping synth notes and booming bass lines. It’s something really cool and a perfect accompaniment to your perfect second shave runs.

conclusion

Aeon Drive is not pretty It lives up to modern platforming classics like Celeste, but it’s pretty close nonetheless. While your narrative won’t win any awards, this is merely a supportive backdrop for the fantastic gameplay on offer. Bolstered by solid performance and minimal loading screens, racing through the levels feels exhilarating as you jump, slide, and teleport through labyrinthine environments. With an online leaderboard to suit its competitive nature and added multiplayer to boot, Aeon Drive is a speedrunning triumph that absolutely deserves your attention.