Developer: Mad Fellows
Platforms: PC (Reviewed), PS5, Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Action
Publisher: Wired Productions
Aaero2: Black Razor Edition is a rhythm-based ribbon-riding game, yes, that’s a lot of r’s. It’s a mix of the Guitar Hero music-based rhythm game mixed with a rail shooter, and obviously, music is a huge element. Add a mix of interstellar levels where you fly a ship, and you have some stunning levels to play. The presentation, visuals, and design are all superb.
Gameplay elements: You navigate your ship along the ribbon track using the left thumbstick. You’re meant to ride the ribbon and will gain multipliers and points if you stay on track. The riding of the ribbon also affects the health of your ship, and veering off it will cause your ship to explode. The ribbon will vary on the screen and will change in sync with the music; changes in higher notes will make the ribbon rise, and lower notes will make it fall. You get the idea: you navigate your ship with the ribbons and aim to get 100% completeness. There’s replayability to gain up to five stars per level, and stars are needed to unlock the next levels. While this game seems easy, the riding of the ribbon is much trickier than expected, but this mechanic is also paired with enemies trying to kill you. Your right thumbstick acts as your aim to fire your cannon and rockets, and the shoulder buttons fire them for you. Other spaceships will appear on your musical journey, and it gets tricky pretty quickly when trying to ride the ribbon and kill enemies at the same time. The cannon is aimed to fire, while the rockets have an aim lock. The cannon can overheat and will temporarily stop your use of either weapon. The mechanics and gameplay are super smooth, and the controls are very responsive. You can change the difficulty, but I found it challenging and tricky in normal mode. Oh, the boss levels are amazing.
Like any rhythm-based game, the music is a huge part of it. The music is a mix of electronic, rock, hip-hop, and some rock too. If you remember dubstep, there are a few dubstep tracks too. There’s a persistent heavy bass to the songs, which you’ll ride along on the ribbon. Like any game based on music, there’s a limited number of songs, but the variety in the songs is great and adds to the aesthetic of the game. The sci-fi-inspired game fits well with the accompanying music.
Aaero2: Black Razor Edition features daily and weekly tasks for you to gain XP points. Each level has a leaderboard so you can see how you fare against players in the world, whether you’re super competitive or not. There’s also a two-player local mode. The game, when finished, unlocks another difficulty mode, which is even less forgiving.
Overall: Aaero2: Black Razor Edition blends a brilliant music soundtrack, dark sci-fi aesthetic, and responsive gameplay into a solid game that’s gripping and hard to put down. It’s a brilliant shooter on top of a fantastic game – quite the ride from start to finish! Highly recommended.
Overall: 9/10
Enjoys more than the odd game, long time gamer, somewhat a technologist and everything else in between.
Also enjoys a good solid game of FIFA online. Currently PS4, XBOX 360 and STEAM.
