Aeon Must Die

In the world of indie games, action platformers seem to be the preferred genre for most developers. In such a crowded market, only the most unique games are the ones that manage to stand out atop the rest, and that becomes a necessity if they hope to survive social media. That’s why Aeon Must Die! is such an interesting case.

Considering the game’s troubled development, it’s impressive what we ended up with. As it stands, Aeon Must Die! is still an excellent gaming experience, it just isn’t what was all hyped up to be by the game’s original developers.

Risky Business

After being betrayed by some of his most loyal generals, Aeon, the ruthless Emperor of the Void Armada, is left without a body to enact his vengeance. He then merges with the game’s protagonist to pursue those who betrayed him, as the protagonist is left to battle both Aeon’s war and an inner battle for control of his body and mind.

In many aspects, Aeon Must Die feels like a 2D Clover game – like if someone took God Hand and turned it into a sidescrolling beat-em-up. However, there’s also a certain narrative quality to this game’s action, as choosing who to kill and who to spare has repercussions that can be felt throughout the whole playthrough – or so promised the devs.

The reality is that Aeon’s narrative has been somewhat rushed to meet the release schedule, and it shows. Some characters aren’t properly developed, and some of the game’s most centric moral decisions can feel a bit superficial.

Visuals and Audio

Back when it was first announced, one of the most promising aspects of Aeon Must Die was its unique visual style. Even after the controversies surrounding the game’s development, we’re happy to see that that feature remains largely unsullied.

Visually speaking, this is one of the most attractive indie games we’ve ever seen. Every character and background looks amazing, featuring a unique blend between 2D and 3D assets that lends the game its characteristic look.

Another area we have to touch upon is the game’s character design. Every character has their own unique visual motif that distinguishes them from the rest, even if most of the game retains a bold, angular design that simply screams about the solid and over-the-top action gameplay.

UI, UX, and AI

One area where Aeon Must Die! takes great pride is in its innovative AI system. Much like Shadow of War, there’s a nemesis system in place here that allows you to forge alliances with characters that would otherwise be your enemies.

Even though most of the game feels decently polished, there are some questionable decisions made when it comes to the UI and the overall user experience. The minimalist approach at most of the game’s UI elements works well, for the most part. That said, the lack of clarity in some of the game’s more complicated aspects can lead to frustration more often than not.

Another thing that’s worth noting is that, currently, most PC users are reporting some bugs on the autosave system. Saving frequently can help with this issue, but that sounds just like a temporal solution to a grave and persistent issue.

Pros

• Satisfying gameplay
• Great visual design
• Interesting character designs

Cons

• Shallow plot and character’s dialogues
• Lacking UI design
• Confusing user experience