Aphelion

About

Aphelion is a single player platformer game with horror, drama, mystery, thriller and others themes. It was developed by DON'T NOD and was released on April 28, 2026. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

Brave the unknown on the edge of our solar system

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61%Audience ScoreBased on 127 reviews

story52 positive mentions

gameplay21 negative mentions

Beautiful and detailed graphics with atmospheric and immersive environments.
Engaging and emotional sci-fi story with well-written characters and strong voice acting.
Excellent soundtrack and audio design that complement the mood and setting effectively.

Clunky, repetitive, and sometimes frustrating gameplay mechanics, especially climbing and stealth sections.
Poor checkpoint placement and numerous bugs, including crashes and clipping issues.
Lack of satisfying narrative closure and insufficient character development leading to weak emotional investment.

story
152 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
59%
7%
The story in this game is generally praised for its engaging sci-fi narrative, intriguing characters, and strong atmosphere, often evoking emotional responses and drawing players to complete it. However, it is noted to have a slow start, some pacing issues, and occasionally predictable or underdeveloped elements, particularly in character relationships and plot depth. While the narrative is compelling enough for story-driven fans, gameplay frustrations and some narrative inconsistencies may detract from the overall experience.
- “Great atmosphere, music is beautiful, characters are engaging and I personally really enjoyed the story.”
- “We saw Red and Antea share moments and exchanges during the first act of 'Banishers' demonstrating the deep core of their love for each other, giving it actual stakes and a poignancy that culminated at the end of the story in a payoff of real, moving potency.”
- “You'll get stunning graphics, great music and art direction, a really cool story well told and outstanding acting.”
- “No pick-ups, almost no storytelling, no meaningful banter (just a generic filler).”
- “There is nothing shown that makes you think this relationship was anything other than a really bad reason to get pouty when their mission is ostensibly pivotal to the future of human survival, and they probably shouldn't have been assigned to work together, especially as they are literally the only two people in the crew of this existence-critical mission.”
- “Unfortunately none of the gameplay aspects are particularly interesting or fun and largely feel half baked while a good narrative could compensate for this Aphelion doesn't deliver on that aspect either as the entire narrative largely lives on the "mystery" and once you figure out what is going on all you have left is a bland story with boring one dimensional characters.”
gameplay
105 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
66%
20%
The gameplay primarily revolves around climbing, stealth, and exploration with two distinct protagonist styles, but is widely regarded as clunky, repetitive, and occasionally frustrating due to unpolished mechanics, awkward controls, and glitches. While some appreciate the varied approaches and brief moments of challenge, many find the stealth and traversal sections underwhelming and lacking depth, detracting from the overall experience. Despite decent ideas and solid visuals, the gameplay is seen as the weakest aspect, often hindering immersion and enjoyment.
- “If you enjoyed the mechanics from the Altair/Ezio era of Assassin's Creed, you'll most likely enjoy this as well.”
- “I also appreciated the use of multiple characters to vary the gameplay styles because playing as Ariane focused more on exploration and stealth while Thomas provided a different pace centered on world building, lore, and light puzzles.”
- “Aphelion is a sci-fi adventure featuring two main characters: one whose gameplay is largely akin to a walking simulator and the other whose gameplay has a bit of Uncharted / modern Tomb Raider style traversal mechanics along with some smaller scale setpieces where you are either dodging something while falling/sliding or running away from something.”
- “At times, certain mechanics didn’t work as intended, which led to getting stuck or having to replay sections.”
- “There's a very annoying mechanic where Ariane has to move very slowly to prevent ice floors cracking, and it feels like a cheat on the game's part because even with the smallest movement of the stick on a gamepad, she won't do a very slow walk, she just goes into her default walk speed which makes the ice crack.”
- “Even when the mechanics work properly, the game constantly wrenches control away from the player, creating endless jarring moments where the camera gets pulled back, or pushed in, or fixed to a position, or dialogue plays, or a cutscene starts, or a run-and-dodge minigame begins unexpectedly, or some other little animation interrupts whatever you're doing.”
music
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
74%
19%
7%
The music is widely praised for its beautiful, atmospheric, and fitting soundtrack that enhances the game's mood and narrative, often described as stunning and emotionally impactful. Composed by an award-winning artist, the score draws comparisons to notable works like "Interstellar" and is considered a highlight even when other game aspects receive criticism. Overall, the soundtrack is regarded as a major strength, contributing significantly to the immersive and memorable experience.
- “Music is outstanding as well, composed by Amine Bouhafa, an award-winning movie soundtrack composer.”
- “The music is beautiful and fits well with the melancholy of the game's story.”
- “Great adventure game with good visuals and excellent sound design, plus an amazing soundtrack that really sets the mood.”
- “You don't need to buy the DLC unless you like the soundtrack.”
- “This game has almost nothing worthwhile outside of the soundtrack, which even then is your typical 'string music intended to evoke something.'”
- “Weirdly stuttery but a piece of art for sure, this OST rocks!!!”
graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
29%
8%
The graphics are widely praised for their beauty, stunning visuals, and unique art style, effectively enhancing the game's atmosphere and storytelling. However, some users note occasional performance issues, rough animations, and a sense that the visuals sometimes resemble a tech demo. Overall, the graphics stand out as a major positive even when gameplay and technical aspects fall short.
- “The world-building is incredible, the graphics are beautiful, the storytelling is special and unique.”
- “The visuals are stunning and have that ~ue5~ feel to them, everything looks fantastic.”
- “As always, Don’t Nod delivers a high-quality game with beautiful visuals and gorgeous music.”
- “Unfortunately, the visuals are not matched by the animations which look really bad.”
- “The first is that I've found the biggest problem I ran into is the graphics.”
- “Right now, I had to turn all of my graphics down to medium, and it's still a bit stuttery at times, especially during the sliding/avoidance sections.”
atmosphere
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
22%
17%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive sci-fi setting, beautiful music, and engaging environmental design, creating a visually stunning and emotionally touching experience. While some note a slower pace and linear gameplay that can diminish exploration, the overall mood and worldbuilding strongly enhance the narrative and character-driven storytelling. The tension in stealth sections adds to the ambiance, making the atmosphere a standout aspect for players who appreciate story-focused, atmospheric adventures.
- “Great atmosphere, music is beautiful, characters are engaging and I personally really enjoyed the story.”
- “Overall Aphelion is a visually breathtaking and atmospheric stealth adventure that shines during its early encounters and character-driven storytelling.”
- “The atmosphere and storytelling are spot-on, I was completely immersed in the story the whole time.”
- “The game is linear to the point of feeling on-rails with zero sense of exploration, and the atmosphere is ruined by a yappy, poorly voice-acted main character.”
- “Stealth sections have tense atmosphere but stealth arena designs are mediocre at best.”
- “+ atmosphere”
emotional
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
94%
6%
Users generally find the game emotionally impactful, praising its touching story, strong voice acting, and the portrayal of physical and emotional struggles that evoke deep feelings such as grief and desperation. While some felt a strong emotional connection and were moved to tears, a few found the narrative dull or struggled to connect with the protagonist. Overall, the emotional journey is highlighted as a powerful and carefully crafted aspect of the experience.
- “You truly feel the difficulty of surviving the planet from start to finish, along with all the physical and emotional exhaustion, fear, desperation, and grief that comes with it.”
- “Despite a very jarring start to the game where they interact for 30 seconds before the shuttle crashes, the relationship between Ariane and Thomas still becomes the emotional heart of the game.”
- “Emotional, atmospheric, touching themes, and made with real care, regardless of its AA production budget.”
stability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
92%
The game’s stability is inconsistent, with frequent glitches, crashes, and unresponsive controls that hinder smooth gameplay. Movement and animation issues, particularly in climbing and stealth mechanics, disrupt immersion and cause frustration. Although some users found it playable, many encountered buggy and clunky experiences that suggest the game needed further polish and optimization.
- “The quality is top notch with no glitches, freezes, or any issues whatsoever.”
- “Even if you don't make a mistake, you can encounter movement glitches causing you to get detected anyway, making it an incredibly frustrating experience, almost leading me to quit the game altogether and look up the ending online.”
- “Another aspect that particularly annoyed me was how much the game lacks polish; it was impossible to be immersed in the world due to constant minor animation glitches, invisible walls, and numerous collision issues.”
- “What I experienced was a buggy and clunky mess of inputs either not registering or performing actions that didn't make much sense compared to similar actions in other climbing games.”
optimization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including frequent stuttering, random FPS drops, and freezing on certain platforms like the Steam Deck. Despite running adequately at times on higher-end PCs, performance is inconsistent and can drastically impact the experience. Overall, optimization feels unfinished and detracts from the otherwise strong visuals and audio.
- “While the game ran fine on default settings, mostly getting around 60fps on 1440p with the recommended TSR of 75% enabled, the FPS would randomly drop to sub-30fps in the final two chapters.”
- “I had to skip through the initial loading screens by pressing A instead of waiting for them to timeout, as otherwise the game would freeze on the menu, which was the biggest performance issue I encountered.”
- “Performance, even on a higher-end PC relative to the graphics quality, didn't seem to be where it should be.”
- “As of now, the game is an unoptimized, unplayable mess.”
- “Than there is the matter of performance: while this game ran fine for the most part on the default settings it recommended for me (mostly getting around 60fps on 1440p with the recommended TSR of 75% enabled), the FPS would just randomly tank to sub-30fps in the aforementioned final two chapters of the game.”
- “I had to skip through the initial loading screens by pressing A instead of waiting for them to timeout, or it would freeze on the menu, but that was probably the biggest performance issue I had.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is relatively short, typically around 5-10 hours, and offers minimal replayability due to its linear structure and lack of meaningful choices. While hidden collectibles and achievements may encourage some additional playthroughs, overall it provides limited incentive for replay beyond the initial experience.
- “This game has hidden things to discover, which encourages multiple playthroughs and enhances replayability.”
- “Although the runtime is short and replayability is limited, the game offers a refreshing experience in today's market saturated with time-demanding titles.”
- “The game lacks choice-based branching, lowering replayability compared to previous productions, but hidden elements can be uncovered in subsequent playthroughs.”
- “The runtime is short, and the game offers little in terms of replayability.”
- “A "yes, but" recommendation, and more worth if on sale for $20 or less due to the game length (~5-6 hours) and no replayability.”
- “Furthermore, the game is quite short with a total length of only about six hours and there is very little replayability unless you are a player who specifically wants to farm for achievements.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is generally described as tedious and boring, particularly in the later chapters, detracting from the overall experience despite a strong narrative climax earlier on. Players find the gameplay repetitive and underwhelming, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging challenge.
- “They're understandable in principle, but they are tedious.”
- “The narrative climax in chapter 9 was great, but chapters 10 and 11 were just tedious to play and undercut the climax of chapter 9.”
- “In summary, despite a few bright spots, I found finishing Aphelion to be a tedious experience, and it made me wish I was playing a more narratively-focused game instead.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The character development is generally well-received, with the two main characters being well written. However, some users criticize the design of certain characters, such as Ariane, finding them visually unappealing.