AER: Memories of Old

 PlayStation 4
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 48 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 48
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 48
  3. Negative: 7 out of 48
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  1. PS-Online
    Nov 5, 2017
    9
    Daedalic Entertainment and developer forgotten key are very brave. To go up against the likes of Assassins Creed, Wolfenstein and Call of Duty is one hell of a statement. It's a cluttered time for game releases You must have lots of faith in a game to do this. Forgotten Key have been working on the game for five years and have pored love into this project and you can tell. Words likeDaedalic Entertainment and developer forgotten key are very brave. To go up against the likes of Assassins Creed, Wolfenstein and Call of Duty is one hell of a statement. It's a cluttered time for game releases You must have lots of faith in a game to do this. Forgotten Key have been working on the game for five years and have pored love into this project and you can tell. Words like "beautiful" "charming" and "relaxing" are not out of place when describing this game. I found my time playing a totally stress free and engaging experience.

    At first glance you'd think you were looking at Sony's very own Tearaway. The world in AER is broken into sections that you can explore from the moment you get outside of the first dungeon. Playing as a girl, a shapshifter you can transform into a bird and sore high about the world on your quest to restore order and solve the mystery. The transformation is seamless with a double tap of the X button. As you fly you can pan the camera looking for clues and dungeons or points of interest.
    I played the game in my style. I love exploring and seeing how far I can go so I'd opened up the world virtually straight away. You can play it your own way. Talking to people at you main base camp will give you clues as to where you have to travel and explore in the land of gods. How you go about this is entirely up to you.

    Exploring the world feels very Tomb Raider at times. Activating 'gates' will open up dungeons where you will carry out some very familiar platforming. As you venture further north snow will start to fall. Exploring the world will reward Trophy hunters so be sure to fly and land to route out all the games secrets.

    The graphics in the game are perfect for the relaxing feeling the game gives you. At no time did I experience any jitters or slowdown no matter how hard I pushed the game engine. Water effects are very well done considering the art on show. Sound is also very relaxing and the music ramps up when you take to the sky giving you a very relaxing feeling.

    All in all AER Memories of Old is a very pleasant surprise. It's style and gameplay is a very pleasing break from all the repeated yearly games and one that really tries to stand out and succeeds. Games like this will be loved or hated and I'm very pleased to say I loved it. From the first 10 minutes on to the conclusion. I've said nothing of the story as it would spoil it.
    Suffice to say that you need to play this brilliant game.    … Expand
  2. GBG_Jason
    Oct 25, 2017
    8
    Some games task you with killing everyone that you see on the screen, be it by jumping on their heads or blasting them with a gun. Some games have you sneaking about with a wire to silently whisk away a body as you steal their clothes and hide them. Some games have you cowering in fear as the unknown stalks you around each corner. And then you have games where you’ll simply exist,Some games task you with killing everyone that you see on the screen, be it by jumping on their heads or blasting them with a gun. Some games have you sneaking about with a wire to silently whisk away a body as you steal their clothes and hide them. Some games have you cowering in fear as the unknown stalks you around each corner. And then you have games where you’ll simply exist, exploring a world and progressing at your own pace.

    When you first start playing AER, you may be reminded of something like Journey. But that’s not what it is, for many reasons including the way you approach the title. You are on a pilgrimage, and are able to shape shift into a bird to move about the world and its many floating islands. There is a distinct difference between the journey in the beginning part of the world and the end, being bright and cheery to dark and gloomy. However, even if you haven’t completed the beginning, you can visit what will serve as the end for many and even finish that portion first. Quite honestly, the game can be bird simulator if you want, exploring the islands in whatever order you desire, but the game does have a story if you choose to follow it.

    This is a game that started out as a student project, as so many seem to these days. It grew beyond that, and is now a full-fledged adventure. The low poly models come off as charming and very fitting for the world. The environment itself contains many secrets for you to discover, and the story is told in snippets as you come across tablets, scrolls, and memories telling the diaries of the past. There are some people near the beginning of the game that will give you directions, and should you choose to follow them, you’ll start to learn more about the world that you are exploring in the correct order.

    The game is, in a word, relaxing. Having the music up loud while flying through clouds and above an island of never-ending waterfalls, it’s hard to feel anything but calm. Even when you’re trying to decipher what the clues are that you read, you may be upset for a moment when what seems obvious actually isn’t (just don’t over think it – you’ll know it when you see it), but after taking in the beauty and the sounds, you reclaim that quiet sense of calm. It’s as if your stress melts away as you play it. But that’s not the only reason to play this game.

    The story you find during your pilgrimage, learning about what happened to the world, is deep and beautiful. Reading about the spirit animals that once helped the people of the past, seeing the memories of those that lived, and seeing what has resulted are all immensely satisfying. You won’t be getting into any fights, nor will you have a chance to die – yes, you can fall indefinitely if you choose not to spread your wings, but you’ll only be respawned at a nearby shrine. Of course you can be much more stylish and turn into a bird and soar back into the heavens if you ever fall unintentionally.

    While the majority of your exploration around the world will involve flight, you’ll also come across “temples” where you will be faced with more traditional platforming. This works about as well as you’d expect, utilizing your lantern that you receive near the beginning to make any secrets show up for your viewing. However, try to platform like this around the map where you can fly, and things become a bit more difficult. While there are parts for you to explore, you’ll often end up turning into a bird as you miss a jump because you propel yourself too far. And when you transform, you’re thrust forward even further, meaning if you were trying to do something specific, you’ll likely have to circle around and come back. And because of the way the flight paths are, it’s possible the game won’t let you do what you’re attempting. Often times when you collide with something, you’ll turn back into a biped, although other times you’ll simply be redirected. Also, the camera will fight with you on occasion, but it’s a lot better than most games with these mechanics.

    With several hours of content to explore based on your skill level and what you want out of the game, this is a fun romp, if not just to relax from the normal offerings in the gaming space. This isn’t for those that want something fast paced and violent, but is a great game to sink some time into if you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, and an experience unlike most available. My best advice: just fly, and let your intrigue guide you.    … Expand
  3. Xelluse
    Jan 1, 2018
    10
    Small, but stunning game, gorgeous atmosphere and art, enjoyable and beautiful sound and music and interesting storytelling, if there is a game, that can be called Amazing In the literal sense of the word, then this is it, game is small, do not have lots of gameplay, do not have much action or deep puzzles, but have interesting world and its beautiful story.
    Great game to relax and dive    Small, but stunning game, gorgeous atmosphere and art, enjoyable and beautiful sound and music and interesting storytelling, if there is a game, that can be called Amazing In the literal sense of the word, then this is it, game is small, do not have lots of gameplay, do not have much action or deep puzzles, but have interesting world and its beautiful story.
    Great game to relax and dive in to another world.
    Also, if you ever dreamed to be a bird, then you have to play it.    … Expand
  4. Skeleton9
    Jul 21, 2020
    9
    Beautiful, absorbing game world, with a dreamy and smooth flying mechanic that's fun and not annoying. It starts off very mellow, lots of exploring and not too much action, however after a while you encounter caves and other curious areas with some great, satisfying puzzles. I loved the game, though did get a little lost and cheated a little to grasp what I should be looking for.
  5. SergeiZ
    Nov 22, 2020
    8
    A very good, albeit simple game. A graphic looks pretty. The plot is a bit naive, but if you consider it as a fairy tale, it's not so bad.
    I would also like to note the music - simple ambient that goes well with the visual style and what is happening in the game.
  6. NHC2000
    Jul 27, 2020
    8
    I loved this games aesthetics and setting. Is very interesting the approach the developers took. The soundtrack is very good too, with peaceful melodies that encourage you to travel around the map just by listening to the music.
    I would recommend this game to anyone just looking for a peaceful experience.
    The lack of enemies in the game and combat in general is not something that can be    I loved this games aesthetics and setting. Is very interesting the approach the developers took. The soundtrack is very good too, with peaceful melodies that encourage you to travel around the map just by listening to the music.
    I would recommend this game to anyone just looking for a peaceful experience.
    The lack of enemies in the game and combat in general is not something that can be missed as the I felt hook in the history and tryin to learning everything about the land I was in.
    The only two aspects of the game that I didn't like are the following:
    1. There game didn't make an effort to encourage you to learn about the history of the world you are in. Usually games like these provide you with extensive literature and even reward you for finding these information. However with Aer not even the characters encourages the main one to explore looking for information about the world. Is up to the player to decide this.
    2. The game time. I feel there was so much potential to continue the story or add more elements that made the gaming time longer. This may be fixed in a second part, in case, a second part comes someday.    … Expand
  7. NightBush
    Dec 16, 2020
    10
    Well, what can I say... (played this game before on epic) An amazing game with amazing indie visuals, great cutsceneless storyline that will keep everyone satisfied, great mechanix, character designs, great soundtrack... i could keep on forever. The only bad thing is its a bit incomplete and the ending is weird, but thats pretty much it! There's not a game i would recommend more and IWell, what can I say... (played this game before on epic) An amazing game with amazing indie visuals, great cutsceneless storyline that will keep everyone satisfied, great mechanix, character designs, great soundtrack... i could keep on forever. The only bad thing is its a bit incomplete and the ending is weird, but thats pretty much it! There's not a game i would recommend more and I honestly think that if the game would be 60$ it would be still worth buying.
    I could go about this game forever, but you should see for yourself.

    ---{Graphics}---
    ☐ You forget what reality is
    ☑ Beautiful
    ☐ Good
    ☐ Decent
    ☐ Bad
    ☐ Don‘t look too long at it
    ☐ MS-DOS

    ---{Gameplay}---
    ☑ Very good
    ☐ Good
    ☐ It‘s just gameplay
    ☐ Mehh
    ☐ Watch a tree grow instead
    ☐ Just don't

    ---{Audio}---
    ☑ Eargasm
    ☐Very good
    ☐ Good
    ☐ Not too bad
    ☐ Bad
    ☐ I'm now deaf

    ---{Audience}---
    ☐ Kids
    ☐ Teens
    ☐ Adults
    ☑ All

    ---{PC Requirements}---
    ☐ Check if you can run Tetris
    ☐ Potato
    ☑ Decent
    ☐ Fast
    ☐ Rich boi
    ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer

    ---{Difficulity}---
    ☐ Just press 'W'
    ☐ Easy
    ☑ Significant brain usage
    ☐ Easy to learn / Hard to master
    ☐ Difficult
    ☐ Dark Souls

    ---{Grind}--- ☐ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☑ Isnt necessary to progress ☐ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You‘ll need a second live for grinding ---{Story}--- ☐ No Story ☐ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☑ Lovely ☐ It‘ll replace your life ---{Game Time}--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☑ Short ☐ Average ☐ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{Price}--- ☐ It’s free! ☑ Deserves more ☐ Worth the price ☐ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ Donate the money to children in Africa ---{Bugs}--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{?/10}--- ☐1 ☐2 ☐3 ☐4 ☐5 ☐6 ☐7 ☐8 ☐9 ☑10    … Expand
  8. Shemon
    Dec 19, 2020
    8
    I got this game on Epic store for free and it is very good. It is puzzle based, has a great story and lovely soundtrack. I highly recommend it.
    +soundtrack
    +puzzles
    +graphics
    +traveling
    -linearity (nothing to do except the main story)
    -length (it is short)
    -exploration (not much things to explore while exploration is a big part of the game)
  9. fatheraki
    Sep 19, 2021
    8
    Cute little game with great graphics, a lovely atmosphere and nice flight mechanics. Not that much to do, but it being short doesn't bother me too much, because playing this game when I'm tense feels like free therapy. I got the game on sale so it was worth every penny.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. games(TM)
    Dec 3, 2017
    80
    A charming yet brief little platforming gem. [Issue#194, p.83]
  2. PlaySense
    Nov 15, 2017
    70
    AER: Memories of Old offers neat puzzles and a refreshing sense of freedom, though the gameplay's too limited to truly leave an impression.
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  3. DarkZero
    Nov 10, 2017
    60
    AER is at its best whilst flying through the sky with little care in the world for the extra tasks the game demands. The flying is fun, strangely meditative, and feels freeing. Sadly, disappointment comes from AER’s choice to remain hands off in directing players towards its content. Instead of been filled with wonder as I explored, aimless wandering soon took over as I wished for a more authored experience. That feeling of been continually lost quickly began to erode the fledgling feelings of joy I had at the outset of my adventure.
    Read full review
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