Aaero

Aaero
N/A
Metacritic
92
Steam
78.972
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$14.99
Release date
11 April 2017
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
92 (301 votes)

Speed through stunning, stylised environments tracing ribbons of light, releasing the energy in the music. Battle strange enemies and fight epic boss battles all driven by an incredible licensed soundtrack.

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Aaero system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 10
  • Processor: Intel Core i3
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVidia GTX 550
  • Storage: 2 GB available space
  • Additional Notes: *A CONTROLLER IS REQUIRED* - Lower specs may run Aaero perfectly well. We will update these requirements as we have more information.

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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Tevo Silverfox
Tevo Silverfox

This game gave me a headache I actually enjoyed

Nate
Nate

An amazingly fluid rhythm game with great songs from some of the best EDM and electronic artists, and although the "shooter" part is slightly wonky, it keeps the game original and apart from similar games.
Get yourself a good audio setup or some high quality headphones and enjoy this real basshead game

[PPP]Kirya
[PPP]Kirya

This game is amazing and exactly what I hoped it would be. Reminiscent of Elemental Gearbolt and Rez. A controller with vibration is actually recommended. Can't beat it's soundtrack for the price either!

James Lister
James Lister

I Highly advice doing the tutorial fully (it's short).

Almost refunded because i faiiled easly on the start of the first track.

After tutorial, I GOT IT.

very good controlls and tracks, it's still hard but fun to play and advance.

Hazza_Bui
Hazza_Bui

Been waiting for this one for a while, ever since I tried it out at EGX. Seems like the devs polished this up nicely before release.

Great work! Looking forward to any future updates/new songs

b34ny
b34ny

Having a great time so far! I'm 82% complete and about to unlock the next difficulty, can't stop trying to perfect the levels. It reminds me a lot of Rez but without as much frantic shooting, the grinding the rail aspect of the game with it's musicality is a great hook.

I wish there was more vocal tracks thrown in to the mix, maybe later. I was dreaming of an ABGT collaboration with this game.

dwried
dwried

Just randomly found the game, because on sale 20%. Finished downloading @ 2:41am. Credits finished at 4:41am.

Kinda short game, but quite fun. I have a feeling that was just normal difficulty though. Hope they do some DLC for this game on down the road.

Eggplant
Eggplant

Aaero is a similar game to Rez Infinite on PSVR which I have played. I do not think at this stage it is as good as Rez but it has potential. There is something about Rez which is cool and just generally better. Also Thumper is a better Rythem game than this. It still does a good job but didn't decide to keep it due to it being not as good. But Rythem games are good in general so you might want to get it as it is the cheapest of the three!

Sotaki
Sotaki

This game was fun, until you start shooting. then it's just clunky as hell.

DrahMah
DrahMah

Excellent game. Just needs more songs and everything will play out great!

ZexMaxwell TTV
ZexMaxwell TTV

Although the Devs haven't said this in their marketing. you can tell where they took some insperation from. Aaero has 15 songs to play through. replay is dependent on the improvement of your scores or the love for the bass cannon. If you are a die hard Rez player you should pick this up for the nostalgia factor and a twist in game play.

Aaero requires a controller to play!

have a controller of your choice that has twin analog sticks. Someone in the discussion threads has adapted the steam controler if you have it.

Line
Line

A must-play for the rhythm game fan.

tl;dr
great wub wub soundtrack, fight a giant sand worm, tight controls, fun gameplay, fight a giant robot spider, worth buying

Trace ribbons of light with one stick, and shoot enemies with the other - all to the beat of an outstanding soundtrack - Aaero is an intensely exciting experience that is both accessible and has more than a bit of challenge to the dedicated player.

At the time of writing, I'm one of 5 people to have accessed and completed all difficulties in the game, having taken me 8 hours to achieve this.
While the limited amount of people to reach this stage demonstrates the difficulty involved in the game, it also highlights a lack of content; while what is in the game is intensely fun, there isn't a lot of it, and it can be completed in a few sittings.
This is not to say the game is easy at all - Aaero is, indeed, a rhythm game at heart - to beat higher difficulties, a lot of perseverance is required to master the nuances of each song.
However, the difficulty change between the levels - Normal, Advanced, and Master - are minimal, only adding a few more enemies and hazards to the level. I'm not sure if there actually was a difficulty change between Advanced and Master, other than only having 1 life in the latter, but to achieve a competitive score at the Advanced level, it is necessary to stay alive the whole time anyway.

As a rhythm game, one of the most important aspects are the controls, and Aaero really shines in this department. Controls are tight and responsive, and easy to learn. When something goes wrong, you know that it's your fault, and this helps make sure that failing to complete a level or achieve a certain score feels like your own fault, and not one inherent to the game.

The soundtrack chosen for the game is excellent - a fine selection of music in the vein of dubstep, electronic, drum and bass etc. Following the ribbons of light will add layers to the music, and every sound effect in the game - target locking beeps, weapon impacts, enemy spawns and so on - is quantised to the beat of the rhythm, achieving a state where the game is as much a part of the music as the music is the game.

The shooting aspect is simple enough to understand, and has a little more depth to it than first seems. Attacks will always land on the 1st or 3rd beats of every 4/4 bar, and you are rewarded for hitting these exactly on time - in attack efficiency, as well as score. Understanding this mechanic is crucial, but skipped over in the game's tutorial, which can lead to some amount of frustration when your shots seem inconsistent.

When these two main mechanics are combined, Aaero comes to life as a fantastic rhythm rail shooter in the long-empty void of Rez. A lack of content will disappoint the most dedicated and skilled players, but in spite of that, Aaero is not an experience to be missed.

Longrat
Longrat

Great little rhythm game with a cool OST, bright visuals, and a simple but effective gameplay style.
Heartily recommended if you're into the kind of music this game has to offer. Well worth its asking price!

Yslaar
Yslaar

Aaero is a beautiful hybrid of a rhythm game and on-rails shooting that shines brightest in its 3 boss battles.

== VISUALS

Heavily inspired from the early rhythm game days of FreQuency, Amplitude, and REZ, the low-polygon models look stunning in HD, especially when coupled with the particle effects. Color plays a large part in the portrayal of their environments and reinforces the digital playground you navigate through. EDM fans will feel right at home as this visual style is often used in music videos for Drum & Bass, Dubstep, Future Funk, etc.

The levels seem to "breathe" with the music, which is great feedback and a trip to play while high.

== AUDIO

The licensed soundtrack of Noisia, Flux Pavillion, Habstrakt & Megalodon, and more is one of the reasons this game was so successful. While it is still possible to have a great rhythm game without the licensing (a-la FreQuency), it really helps when selling the game to a skeptical audience.

The audio mastering was very well done in this game and is slightly different than the official track releases by the artists, giving each song a fresh feel that worked for each of the game's levels (even if you've heard these songs before).

== MECHANICS

Just like the visuals, the mechanics feel like an homage to early rhythm games with a fresh spin on their execution. The controls are tight but forgiving, so players who aren't accustomed to rhythm games won't be instantly turned off to it. The game can sometimes feel like a brain-teaser, having to move the controller's analog sticks clockwise and counter-clockwise (and at the same time), but in a way that encourages practice and mastery rather than frustration.

All of the games actions are performed on beat to the song, whether or not you perform them on the beat yourself. This all helps the player stay on beat or find the beat if they tend to lose their way while enhancing the player's engagement.

== SCORING

The game's scoring system is a nice blend of intense but non-intrusive, allowing players who don't care about scoring big to complete the levels without worrying about how well they're doing. For those looking to climb the leaderboards, however, the game does a great job of providing depth by rewarding precision movement and timing. If none of this really interests you, there's always "Chillout" mode, which forgoes the scoring altogether. There's definitely something here for everyone.

== BOSS BATTLES

Amazing. Brilliantly crafted. The boss battles are where Aaero really shows how innovative it is. The bosses movements and attacks are all timed with the music, and even the levels themselves fit in perfectly with how the boss is tackled. If Shadow of the Colossus was a music game, this is how it would be done.

My only gripe with the game is that the entirety of the game wasn't just a collection of boss battles past the first boss. The way the music really ties into the feel of the boss designs was also a great feeling, and made defeating the bosses that much more satisfying.

== CRITICISMS

The first criticism I have with the game is that the difficulty progression doesn't always flow nicely, especially when you have to beat the songs in order. The song, "Edge of Tomorrow" was the biggest culprit of this, where the mechanics felt like the song should have been placed down further into the game.

The screen size scaling was also an issue (at least for me). Running on a 21:9 monitor, I scaled the game size to 100% (the default is 80%, and it made some parts of the game almost unplayable at times as the enemies and projectiles I was trying to destroy were often outside of the shooting range. From videos I've seen of other people playing, this didn't seem to be a problem, so I'm assuming it wasn't a "feature" but a bug, though I can't be sure. Either way, it was frustrating.

The music ribbon (the line you have your ship follow to the beat) patterns were also fairly basic. This is fine on normal mode, as the entire Normal playthrough seemed like a tutorial run, but these basic patterns also continued into Advanced mode as well, meaning the difficulty curve didn't stretch too far.

== FINAL THOUGHTS

Some people will criticize this game for not being "strictly" a rhyhtm game and including a shooting aspect, but I feel as though they are ignoring the fact that the combat is directly tied to the music and rhythm as well. As I said before, every detail of this game is tied to rhythm, it just might not be apparent at first. The combination of the shooting and timing your movements might just be the gateway for people to see the draw to rhythm games in the future.

Highly recommended.

LastThymeLord
LastThymeLord

It plays like sheet music, if the notes were insectoid creatures that wanted to kill you.

KaJey
KaJey

This game is hard, but so fun :) Love the beats... Hope there will be more levels coming later on :)

Mark
Mark

I highly recommend this game for anyone that likes fast phased rhythm games. The controls are awesome. The graphics look great. And the music is amazing. It brings me back to the break through of good and amazing dubstep partys. The whole package just ailings with each other. It's tens and makes you feel good.

Deliussed
Deliussed

Bought this after seeing it on Giant Bomb. Great rhythm game. It's a bit like REZ but the soundtrack and classy graphics really get you in the rhythm game zone, very enjoyable

Gibbo
Gibbo

Well done MadFellowsGames!

We followed you all the way, voted it best game of EGX 2015 and was desperate for you to release it.

After now having the privilige of playing this game on my setup at home I can safely say I'll be entertained for hours with this immersive, addictive and well rounded game.

Hugh Jass
Hugh Jass

Neat little rythmn game. Soundtrack is spotty, but if you like dubstep then you'll enjoy it more than I did. Collected all 225 stars in roughly six hours. My recommendation is wait for it to go on sale, since it took only that long to 100% the game (minus finding all of the secrets), but still a fun game for any rythmn lover. Replayability is dependant on the player, if you're a big fan of leaderboards than you'll enjoy beating your own scores. Otherwise a single run will probably be all you play.

s y n t h b e n t
s y n t h b e n t

I'm a sucker for rhythm games and this one is really fun. Personally I'm not a huge fan of dubstep but it works perfectly for this type of game. I could do without some of the shooting sections, some of them feel quite cheap and can really mess up that "in the zone" feel you start to get after you pull off some sweet multipliers. Some of the shooting sections are great and actually ADD to the overall vibe, there are just a few that are out of place and annoying. The "follow the line" mechanic of the rest of the game is pretty awesome, nice feedback on the controller too, really gives you a sense of impact as you hit it just right. Most of the stages are really fun, but there are a couple that are a bit boring, I think it has a lot to do with preference though. Really hoping for new stages to be added, I'd gladly pay a few bucks for some DLC, the game was pretty cheap as it was. I've spent a few hours trying to beat my high scores and its pretty addictive.

Tremuska
Tremuska

These guys worth to support. Buy it.

Mr_Quorvis
Mr_Quorvis

There is nothing out there like this game, a blend of concepts brought together to create a truly original IP.

I have recommended this game to every try-hard completionist I know who really wants an immense challange and a fun game to play.

Its a simple concept, follow the lines and shoot the flying machines... but it really isn't as easy as it sounds.

A great initial debut from this studio.

This game gets a rock solid 7.5 out of 10 from me.

ezoe
ezoe

Music is good, the game is... horrible.

First of all, it doesn't even recognize my gamepad. For some really stupid reason, it's default assignment is action0,1,2,3(I don't know what that means), so I had to change it to button0,1,2,3...

And right stick doesn't work.

My gamepad isn't that special. Left stick was mapped to X/Y axis and right stick is Z axis/roll. Why doesn't it work?

EDIT:

I'm using "Hori Pad 4 FPS" which is a PS3/PS4 compatible USB gamepad.

Either PS3 or PS4 mode doesn't work. Registering gamepad to steam slightly changes the behavior of the game to the worse. It makes the left stick not working too.

Reassigning the gamepad is currently almost impossible. I got a bunch of meaningless names such as action1, 2, 3(all of them doesn't work) or a few dozens of analog inputs which I don't know which is the correct right stick to which direction.

hey_guys_its_nyck
hey_guys_its_nyck

Great game, worth the money! However, get ready for arthritis... But seriously great game!

TrojanThighs
TrojanThighs

Early on in my aaero path but I have to say i am enjoying the hell out fo it so far!

Whilst I can kid of understand the complaints about the shooting elements I don't agree. I think this helkps to push your awareness and skill witht he ribbon sections and breaks these upo a bit. I think there would be more complaints about monotony and not wnough variation without the enemies.

The devs seem quite active in the community hub which is nice to see and the fact that they really do seem to be responding is great! Like all Music rhythm action games if you don't like the soundtrack get out of the kitchen (?!) at the moment its a lot of the wubz but if they really are thinking of exploring DLC then I can see the growth potential of using other genrtes (I REALLY think some decent classical songs would work in this style - and I cannot imagine a genre that would define that chillout mode which aaero has than that).

I'd definitely give this a crack if you're a rhythm game adict like I am but I can also see this appealing to twin stick shooter fans after something a bit different (it definitely uses both sticks!) or on rails shooter afficianados. Whilst it'd be worthwhile checking out some videos to see if it might appeal I'd definitely use this as an aw3esome case for testing the refund policy as an hour in and I know I've spent my money wisely.

DerHyphon
DerHyphon

I heard about Aaero in a German podcast called "Insert Moin" (Danke für diesen Tipp).

It sounds interesting, so I searched for gameplay on YouTube and my curiosity was at max.
I bought it on Steam and actually I don't regret any cent.

15 licensed songs from artists like Noisia and Neosignal. Awesome graphics and a nice gameplay which is between musicgames like Audiosurf and Twin-Stick-Shooter.

I can't believe that only two people made this, but I love this game.

As one might say, 15 tracks are not that much and the game will be boring fast. I played the tracks everal times now and there's no end.

Also the community support is awesome. They asked for ideas for new songs and answer to almost every question.

Thumps up Mad Fellows! I can't wait for your next game or maybe a new set of levels for Aaero!

Zao
Zao

I've been playing this game basically since it came out, and just decided to pay my "debt".
+Unique game style
+Nice looking low poly graphics
+-Okay music(depends on who you are)
-Higher requirements on "where" instead of "when" (unlike other rhythm games)
Great for showing others how different your taste for games is
Overall this game is worth occupying the first slot of my library.

Pyap
Pyap

Best Rhythm-Action Game EVER!!

Moon TF
Moon TF

*Note: Before you look at hours and just write this off as me kissing up to the game, realize that it was spread over a good amount of time after completeing the game to 97% achievements*

Let me start with the goods:
-Great music (if you're into wub wubs)
-Aesthetically pleasing
-Chilled out game that you can use to wind down and just relax for a night VERY easily
-Challenging if you decide to go for top scores or GREAT acc, but not impossible for people who don't care too much about the competitive aspect!
-Completing bosses is VERY pleasing, as well as getting great pass accs and so on.

Now for some of the bads, but with being in contact with Madfellows, I can say I know they will change and do what they can to improve on these:
-Somewhat short song list
-Replayability is kinda small, as theres only the harder diffs but no new songs in addition to the harder difficulties
-Not KB+M compatible but it makes sense as to why it isnt, it'd be hard to nail with that.
-Music can get monotonous if you don't appreciate the flow or genre~

-Kinda a suggestion, but maybe something like a proper rank leaderboard as opposed to JUST song leaderboards that we can see in UI? Idk, and community mapping if possible!-

Now for one that I think should be brought to attention to anyone who achievement hunts this game like I did.

To get all secrets, you must have your top play be the one that unlocks all in a level, so if you get ALL secrets but lower score, you have too retry it. I find this VERY inconvienient because if you don't go for secrets WITH top scores to begin with, it takes HEAPS of time to get a new top score with them (if you get high ac % on your non-secret run, that is)
A work around for this is doing the song on a lower diff, but you MUST know where they are if you intend on doing it this way as the leniency for acc is alot lower and you can easily top yourself without realizing.

All in all, I'd recommend this game ANY day of the week to rhythm gamers, it's fun, it's challenging, and it's a nice change of pace in rhythm gaming compared to the bigs like Osu!, Guitar Hero (or Clone Hero), and Step Mania, and the Pros REALLY outweigh the negatives, most of mine are just nit-picky but they should be known. If you enjoy trying out all types of rhythm games, it's worth the buy, and especially for the price you pay for this.

sha-near
sha-near

fun, fast, and dubstep. Great in-between game

JZig
JZig

This is a well made rhythm game/rail shooter, that is kind of like Rez except that you have left analog ship movement that you use to follow an analog "ribbon" in time to the music. The music is various types of EDM, which goes well with the scifi visuals. Definitely recommended for anyone who likes rhythm action games!

michiganjs
michiganjs

This game is absolutely amazing!!! It's also mercilessly difficult toward the end. As the levels get more technical toward the final boss, the music becomes a little less melodic, which means replaying the first batch of levels sometimes seems more fun than progressing. After clawing my way through "Ill Still" (and almost blistering my thumbs), I found myself dropping into earlier tracks just so I could hear the music again, and look for any hidden targets I may have missed. Very few games exist where I'll choose to revisit earlier levels instead of quitting and coming back later. This game is just raw fun. :) Don't bother playing over SteamLink, though. You CANNOT afford the latency. This is a satisfying twitch-skill game, and is best played at a high refresh rate, with the volume cranked to 11. :D

The Cobfather
The Cobfather

This game is unbelievable, I can not recommend it enough. Visuals are nice, gameplay is simple and intuitive, soundtrack is excellent. I only wish it had some more songs/levels! For 15 bucks it is a steal.

Dojomojomofo
Dojomojomofo

It's a must have. It has obvious elements of Rez with the lock and shoot, though this calls for some conscious timing to maximise returns on it. Others might try the ribbon mechanic and feel nostalgia for Gitaroo Man, or dodge obstacles in the tunnels and think of Star Fox - but it's not just an homage, this game makes these mechanics its own and maybe even surpasses all three... When I got into stage 7 I was dancing in my seat with tears of joy while playing because I couldn't believe someone nailed the fun, look, sound, etc all at once like that, and I wasn't even through the game yet!

It's the clearest case of "want to call it an homage, but it's too original in the way it does everything." It really takes the best parts of the games it almost surely borrows from, and it seems to just give you what you'd want from all of them. I can't believe it myself, but if you ask me about it, I'll rave about this game. It works.

Soundtrack is heavy on the dubstep and glitchhop end of the spectrum - some would want to avoid that, but I think it fits great and makes a lot of sense for the mechanics. The sound of each song varies a fair bit within that broad umbrella and they're not only well curated but surprisingly well known.

I have some issues at times with the incoming missiles - they're very visible, but if there are other things in the area, I can sweep and shoot and sweep and shoot and still never get the lock to lock onto them, so losing a ship is inevitable. I've saved replays and watched myself track over the same missile 3 times to no effect. This gets worse at higher difficulties where the screen will very soon start filling with them, and to compound it, you can't shoot anything down while you're blown up, so you can come back just in time to blow up again. It can all be solved with the right approach, but it can be tricky.

Still, this is the kind of game you won't even find every several years, if even in a decade. The fans of this type of thing are probably already interested, so all I can suggest is don't sit on the fence or pass it up - if you're wondering about it, go for it! There are good reasons to be skeptical, but this one nails it, I promise.

MrAnderson
MrAnderson

Visually stunning. Great song choices. All around such a great game to chill and vibe to

Fox
Fox

Very good game, I first played it at EGX Rezzed years ago when it was first shown and wanted to buy it right there and then.

Hexie Lambent
Hexie Lambent

I'd like to preface this with the notion of respect. I see something promising under all of it, I really do, but after completing all of the songs and bosses on normal, I'm just left feeling very unsatisfied.

First and perhaps foremost, I think the soundtrack is awful. Not the songs themselves, many of them are decent and they're certainly popular tracks in their genre (which consist mostly of dubstep, some feelings of house, things like that) but holding my control stick in a direction to a grinding bass tone is just not exciting. Rarely did I ever feel like I was interacting with the music. I could mute the sound and probably play the game just as well as I did with the music.

Along with that, the core gameplay is just not fun to me. That may be in part to the whole "glowing blue to a bass tone" bit, but again the interactions with the music consisted solely of firing on like... the 16th note before the beat of the measure, which was honestly just really kind of annoying, especially since they explained it very, very poorly in the tutorial. The shooting itself revolved around scrolling a large circle around to lock-on to enemies and pulling the trigger. It's as shallow as it sounds, really.

The environments and aesthetics are just... dull. There's this vaguely low-poly sci-fi universe with plenty of glowing lights, and 90% of what you see is just brown and gray dodecahedrons? Is it to help the large, bright blue glowing line to stick out? I just feel there's a lot of missed potential here, especially considering the change in pace with one level that has these crushing traps timed to the music. They're pretty similar in color but they hold a different look.

As a music and rhythm game enthusiast, I'm just left bored at the end of the day. Not insulted, nor do I feel like I wasted my time, but I find it hard to suggest to others.

Varen
Varen

If you lub lub the wub wub, then you'll love this game.
Think REZ but you need to time things more and you have more to worry about then just shooting. gotta move too
wait...you never played REZ...? ...just me? oh....

erico_hgb
erico_hgb

Great game! Haven't had this kind of enjoyment playing a railshooter since Panzer Dragon Zwei for the Sega Saturn.

thread
thread

I beat this game in an hour, and found half of the songs really irritating. Some of the songs were really pretty good, but overall this game just wasn't for me - I didn't really enjoy the gameplay.

Matti
Matti

honestly this is the best game i've ever played, the gameplay is challenging, but it always feels like its your fault when you muck up, bugs are almost non-existant, as in i haven't experienced a single one myself, and all the songs chosen are amazingly excecuted and feel smooth to play. its optimised so godamn well even my then mid-range laptop from 2005 can run it at 30fps.

mansie
mansie

Despite the horrible soundtrack (I detest dubstep with a passion), Aaero is one of the best games I've ever played. If it had country music I would still play it, as the experience was too great to miss.

It's easy to learn but hard to master. The scoreboard feature will probably keep me coming back. One of the things I missed in the tutorial that improved my gameplay was that you shoot faster and get a higher score if you shoot to the beat. After discovering that I fell in love with Aaero even more because it added more complexity and challenge.

If you're hesitant to buy this because the music isn't your taste, it is 100% worth every penny despite that. My only regret is buying it on sale instead of full price... and the lack of content.

Perhaps Aaero could be improved by adding optional boss fights or unlockables that require a certain accuracy %, enemies defeated in each level, or score that is higher than required to get 5 stars (Quests?). The campaign modes in DDR and Guitar Hero both had those elements to keep you motivated to play after finishing. I hope that this game inspires an even more mind-blowing sequel or different game of the same genre. Thank you so much for making this.

Ignatius
Ignatius

Fun at first. The difficulty ramps up quickly. In advanced mode you *really* need to be able to follow the beat of the music or the enemies overwhelm you and it starts to feel impossible.

I never made it farther than that. :(

Radimay
Radimay

I admit, sometimes I am a hard person to please. There are plenty of good games out their that I cannot stand though they are technical achievements. This game was love at first level. I admit, the sensitivity on the controller is a bit a touchy and the difficulty spike can change at a moments notice its still amazing. If you can, buy it with the DLC esspecially if its on sale.

Furtifk
Furtifk

Very good game and very satisfying to play. The difficulty is most certainly there. The only downside I see to the game is the lack of tracks and the DLCs costing too much for only 3 tracks. Although its only 3 tracks but 9 tracks to design in total due 3 difficulties on each track I think adding many more tracks for a lower price would drive this game to complete success. Drump and Bass, Electro, Dubstep, and all of those genres are awesome for this game and I believe the devs are clearly aware of this. Do not change the genre no matter the cost!!!

Sheltercult LL
Sheltercult LL

As a game I've fallen in love with this rhythm game. As I have played this like an arcade on Xbox and tried to be bit more competitive on PC. DLCs has given me a good impression, I love all the songs that is included in this game and even this game has very eye candy graphics.

Fuji-Masaki
Fuji-Masaki

[table]
[tr]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀🎶мυzzy - oυтѕιderѕ (ғeaт. cнarloттe нaιnιng)🎶⠀⠀⠀⠀

───────⚪───────────────────────────────────

⠀▐▐ ⠀►▏ ⠀⠀──○─ 🔊 ⠀₁:₂₅ / ₃:₅₀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ᴴᴰ⚙ ❐ ⊏⊐

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2C9y0rEDyMI

Mikazuki Marazhu
Mikazuki Marazhu

This game is really innovative, it pushes the bounderies of rythm games that we know of. It's a really fun game to play and I would recommend it to everybody I know. The downsides I have with this game is the limited amount of stages you can play (even with the DLCs) and I often feel like the shooting part is really unnecessary. despite that I would give it a solid 4.5/5

zebra
zebra

This game is incredibly good.

buy it.

Frosty Grin
Frosty Grin

Wonderful and beautiful rhythm game, somewhat similar to Thumper. Crisp and distinctive visuals, great selection of music, original gameplay.

big zook
big zook

As someone that has never really been into rhythm games, Aaero comes as a fantastic surprise and makes me wonder what I've been missing this whole time.

I think part of the reason it works so brilliantly is because the soundtrack really lends itself well to this kind of game: the synths (especially in some of the grittier tracks) really feel like they are being played by you grinding against the beams of light, especially since they cut out if you start slacking and miss some.

The only possible reason I could see someone not enjoying Aaero is if the music isn't quite their taste. It's all various shades of EDM, which means you'll get things from 2011-style dubstep to brighter more vocal stuff that you'd probably hear on Monstercat or something. But even so, if you don't like a few of the tracks, it's easy to look past and just enjoy the game. All I'm gonna say is, if you enjoyed Thumper despite its horrifying design and soundtrack, surely you can get through a few wubs to the rest of the tracks.

The antialiasing is almost nonexistent and can make things hard to see from a distance (I recommend improving it in your GPU control panel if you can), the shooting quite hard to get a hang of, and some levels are huge difficulty spikes, but Aaero's flight through a polygonal, neon world of bright lights and surprisingly good boss fights is well worth your time.

mhenryblack
mhenryblack

This is one of those games that you have to play to truly understand. I don't believe I have ever been so amped up by a games sound track, which by design is perfectly paired with the game play in Aaero. I feel like this title will never get the recognition that it truly deserves.

Best Music I have ever heard in a game. Play it with a controller, on a big screen, in a dark room, with the sound LOUD.

Mindblowingly good. I can't believe I didn't know about this game until a few days ago.

Buy It.

Psymon²
Psymon²

A blend of Gitaroo Man and Rez.
One stick to stay on the track, one stick to aim at targets, one button to shoot.
Good music.
Good challenge.
Good visuals.

LyoneeL
LyoneeL

This game is so beautiful, runs out of the box with proton, the atmosphere that this game generates is unique, you will calm down and will enjoy every second of the level

* Must have a controller.

Corbeau
Corbeau

i tried to like this game. i really did. but there are far too many issues with it that make the game very hard to enjoy. the devs seem wonderful and i kinda feel bad for writing a negative review because the game is clearly a labor of love, but it's just not worth it, sorry.

i'll preface this by saying that i've played a lot of rhythm games before: project diva/mirai, voez, arcaea, cytus, and osu! are a few examples.

aaero doesn't feel like a rhythm game. you follow a ribbon of light that typically moves with the bassline of a song. you also shoot enemies. what the game doesn't tell you, however, is that your shots are nerf darts unless you time them properly. so you figure that you shoot them on the beat and all is well, right? wrong. you're supposed to fire a sixteenth note before the beat, which isn't how rhythm games work, but we'll overlook it or something. the tempo is also difficult to find for the majority of the songs which makes the whole shooting mechanic basically guesswork, especially when the game forces you to follow a ribbon, lock onto a target, avoid crushing walls, and avoid enemy attacks at once. the screen is too full for that many things to be going on at the same time.

a pc game that forces you to only use a controller is weird on its own. it's downright mean if you put it in a humble bundle. i didn't get the game in a bundle and i have a controller that's compatible, but i'll assume that the majority of people just getting a humble bundle don't have a controller because controllers are generally for console games and someone with a pc shouldn't be expected to have a peripheral for a system they may not even own.

the lock-on mechanic is genuinely infuriating and the game would honestly be way better without it. it doesn't lock on to probably half the targets you need it to, and it's limited to eight targets at a time. that would be fine if some enemies didn't require more than one perfectly-timed hit and also shot six projectiles at once, but some do, and that's why it isn't fine.

ribbon-chasing is fine, but the controls are soggy and it makes the (sometimes very fast) transitons nearly impossible. this is especially true if there's a transition during one of the "oh my god what is happening" moments. as an aside, i typically love the "oh my god what is happening" moments in games because of the adrenaline rush but this game just makes me mad with them. your combo is also halved if you miss the ribbon by even a little bit.

song selection is subjective so i'm not commenting on it, as with graphics. however, the song selection is small, even with the dlc. it's also only one genre, dubstep; i don't mind it since i enjoy the wubs myself but the majority of the songs get annoying after the third try or so. ymmv with this one.

some people have mentioned their controller not being supported; this didn't happen to me but it's something to be aware of.

in short: aaero might be fun for some people. it wasn't fun for me.

Imrahilion
Imrahilion

I'm not good at these kind of games (didn't even get into Advanced difficulty).
I (normally) don't like this kind of music (and really, it's worth it for the music alone)
I loved every minute of Aaero.

If you don't care about being a scrub and stick to normal, this is the game to pick over Thumper.
As for those in for the challenge, I'm pretty sure the game is very fair, even with the load of enemies. If you know how to "fight" them, it's doable. I'm just not the one to do it.

20Below
20Below

great game. Love the music and the idea of a music rail shooter.

Xee Xee
Xee Xee

Always a fun time playing this game. I've put many many hours into Xbox playing competitively for top spots on the leaderboards, no matter how many times I play all the levels are always fun. This is one of two games I found worth buying on more than one platform as well as one of my favorite games. I have never found a game more worth recommending than this game, tis the game that got me into rhythm games.

emptyipod
emptyipod

This is a fantastic game that is beautifully rendered with mesmerizing landscapes. Simple to play, difficult to master. Make sure you check out the tutorials to get an idea of how to shoot enemies. It's been said, if you like Rez you will like this. If you haven't tried a rhythm shooter before, this is one to go for.

The controls are straight forward and intuitive. Once you get the hang of it, you can really flow with the music. The action is well paced.

MPO
MPO

Aaero shuffles together the most memorable parts of rhythm games (Rez, Gitaroo Man, Amplitude), but adds a special, shiver-inducing twist.

Tracing ribbons feels just as satisfying as it looks, and like Rez, beat-based combat resembles authoring a mix track of swift audio cues and player inputs. Put together, it's a hell of a challenge in eye-hand coordination.

With 15 tracks and 3 difficulties, Aaero is short, repeatable, and sweet.

Vairfoley
Vairfoley

I really tried to like this game. The visuals and music are really cool and it's a very unique idea, and I love rhythm games. I was very excited to pick it up on sale for $3.

It just feels really awkward to move your ship around and have it exactly on the line. It seems almost impossible to have it right on track. I played the game for a good hour and I still had no idea what was going wrong with my shooting. It seems like you actually have to shoot a little off the beat? And you can't shoot even a little too late? I don't know if I'm a baby when it comes to games with high difficulty, but there should be at least a little room for error to make the experience enjoyable and not frustrating.

Along with a few things that erk me like very few graphics options (that don't seem to do much) and a very confusing tutorial, it was just not something I could keep playing.

It seems like a lot of people do enjoy the game, so you could try it out. I could be completely wrong and just have an unpopular opinion, but it really didn't feel like a rhythm game to me. More of a bullet hell shooter synced to music which was not was I was expecting.

interzoo
interzoo

Great game! I love the music and the style, it's addicting :-)

Do YoU gUyS nOt HaVe PhOnEs?
Do YoU gUyS nO…

Fusion between arcade shooter with rhythm type game.

FietsNoob
FietsNoob

The idea is pretty cool, but shooting the enemy ships feels unnatural. If I kill an enemy ship, it's usually more by chance than by being a good player.

It doesn't matter what kind of controller, by the way. I've used both a Steam controller and a more conventional controller, but neither work well for me. (Though the conventional controller definitely better than the steam one.)

Mr Bumboclaat
Mr Bumboclaat

Simple to learn, hard to master, fun to play.

This game will draw you in with its initial appeal of great music and visually stimulating environments, but make you stay for the incredibly tight, precise controls and the tantalizing desire to keep improving and pushing forward. Taking the time to learn the mechanics is important but rewarding, and you quickly start to feel like you're improving with every run.

I've sunk plenty of hours in just the base tracklist alone and I plan on grabbing the DLC song packs soon as well.

Truly incredible game. An absolute hidden gem.

esutton
esutton

The shooting elements are straight up garbage, and the jerkiness of the controls even on a gamepad means that you will likely not be able to hug the track that you are supposed to follow... The tutorial is vague, at best, with absolutely no explanation as to why you are supposed to shoot at a specific time. Often to a beat that you have to anticipate. While there is supposedly a visual clue as to "when" you are supposed to shoot, it is impossible to see with all the visual elements thrown at you.

Elyes Bankeryes
Elyes Bankeryes

An amazing shmup and rhythm game.

If you're a fan of EDM, this is a must have.

The graphics may not be advanced but the artstyle blends so well with the sound that this becomes an amazing experience. And the sound is oh so good. The gameplay isn't hard to grasp but it's not easy to master either. It's a completely fair game. It might not take long on Normal, but replayability is very high

I hope to see more from the developers. I really loved this.

9/10

dmitrijsatanic
dmitrijsatanic

I like all music arcades and that one is really awesome!)

Seance
Seance

For a music based game the sound cuts out randomly I checked and I know its the game and not my speakers it also freezes constantly and crashes frequently

超I/O
超I/O

Easy to control deftly after two or three rounds. Most sections should try more again for bench.

deltabot8
deltabot8

Beautiful graphics with funky electronic beats. Takes me right back to playing Tube game on DOS (google it).

There's a lot happening in the game argh multitasking lol. Left stick to track the music pitch and avoid obstacles, right stick to lock onto enemies. Works OK with my nVidia TV controller but a controller with smoother left analogue stick would help a lot. It gets difficult really quick and I wish the enemies could be toggled off as they distract from the music. A "dumb" mode would be awesome so i could sit back and enjoy the music and graphics...YouTube walk through anyone? lol.

Nice there is a Chill (god) mode where you'll respawn with endless lives.

5/10 gameplay
8/10 graphics
8/10 music, look elsewhere if you don't like EDM

Garfield The Cat
Garfield The Cat

One of the greatest games ever made, the songs are amazing, the levels are addictive and the thrill of defeating an enemy to the beat is so thrilling, roll on Aaero 2!

soooperspeed
soooperspeed

amazing game
amazing sound
runs perfect and smooth

controller support ONLY for good reason
but
SOOOOOO HARD .. oh this game does not pull any punches and is crazy hardcore
addictive but very tough but worth getting this game it is a real gem
this game is an ON RAIL track game where you follow a line too the music then kill boss creatures in the middle using timing and rail style controls
would love too see more music added and a slower music mode like a chill mode not just no damage mode

i recommend this game
7/10

controller support
um yer ...
keyboard NO

Teizan
Teizan

Great game to play a track of periodically. The bossfights were a pleasant surprise.

Good Cop
Good Cop

LET THE BASS CANNON KICK IT!!
Disgustingly bad dubstep aside, this is a pretty fun casual rhythm game, maybe get it on sale.

knalb
knalb

+Visually Impressive music game
+Excellent selection of electronic music
+The Following the lines section are simple and fun to play
-The combat sections don’t feel well balanced
-Later levels bloom can overpower the level making it hard to see anything important on screen
-Seem near impossible to 100% the levels

Overview: Aaero is short and sweet little rhythm game with some fun elements esecially when you follow the line parts of the song. Unfortunately I felt the combat sections more annoying and could switch between overwhelming and empty at the blink of an eye. If you can get past that then Aaero is a nice little game to play.

7/10

シイナ
シイナ

Gets hard at some kind but its still fun to play. I would love to see a level creator/editor in Aaero II, since the songs are very limited in this game.
Would recommend to buy in sale cuz there arent many songs you can play (in sale its about 3-4€).

antocularis
antocularis

I really want to like Aaero because there are good things about it, and a few negatives. Those negatives are big ones though so I have to give this a thumbs down overall.

Aaero looks awesome. The graphic artwork style and futuristic design appeal to me and it's one of the main reasons I decided to buy Aaero. The team working on this game deserves a lot of credit for their effort in this area. The techno music in the game fits the purpose well but none of it is good enough in my opinion to go out and buy it for pure listening on it's own. That's OK though. It's primary function is to help the rhythm mechanics of the game and that's solid enough. Where Aareo starts to suffer is in the actual game play. You're essentially trying to focus on following a light ribbon and avoid objects while at the same time shooting static targets for points and keeping the bad guys from blowing you up. This is where things get all jumbled up. There is an added timing component to executing your shots which are supposed to be in line with the techno beats for maximum score. It is very difficult to achieve those timed shots and almost impossible to see the visual cues to do so.

I tried playing Aaero with a couple of different twin stick controllers. Movement in the game seems too precise, jerky. Using an analogue mode on the controllers did not help improve the feel of the game. It's almost like this would benefit from being played with an old style arcade rotary control like on Atari's Tempest and a single button joystick with the fire button on top of the rod. That's how complicated this feels to play through. If you can figure out a control setup that works well for you some of this may not be much of a problem. For myself I just could not get past it.

Level difficulty escalates rapidly to a point and then became very frustrating. Some obstacles (gates) need to be flown through precisely to get them out of the way. They are harsh to get through a tiny opening without damaging your ship. This was particularly aggravating and probably should have been introduced later on in the level progression. As it is now that appears too early in the game. There is a lot going on all at once and you need to train your eye to catch the priority and follow through in the right order. If you want a very challenging skill/timing game Aaero may be for you. For myself I think a less is more approach to the game play would have been better. For example tracking the light ribbon and shooting static targets only as a separate game mode might be more enjoyable. I thought that might have been what the Chillout mode of the game is but it is not. So I am somewhat lost on what the point of Chillout is other than for practice sessions off of the global leader boards.

1MantisPhoenix
1MantisPhoenix

Steam controller tested and it was flawless. Smooth as ice, on rails.

I played the first track visually, without sound, and it was long. Very cool, fast paced. Left analog for movement as you trace the line leading you, while enemies also attack you, you use the left analog to track around where they are, and right trigger to shoot. You need to do all of the above at the same time to travel through a level.

Will update as we continue to explore,

Moose Cannon
Moose Cannon

It's like Star Fox had a baby with some rhythm game. I love how the controllers vibration mimics the bass lines. Def recommend using Skull Crushers seeing as they have haptic subs, really makes for an intense experience.

BlueLight218
BlueLight218

Aaero is an amazing game with amazing music, level design, and gameplay mechanics. I've truely enjoyed this game, and I'm glad I discovered it!

Kolser
Kolser

Once you get used to the timing of shots, gameplay becomes smooth af

bloody_spasm
bloody_spasm

Aaero is an amazing experience with one of the best soundtracks I ever had the joy to listen to. It’s genuinely fun to play and the songs stuck with me for weeks to come. It’s a brilliant work of audio-visual art and my only complaint is there aren’t more tracks to enjoy. This game can't get enough DLC tracks added...
Because as Flux Pavilion would say : “I can’t Stop“

Check my Full review here:
http://thisgengaming.com/2017/07/28/aaero-review/

b1nge
b1nge

One of the best rhythm games I've played. Especially great if you're a fan of DnB and Dubstep music

Juan de Souza
Juan de Souza

I really love this game. But, I don't like the requirement: you need to use your controller to play this game on your PC. I think Mouse it's better.

COCA0
COCA0

Fun. but sometimes i get 3m for %90 and all enemies defeated and sometimes 4 m for %84 al enemies defeated. How does that work?

ImmaBeeBuzzBuzz
ImmaBeeBuzzBuzz

One of the coolest rhythm games out there!

Takes a bit to get used to, but the more I play the more I fall in love with the game.

The music choice is awesome and so is the art style.

Every time I listen to music now I find myself thinking how to make it into an Aaero track lol.

There are 14 tracks so its kinda short but I think the bulk of the game is going for the 5 star and trying them in harder difficulties.

I think 15 dollars is pretty fair and on sale its a must buy.

Anyways plz give it a try and I hope there is gonna be a second one :).

EGafton
EGafton

audiosurf + something like ikaruga
fun reinvention of what a rhythm game can be

grab it on sale if you don't like replaying levels for completion sake

oops
oops

For core rhythm game players this will be a curiosity at best, and most likely not an interesting/pleasant one. There are two core mechanics: follow a white trail with left controller stick, and shoot enemies by locking in with the right stick and trigger button to perform the shot.

Both of those are badly implemented: the trail takes sharp turns way too often and requires precise stick position; those two properties do not play well as you can imagine. Shooting is supposed to be "rhythm" part: you have to pull the trigger on beat; but there is no visual indicator and most of the time it's not clear by the music alone.

The game has unlock system which boils down to requiring to get 4/5 stars on a track in order to unlock the next one most of the time, together with really silly 3-hit health system it means that you have to play the same three-four tracks for a while until you get used to the finicky mechanics (or just give up on a game after on a couple of tries like I've did, which I wholeheartedly recommend: I've already spend money on this game but I don't want to spend time on it as well)

Juicy J
Juicy J

There's a lot to love about this game -

Gameplay wise its a mix of a flying/shooting sections and "railgrinding" type sections all centered around tight rhythm game mechanics. At its best, you really get into a kind of flow state with the game, and the controls end up feeling very natural after a little practice.

Music selection wise its all the kind of thing you'd find on the monstercat records youtube channel. Which I think works well for this high adrenaline style of game but I understand isn't for everyone

I think the only thing that might put some people off is the difficulty: 3 Mistakes and you'll have to retry the level. This ended up being kind of frustrating initially but I found that after giving the game a little bit of a break and coming back to it things I had struggled with felt much easier to execute without needing to actively think about it

The only other criticism, which was brought up here in other reviews, is the game length. It's probably ~1.5 hours to play through all the stages on the regular difficulty, and given the games difficulty thats all that a lot of players will end up going through, but in this case I think its better to have 1.5 hours of solid concentrated fun than a 20 hour game of tedium

ur Game Buddy
ur Game Buddy

This review will be heavily biased. Yes, I only played 2 hours. Only a few songs hooked me and the movement of the ship to master the track makes it often very hard to stay on the line (zig zags or sweeps). As a result on normal difficulty I couldn't get past 70 percent no matter how many times i repeated the run.
The good things about the game are the environs which add a flavour to the run, secrets and the diversity of gameplay (follow rhythm and shoot aliens).
However, the shooting is often irritating with the reticule and its aiming or locking on targets. The idea that enemies can kill you is in my opinion a huge downside. If we go for score, make targets just run away and penalize my run instead of terminating it.
Last thing that made me quit the game so fast is the star requirement to open the harder difficulties. Ugh, 68/75 needed to play further? Some songs that i did not like block me from enjoying other songs i'd like to play on hard. Better solution would be to open each song difficulty after getting e.g. 3 stars in it or just completing every level opens up the next tier.
Heavily biased, as i said. If you are a fan of rhythm games and electronica, you will probably enjoy Aaero.