50 Best Games of 2017: #4 – Aaero

Developer: Mad Fellows
Publisher: Mad Fellows
Platform(s): PS4, Xbox One, PC (Steam)

Our 50 best games of 2017 countdown isn’t in any order, we’re just going through fifty of the finest the year has given us. Find out more here.

Aaero was a game that took a lot of people by surprise when it launched back in April 2017. Just take one look at the game’s website and see the wall of positive quotes and praise being adorned upon it. You might even see one from our head honcho Jimmy. But that praise isn’t undeserving, as Aaero took the rhythm action genre and made it its own.

At a base level, Aaero doesn’t sound like much. It’s an on-rails shooter where you need to guide your ship to the end of a level with as many points as possible. Simple enough, but the beauty of Aaero comes in the journey. Half the level is spent matching the movement of your ship with set lanes that mimic the beat of the EDM thumping out of your speakers, whilst the other half tasks you with blowing enemy ships out of the sky. It’s equal parts Rez, Entwined and a dubstep concert; a formula that works so well.

Though things start off easy to begin with, levels quickly become a complicated challenge akin to playing Twister with your controller. There’s a steep yet fair learning curve at play that makes Aaero much more rewarding that most controller based rhythm action games, and when the action hits a fever pitch, there’s none more satisfying.

Of course, no rhythm game is complete without a brilliant soundtrack, and Aaero is no different. With the likes of Noisia, Katy B and Flux Pavillion lending their musical talents to the game, dubstep and EDM fans should find plenty to love here. Even someone like me, to whom the world of EDM is unknown, couldn’t help but bob my head in time with the beat.

There’s so much to fall in love with when it comes to Aaero, and as we move into the New Year, we shouldn’t forget that. If you didn’t manage to get your hands on Aaero in 2017, make it your late Resolution to do so in 2018.

READ MORE:
– GAME REVIEW: Aaero (Xbox One)