AIRHEART - Tales of broken Wings

Airheart: Tales of Broken Wings is a game whose crafting mechanic is a lot more interesting than the rest of the gameplay. It doesn’t feel broken, it just feels like the flying gameplay is secondary to the inventive crafting.

76%Game Brain Score

gameplay, music

grinding, story

85% User Score Based on 75 reviews

Critic Score 66%Based on 12 reviews

Platforms

Buy Nowfrom $2.99

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About

Airheart - Tales of Broken Wings is a dieselpunk airplane action rogue-like game set in the flying city of Granaria. As pilot Amelia, you'll engage in sky fishing to reach the world's edge, while defending yourself against pirates and scavenging for parts to enhance your aircraft. With various customization options and over 40 weapons, take down enemies and rule the skies.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

AIRHEART - Tales of broken Wings screenshot

85%

Audience ScoreBased on 87 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

grinding13 negative mentions

AIRHEART features beautiful visuals and a charming art style that enhances the overall experience.
The game offers a fun and engaging twin-stick shooting mechanic combined with a unique crafting system, allowing for customization of planes and weapons.
Players appreciate the challenging gameplay and the sense of progression, especially when mastering the controls and upgrading their aircraft.

The game suffers from repetitive gameplay and a lack of meaningful progression, leading to a grindy experience that can become tedious over time.
Many players find the crafting system confusing and frustrating, with unclear mechanics and bugs that hinder the overall enjoyment.
The absence of a compelling story and the harsh consequences of failure can discourage players from continuing after initial runs.

gameplay
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
46%
11%
The gameplay of this roguelite indie game is generally praised for its engaging mechanics, charming visuals, and a satisfying crafting system, although it features a steep learning curve and some minor bugs. Players appreciate the unique combat mechanics, such as the harpoon gun, and the enjoyable air combat, but some find the gameplay loop lacking in complexity and the crafting system cumbersome due to its non-persistent nature. Overall, the game offers a fun and addictive experience, particularly for those who enjoy challenging shooters and action rogue-likes.
- “An awesome dieselpunk action rogue-like twin stick shooter that is challenging yet a lot of fun to play and has a ton of charm and solid core gameplay.”
- “The harpoon gun mechanic is simply brilliant and allows for some interesting combat techniques such as whipping harpooned enemies into rocks or better yet, other bad guys!”
- “There's so much to discover, mechanics to master, and inventory to be expanded; you won't get bored anytime soon with Airheart.”
- “There's also story cutscenes which make little sense and have even less bearing on what happens during gameplay.”
- “The crafting system is also not persistent so it becomes a chore when crafting items you have made and lost/used... the tutorial instructions clearly skip critical gameplay mechanics like harpooning planes/guns/big fish and then diving back to base with them in tow.”
- “Although the difficulty does ramp up, the core gameplay loop leaves much to be desired in terms of skill or complexity.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
78%
6%
17%
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its orchestral quality and fittingness to different environments. The soundtrack effectively evokes feelings of adventure and anticipation, complementing the game's visuals and gameplay experience. Overall, the combination of engaging music and stunning aesthetics contributes significantly to the game's immersive qualities.
- “A fine roguelike with a cool dieselpunk world aesthetic, beautiful soundtrack, and an environmental warning (don't overfish, fishers!).”
- “It's hard to describe, but the skyscape and the music just evoke a feeling I haven't gotten from many other games; of loneliness and adventure, anticipation, and hope.”
- “The visuals are great and the music really supports the overall flowing experience, even though I sometimes find it a bit too calm for the heavy fighting.”
- “The aesthetics are very good and it is a very joyful, relaxed game; however, the music feels repetitive and lacks variety.”
- “While the different areas have different music, it often feels disconnected from the gameplay and doesn't enhance the experience.”
- “The music is orchestral and fits the game well, but it can become monotonous over time, detracting from the overall enjoyment.”
graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming, colorful art style and polished visuals, which complement the engaging soundtrack. Players appreciate the unique dieselpunk aesthetic and the overall look and feel, although some find the visuals occasionally distracting from gameplay. Overall, the game's graphics contribute significantly to its appeal, enhancing the immersive experience despite some criticisms regarding story depth and control frustrations.
- “A good roguelite indie game with awesome visuals and good gameplay mechanics.”
- “The visual art style is so beautiful, the soundtrack throughout the game is so fitting.”
- “The graphics are refined and the music just fits perfectly (props to that, great work done here!).”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews highlight that while the game has a fun concept, it suffers from excessive and tedious grinding, making progression feel unfulfilling. Players note that the lack of a compelling story exacerbates the grind, and while some find enjoyment in the challenge, many feel that the repetitive nature of the gameplay could deter long-term engagement. Overall, the grinding aspect is a significant point of contention, with some players appreciating the "just one more run" appeal, but others finding it frustrating and overly demanding.
- “It's just so damn grindy and unfulfilling.”
- “Airheart: Tales of Broken Wings has potential, but without a solid story powering it forward and lots of tedious grinding, you’ll struggle to see it through to the end.”
- “However, Airheart is let down by the vast amount of grinding it takes to reach its endgame, and with minimal story elements peppered throughout, it's hard to see a lot of players following through right to the very end.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The story in the game is generally perceived as lacking depth and substance, with many players noting its minimal presence and reliance on grindy gameplay. While some appreciate the aesthetic and find the narrative elements cute, the overall consensus is that the story fails to engage, making it difficult for players to stay invested throughout the experience.
- “The whole idea and story, everything.”
- “+ fascinating story of a dream.”
- “I also liked the story :d”
- “It only took me about 8 hours to beat the story, and once you do that, there's no reason to try for the end again.”
- “The story is almost non-existent, but also cute.”
- “Airheart: Tales of Broken Wings has potential, but without a solid story powering it forward and lots of tedious grinding, you’ll struggle to see it through to the end.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has limited replayability, as players feel that once achievements are completed, there is little incentive to play again. Its short length further diminishes replay value, leading some to suggest it may only be worth purchasing on sale.
- “Once you finish the achievements, the game has no replayability whatsoever.”
- “If you can get the game on sale, it's probably worth it, but I don't know if I would pay full price for a game that destroys its own replayability.”
- “Since the game is short, I'm not sure if there is much replay value in the game.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beauty and charm, enhanced by captivating music and a unique, whimsical setting featuring airborne fish. Players appreciate the immersive experience, though the challenging enemies add a layer of intensity to the overall ambiance.
- “A beautiful game with a great atmosphere, wonderful music, and unforgiving enemies that will punish you for reaching too high, too fast.”
- “A cute, very atmospheric game.”
- “I love the game idea, the crazy setting (I mean fishes in the air - come on!), the music, and the whole atmosphere.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The game generally starts quickly and runs smoothly; however, users report frequent crashes and notable performance issues that detract from the overall experience.
- “Starts fast and runs smoothly.”
- “At the time of writing, this game crashes regularly and has performance issues.”
- “The optimization is so poor that it makes the game nearly unplayable on mid-range systems.”
- “I experience significant frame drops and stuttering, even on the lowest settings.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Overall, users report that the game experiences some glitches and bugs, indicating that stability could be improved.
- “There are some glitches and bugs, though.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy.”
- “I experienced several stability issues that disrupted my gameplay.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is highlighted by clever design choices, such as the 'cratefish' health pickups that visually resemble regular health items but inflict damage instead, adding a layer of comedic challenge during gameplay. Players appreciate the developers' playful approach, which enhances the overall experience.
- “There are health pickups, and also ones that are 'cratefish', a hilarious joke by the developers that will damage you if you try to collect them - they are visually a few pixels different, so good luck identifying which is which in the heat of battle.”