Uutiset
Aer: Memories of Old captures the joy of flight
T
Thomas Wilde
Flight is supposed to be a freeing sensation, where you’ve managed to break away from gravity and can now go wherever you like. Even in video games, being able to fly has traditionally been depicted as a grand reward, or a symbol of accomplishment. More often, however, flight is limited in some unfortunate ways, like limited duration or mechanical difficulty.
In Aer, flight is a big part of the game as a whole, and it’s virtually effortless. After the first 10 minutes, you can explore its overworld map by taking the form of a bird, which is as easy as double-tapping the jump button. From there, you simply take off.
Aer is set in a world that’s made up of a series of floating islands in the sky, separated by vast chasms. You play as Auk, who's been sent here on a pilgrimage to reconnect with lost gods. Along the way, you'll learn more about the sequence of events that created this land.
You explore and travel in Aer primarily through Auk’s bird form, which you can assume at any time—as long as you aren’t underground. Once you take flight, the music changes to a relaxing instrumental track and you have full freedom to go anywhere on the map.
As a bird, you can drift along on the wind for quite a while, but it’s slow. To accelerate, you flap your wings, or even better, get some height, then angle downward to go into a headlong dive. You can go fast in Aer if you get a feel for the controls, to the point where you can rapidly become your own worst enemy. Trying to land on smaller islands is tricky at high speed; if you have too much momentum built up, you can fling yourself off the opposite side, as I did several times in my playthrough.
That’s part of the fun, though. Aer has very forgiving mechanics, particularly if you compare it to other games that offer you unlimited flight. Auk’s got another trick that’s easy to miss, where she can conjure up a little puff of wind that makes her immune to falling damage. If you take a spill, she simply shrugs it off, and you can immediately try again.
While your goal in Aer is to find a series of underground temples to continue Auk’s pilgrimage, the floating islands are effectively the star of the show. They’re covered in secrets, whether it’s friendly animals, old scrolls, or well-hidden bonuses. Early in my playthrough, I landed in a meadow and accidentally befriended a flock of sheep, which triggered an achievement.
The process of exploring those islands is the real reason to pick Aer up. Simply moving between them, or flying over to check out the unexplored edges of the map, is a smooth, relaxing experience, with few complications or limitations. There’s nothing in Aer to slow you down; it’s just you, the sky, and its mellow music. Even if you don’t care to finish the game's main quest, it’s worth the cost of entry for the calming experience of soaring through its skies.
You can pick up Aer: Memories of Old on the Epic Games Store now.