Let's take our momentum and launch ourselves into AER, a mystical game embarking on an adventure through mysterious flying islands directed by the Swedes Forgotten Key and published by Daedalic Entertainment.
It all begins with the sad story of this universe on a black screen, like a dream told to my sleeping character named Auk. The world fractured during the Great Dislocation, with life continuing on multiple floating islands scattered across the vastness of the sky. From this ancient time there are only ruins, legends and forgotten gods and three temples that I will have to visit ... Because, as one of the last remaining shapeshifters, I have to fulfill my destiny: save the Earth from the Void Gods hoping it is not too late, because the end of the world is approaching.
The first moments serve as a tutorial, very classic, immediate to learn. I move forward with the WASD keyboard keys (it is therefore preferable to switch the keyboard to QWERTY) and the interaction is carried out with the E key as I discovered on this first stele. Writings of this kind, hidden all over the world, teach me more about history, delivering snippets of past legends and its great heroes.
Shortly after, a powerful object was entrusted to me, a lantern which, once lit, offers a vision of memories but not only ...
Indeed, this unique and powerful artifact unlocks the possibility of interacting with elements of the world which, without light, remain inert and useless.
Once out of the cave / tutorial that collapses behind me, I discover the heart of the gameplay: theft. Using E while jumping (Space), my character transforms into a bird and soars into the skies. This transformation is instantaneous and can be used without limit as soon as Auk does not touch the ground with his feet and is not indoors. I can then steer the majestic animal with the same keys on the keyboard, except that here W increases altitude while S lowers. Space makes him flap his wings, accelerating and ascending higher and higher towards the skies.
Let's go to explore the vast open world, made up of ten identified areas. On the left, the starting area, on the right the completely uncovered map towards the end of the game.
There are things to discover all over the place, not just on the main islands, with lovely surprises within reach. Do not hesitate to stop everywhere, to interact with everything that can be, including animals. Normal, at the same time, as a shapeshifter, I have a special bond with them and some are very powerful protective totems.
To advance in the temples, but also if only to open their doors, I have to unravel environmental puzzles by activating all kinds of hidden mechanisms. Recreate symbols, activate hidden passages, use elevators, jump from platform to platform ...
The challenges are numerous and not necessarily always obvious, as there are no clues, quests displayed or identifiers on where to go on the map. A few lights sometimes give a vague trail of the path to take, without revealing the way to get there. Observation, wandering and undoubtedly a small dose of luck, are the key words of the progression.
This inevitably leads to downtime where I found myself lost, unable to find the exit of a temple, the last switch of a door or the next stage of my exploration. It's also part of the game and these wanderings gave me some cute places so it all ended well. The graphics are beautiful and the music, as well as the ambient sounds, are perfectly suited to the initiatory side of the adventure. Allow around ten hours to complete the main story, more or less depending on your cruising speed and your sense of direction! An excellent quality / price ratio therefore for all budding adventurers ready to fly to new skies. The game will be available on October 25 for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One
