Showbu Kim, who has posted various game reviews on Naver blog, has appeared in Game Mecca. Let’s meet the game review of Shobu Kim, who enjoys various games regardless of genre, regardless of graphic, at Game Mecca.
While browsing the Steam store as usual, AER Memories of old caught my eye. I pressed the purchase button without any hesitation because of the beautiful graphics that remind me of the protagonist, Journey, and Abju flying high in the sky. I will start the review by making it clear that I purchased it with the clear purpose of healing when I am tired and struggling.
Flying through the heart and dreamy exploration
[새로 변신하여 하늘을 날고 탐험하며…(중략)…섬세계를 경험하세요] As you can see from the introductory text on the AER purchase page, the main focus of the game is to fly through the sky and explore various islands in the air. As I expected a lot regarding this part, I was also worried regarding it, but fortunately, I was very satisfied with the flight. It transforms into a bird, but when it reaches a certain height, it can transform freely and is easy to operate. In addition, the map size is appropriate to deliver the experience of flying in the wide sky at high speed. Flying through the clouds while riding the air current between the islands is not only refreshing but also ecstatic.
The game progresses through a series of stories. Each sky island has a dungeon, where you enter and solve puzzles. The dungeon and island themes do not overlap and are composed in various ways, and the dreamy graphics are added to please the eyes. The theme is appropriately configured to fit the fairy tale worldview, and raises curiosity regarding the next area. In other words, it is fun to explore, and it fits well with the world the game has embodied.
However, when reviewing games, I tend to briefly mention and pass on things that I regret, but this time I want to talk a little bit more. In fact, the things I mentioned above are all that I am satisfied with while enjoying AER.
no charm puzzle
In the dungeon that exists on the Sky Island, players have to solve puzzles and move forward. But the puzzle is overly simplistic and unattractive. Most of them are only lit by lanterns, and are composed of jump maps. Even inside the dungeon, it is impossible to transform into a new one, so there is no puzzle using flight, which is a game feature. The only part that can be said to have made good use of flight is passing through a round circle in the field, and inside the dungeon, there are only banal devices that are not enough to even be called a puzzle.
In addition, the reason I was disappointed with AER’s puzzles was that puzzles took up a large part in the game compared to the cliché. If flying and reading the story is 50%, the remaining 50% is this puzzle pool. But playing close to half is way too boring. In particular, unlike when flying as a bird, it is quite inconvenient when running a jump map because the feeling of manipulation is not good when in a human state.
Finding an unpleasant way
As mentioned earlier, AER proceeds in a way that follows a series of stories. The main story is to meet the ancestors and collect ancient slabs, but the problem is that there is no way to know the progress of the story. Since you can’t check basic information such as what to do or what items you have, if you miss the flow once, you have no choice but to infer clues by looking for NPCs on a wide map one by one.
Although it is a short game of regarding 3 hours, there are not many users who enjoy the game when they have free time rather than for a long time, so it is necessary to check how far you have progressed. I also played this game over a few days, and it was very stressful for me to forget what to do to do it once more the next day.
Finding your way in the dungeon is also difficult. They are thrown into the dungeon without any explanation of where to go. This does not mean that mazes and puzzles are structured so that the content can proceed naturally. In the end, the player has to figure out the path by bumping into everything and everywhere, one by one, and all this process is very tedious and unpleasant.
The problem might have been alleviated if a convenience factor had been added to the above-mentioned part. chamberlain, [임무] You can create an interface to show what to do directly, or display the next local location on the map. However, AER seems to be so focused on freedom that it leaves the player irresponsible to the world of the game. There is nothing to say if it was a device to induce exploration, but it was not a very pleasant experience for the player who entered in anticipation of healing.
hard-to-understand story
*Spoiler alert
AER’s story is very abstract. Players have to infer the NPC lines, the tombstones in the field, and the memories of their ancestors. People who usually like reasoning or who like to interpret the story according to their taste are satisfied, but for me, it was not easy to understand what the game was trying to say, and it was not fun. The way the ending, which can be called the highlight, was presented was also very disappointing. From the beginning of the story to the end of the story, it gives hints regarding a demon-like existence, and despite meeting him eventually, the game ends with one cutscene without any puzzles or boss fights. From the perspective of playing, I wonder if there is a more poignant development than this.
The appeal of AER is clear. The experience of transforming into a bird and flying in the vast sky was something I had never felt in any other game, and it was very refreshing. However, Frel did not utilize these strengths at all. Looking at the overall atmosphere, it seems to be a healing game, but it is not a healing game at all, except when flying in the sky.
Is it because I expected too much? Unusually, I talked regarding the shortcomings throughout the review, but it is a game that has as much strength as the weaknesses, so it is a more disappointing game. It is worth playing only with the dreamy graphics and flying experience, but it seems to be comfortable to try without high expectations for other content.
