Aeon Drive Review: Time After Time

Aeon Drive is a speedrunner’s dream, offering hours of replayability for completionists and those looking to have their name atop online leaderboards.

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With almost any game I play, I fall into that happy middle ground where I get plenty of satisfaction upon completing a game while also having dabbled in a side quest or two along the way. By no means am I a speedrunner, nor am I a completionist in search of every Platinum trophy (or any Platinum trophy for that matter). However, with developer 2Awesome Studio’s Aeon Drive, I’m thrown into a world of both speedrunning and completionism, which to my surprise, has become incredibly addicting and, dare I say… fun.

That’s not some kind of weird burn towards 2Awesome Studio, its game, or even the genre of Aeon Drive itself – it’s just that when it comes to games that dip their toe into the masocore subgenre, I’m just not very good. Despite that, however, I’ve learned that a good masocore game is one that will keep you playing (and begging for more), no matter how hard or frustrating it might be – a quality that Aeon Drive admirably brings to the table.

Set in the sprawling cyberpunk metropolis of Neo Barcelona, you play as Jackelyne, a dimension-hopping space ranger whose ship crash-lands in the dangerous city. Equipped with her sword, acrobatic skills, time and space-bending ability, and snarky A.I. companion, you’ll guide Jackelyne through the enemy and boobytrap-filled city as she searches for the drive cores that she needs to repair her ship.

Taking control of Jackelyne feels like second nature. If you’ve played a 2D platforming game before, you’ll know exactly what to do. That said, as easy as Aeon Drive is to pick up and start playing right away, it’s far more difficult to master. Besides your standard running, jumping, and meleeing mechanics, you also have the ability to manipulate time and space with your Teleportation Dagger which allows you to get into areas that are otherwise blocked by enemies or deadly barriers. So long as you have a wall in close proximity, all you need to do is throw your dagger, press the ability button (which is the same as the dagger throwing button), and you’re whisked away through the void, disappearing and reappearing in the location of your dagger. Again, though, this mechanic is a bit trickier than it may sound. That is, if you’re trying to speedrun your way through each level or collect all of the drive cores littered throughout.

Speedrunning and collecting are major components of Aeon Drive. You’re essentially racing against the clock as you try to snag as many drive cores as you can while making your way to the teleporter at the end of the level. The more drive cores you collect, the more time you’re awarded. This time can be used to extend the timer by five seconds, allowing you to either find all of the cores or give yourself enough time to reach the finish. Levels also get harder as you make your way through the different areas of the city, chock full of enemies and obstacles such as projectiles and buzzsaws.

If your aim is to speedrun through each level so that your name sits atop the online leaderboards, each level features a few different paths that you can take. You’ll be using your Teleportation Dagger frequently, aiming and using your teleporting ability as Jackelyne runs, jumps, and slides through the levels. The challenge comes from your placement of the dagger needing to be pinpoint accurate, which can be frustrating until you die enough to figure out exactly when and where you need to throw the dagger, much of which comes from learning each level’s design and using muscle memory – a mechanic that masocore and speedrunning veterans are well aware of. That said, unlike other titles within the genre, I never feel overly frustrated by my deaths and having to repeat levels umpteen times, which speaks to the game’s overall fun factor.

It’s very satisfying to get a perfect run, and even better when you beat your own record. Jockeying for position on the online leaderboards only adds to the competitive and addicting nature of the game. I wasn’t able to take advantage of the game’s local co-op mode, but I’m excited to see how online co-op works when it eventually gets added to the game. My only wish was that it was available at launch.

If cyberpunk was the genre of 2020, time loops are undoubtedly the flavor of the second half of 2021. Aeon Drive subtly throws its pixelated hat into the proverbial zeitgeist with its fast-paced, pinpoint-accurate platforming that is as addicting and, at times, satisfyingly frustrating as any quality masocore title out there. Aeon Drive is a speedrunner’s dream, offering hours of replayability for completionists and those looking to have their name atop online leaderboards.

4.5 out of 5 Stars

A PS5 code was provided to TheGamer for this review. Aeon Drive will be available on September 30 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/aeon-drive-review/