Aaero 2 – PC – Review

Way back in 201x I attended an event in the UK and played a demo of Aaero a ‘rhythm action rail shooter’ I can’t remember what event, it was probably Insomnia or EGX but Aaero stuck with me as a game I had to get when it released. It was stylistically gorgeous and the music just pulled you along each level

Now, I’m not a great rhythm game player by any sense of the word, probably not even good if I have to be honest. They’re a vice that I just can’t escape, because I love music being integral to the experience of a game. It’s also because most rhythm games have absolutely banging soundtracks.

After picking it up and beating it, 2019 rolled around and at EGX in London Aaero 2 was there as a playable demo. I of course played it (though I can’t find my own pictures of this) and loved it all over again.

After playing it there it kinda slipped my mind….until I was browsing Keymailer for new games to take a look at and saw it highlighted right at the top. I submitted my request for a review key and waited like a kid waiting for Christmas Day to open his presents.

A few days later I got the good news that they were sending me a key and I immediately redeemed and started playing.

It was like being transported back to a happy place. The banging soundtrack was back and I was flying along shooting my rockets at anything that moved and flying through the carefully selected songs and gorgeous levels.

It had been so long since I’d played Aaero, I went back after to have another playthrough to see if it was still as fun as I’d remembered, which it was, but it was so easy to see where the Dev’s MadFellows had seen weaknesses and sought to improve it.

A lot of these improvements are very welcome, to me at least, because they improve the actual playability of levels for those who might not be great at the game. Up to Normal, you get magnetic ribbon assistance, which gives you a bit of leeway being on the rail itself

You also get simplified Ribbons to follow. Which makes things a little easier to track.

As you progress through Normal and get stars, you unlock Advanced which makes things a little tougher and then as you play through Advanced you can unlock Master which is the hardest difficulty.

I have seen some better players complain that this mode still isn’t tough enough for them and they have also been annoyed at the requirement to beat other difficulties to unlock it.

Other improvements also come to the shooting as you now get a metronome to time shots to get the most power when firing your rockets.

It also flashes when the beat hits.

You also get a normal gun to compliment your rockets which doesn’t require timing for power but will overheat if used too long.

Another inclusion to the game to aid replayability is Online and Couch CoOp as well as PVP. Allowing for you and a friend to hop in together and beat stages or go for each other instead.

In CoOp, you each get a ribbon to follow which is colour coded to your ship.

To get people playing more often, MadFellows have implemented daily and weekly challenges for players to complete as well.

These are fun to have as a little treat when you get the urge to play through or just want to play for a better highscore.

Highscore isn’t the only thing to aim for, since levels contain hidden secret targets for you to hit as well. Meaning you must keep your eyes peeled even further to make sure you get the most out of each song.

Speaking of songs, the soundtrack of Aaero2 is brilliant. It features a good mixture of songs with different speeds. A number of high energy songs with a smattering of slow and steady songs for you to play more calmly.

Whilst speaking of songs, a really simple change from Aaero to Aaero 2 I noticed is that the songs play when highlighted in the menu before making your choice. Allowing you to choose one to suit your mood without having to know the song by name.

Graphically the game is gorgeous once again. Mad Fellows really took the music and set piece design to the next level to tie everything together. The boss levels especially, punctuate a playthrough in an epic way.

Overall the game is a really good improvement over the original. Better combat, added CoOp and PVP and other changes here and there in the game make for a wonderful experience and stylistically even more gorgeous than the first.

Aaero2 is not a long game, unless you want to grind the daily and weekly challenges or attempt high scores. I’ve played it for a few hours on Normal and Chillout to just relax and found it fun to replay levels. The added difficulties extend the length further and are certainly something I am going to aim for as I play it more.

Of course, like the original Aaero there is a chance for Song Pack DLC like the original game to add some new challenges and maps.

Aaero 2 is priced at £13~ on Steam at the moment and is cracking value for those after a bit of fun

Disclosure: I received a free review copy of this product from https://www.keymailer.co