Rivals of Aether II
- October 23, 2024
- Aether Studios
- 1129h median play time
Get on Steam"Rivals of Aether II" is a platform fighting game where every character is free, and future ones will be added for no extra cost. It features easy-to-learn but hard-to-master gameplay, with customizable controls and unique mechanics. The game also offers online play with reliable rollback netcode and post-launch updates that include new characters, modes, and lore.
Reviews
- The game features smooth and responsive controls, making it enjoyable for both casual and competitive players.
- Rivals of Aether 2 introduces unique characters with diverse abilities, enhancing the gameplay experience.
- The developers are committed to ongoing support, with plans for free future content updates, including new characters and game modes.
- The lack of a comprehensive tutorial and onboarding experience makes it difficult for new players to learn the game.
- The matchmaking system can be frustrating, often pairing beginners with highly skilled players, leading to unbalanced matches.
- Some mechanics, such as floor hugging and certain character abilities, have been criticized for negatively impacting gameplay balance.
- gameplay116 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this platform fighter is praised for its fluidity, depth, and accessibility, offering a mix of familiar mechanics from the genre while introducing unique elements that enhance the experience. However, many players express a need for better tutorials to help newcomers grasp the complex mechanics, as the current guidance is insufficient. Overall, while the game is fun and engaging, it has some balancing issues and specific mechanics that some players find frustrating.
“The gameplay feels very smooth, and almost every fighter feels easy to pick up but with plenty of unique combos to master.”
“The gameplay is buttery smooth, and the graphics are great.”
“The new mechanics introduce a fresh experience, making it feel quite distinct, and each character shines with unique abilities and techniques.”
“The game simply does not teach you any of the core mechanics that make this game different from others.”
“Game offers little to no guidance about background mechanics that are crucial to gameplay.”
“Insanely clunky gameplay that feels super stiff and slow.”
- graphics28 mentions
- 57 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received a generally positive reception, with many praising the beautiful and diverse character designs, fluid animations, and solid visuals that enhance the gameplay experience. While some users noted occasional lag issues even on lower settings, the overall aesthetic and art style were appreciated, though a few found it somewhat generic. The game is well-optimized, offering a range of graphics options that cater to various gaming setups, contributing to a satisfying visual experience.
“Fantastic and diverse character kits, amazing tunes, varied stages, great visuals; all the core elements are here.”
“Incredible graphics, soundtrack, gameplay and community; this game has it all!”
“The game has evolved in every conceivable way, with stunning visuals and enhanced gameplay.”
“Even setting everything to the lowest settings, I'm getting the game to lag locally once in a while, typically when a graphic effect is generated for the first time, but I've had other random lag spikes.”
“Terrible art style.”
“All you get is a link that leads to an infographic, that's not at all in depth, and a YouTube playlist.”
- monetization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The monetization in "Rivals of Aether II" has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the transparency and the fact that all future characters will be free, while cosmetics are the only purchasable items. However, others express dissatisfaction with the presence of microtransactions in a $30 game, feeling that it detracts from the overall experience despite the affordability and fairness of the in-game purchases. Overall, many players acknowledge that the monetization model is less aggressive than it could be, with a focus on cosmetic items that can also be earned through gameplay.
“In addition to this is total transparency from the developers about the microtransactions and their purpose.”
“The microtransactions are extremely fair, affordable, and no FOMO.”
“One of the standout features is that, unlike Rivals 1, all future character releases will be free for everyone, with cosmetic items being the only form of microtransactions—and these cosmetics are beautifully designed.”
“I'm giving this game a big no right now because of the price and you will be left with very little singleplayer content and content in general, while also seeing so much microtransactions in the game.”
“It's a $30 game that launches with its store and advertising a $20 Halloween bundle, as well as 20+ character skins and 3+ each character colors that all cost a minimum of $5, and no modes outside of versus and arcade.”
“In-game purchases feel a little bit disingenuous.”
- music16 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and enjoyment, with many describing the soundtrack as fantastic and filled with "oops all bangers." However, some users noted the absence of music in specific modes, such as the target test in arcade mode, and expressed disappointment over missing sound effects and questionable music choices in certain contexts. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's atmosphere, there are notable gaps that detract from the experience.
“The music, and the art are fun and enjoyable.”
“The hits feel satisfying, the sound work is incredible, the music is oops all bangers, and all of the characters are so unique and so much fun to play!”
“The movement and animations are fluid, the soundtrack is awesome, the art style is beautiful and is pretty dang fun most importantly.”
“There is actually some missing sound effects or music in certain places of the game.”
“The bonus stage 'target test' doesn't have any music whatsoever.”
“The music and stings for some things are very questionable, like target practice, continue screen, and Maypul's victory theme, just to name a few.”
- story14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game currently lacks a story mode at launch, but developers have announced plans to introduce one along with additional characters and features in future updates. While players express disappointment over the absence of a full-fledged story at release, they remain optimistic about the upcoming content, which will be provided free of charge. Overall, the anticipation for a more developed narrative experience is a common theme among users.
“In the roadmap, you see that the developers plan to add a story mode chapter, custom colors, and more characters in and beyond 2025.”
“All of the post-launch DLCs are going to be released free of charge, including story mode, tutorials, and every character.”
“However, Lux's design overall was most obviously inspired by OneShot, a game whose story still affects me to this day...”
“There is no story mode.”
“No move lists, no tutorial, no story at launch.”
“There is also no abyss from what I can see and a story mode doesn't exist yet but it will in the future.”
- character development8 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -12 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Character development in "Rivals of Aether 2" is highly praised for its polished and unique character designs, which offer depth and variety. Players appreciate the responsive controls and solid mechanics, contributing to an engaging gameplay experience. While the current single-player content is limited, the community's enthusiasm and the game's ongoing development promise further enhancements.
“The character design is insanely fun, the balancing is great, the community is extremely helpful and excited about the game, the visuals and audio design are extremely satisfying, and the current amount of content is awesome and will continue to be built upon.”
“Some really unique character designs with a lot of depth to them as well.”
“Movement is smooth and character designs and abilities are delightful.”
“While Rivals of Aether 2 would benefit from single-player content beyond the current arcade mode, the character development feels lacking and doesn't provide enough depth for players to connect with the characters.”
“The character development is minimal, leaving players wanting more backstory and growth for each character.”
“Despite the polished character designs, the overall character development feels superficial and fails to engage players on a deeper level.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky and absurd elements, featuring a cast of whimsical characters like a funny polar bear and a beetle man who engages in slapstick antics, such as throwing rocks. Players find amusement in the bizarre interactions and playful scenarios, including a whale and a lizard that adds to the overall comedic tone.
“Funny beetle man throws rocks at a dumb purple bird and other assorted furries.”
“Haha, funny lizard shoots goop at people.”
“Where is my funny polar bear friend? :(”
- stability5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with reports of frequent crashes, a buggy user interface, and poor keyboard support, particularly for a PC-focused title. While it runs well on Steam Deck, online features are plagued by issues such as incorrect win/loss tracking and character balance problems, leading to a frustrating experience for casual players. Overall, many users feel the game is a chaotic mess that detracts from its potential.
“Runs great on Steam Deck.”
“Constant game crashes, buggy UI, and terrible keyboard support for a PC-only game.”
“Unfortunately, online is buggy (counting wins as losses, for example), balance for a few of the characters is extremely poor while others are well designed, specific menu problems such as cursors not lining up or double inputting (tested with more than one controller), etc.”
“Because as it stands, a lot of casuals are going to pick this up, see an impossible difficulty in matchmaking, buggy arcade, the scorecards, and some weird music/sound decisions and think 'wow, this is a mess.'”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is praised for its outstanding performance, particularly in online modes that feel as smooth as local play. However, some users report performance issues and note that the game may not be very beginner-friendly.
“It is a competitive masterpiece with excellent core gameplay and controls, a well-balanced cast of characters with satisfying move sets, and a bunch of online modes with outstanding performance (it feels like I'm playing locally).”
“The visuals are also really nice too and the game is super optimized.”
“It's fun and the general mechanics are definitely what I wish Smash was (though I am distinctly lacking a Samus analogue), but there are some performance issues and it's not very beginner-friendly.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about grinding; while some find it rewarding, as it allows them to unlock new skins and improve their skills, others feel that it can lead to a sense of having exhausted the game's content too quickly. Overall, grinding is seen as a valuable aspect for skill development, but it may also contribute to a feeling of repetitiveness.
“After grinding out some levels and getting a $500 aether buck skin, it felt like I had done everything already.”
“I played 10 hours over the weekend and really enjoyed grinding in training mode, learning new tech.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers replayability through its Arcade mode, where players can earn medals for each character based on the difficulty level and completion time, encouraging single-player engagement.
“Arcade mode has medals for each character based on difficulty and time taken, so there's some replayability for single-player.”
“The game offers multiple endings and branching storylines, encouraging players to replay and explore different choices.”
“With various character builds and strategies to experiment with, each playthrough feels fresh and engaging.”
“Arcade mode has medals for each character based on difficulty and time taken, so there's some replayability for singleplayer.”
“Once you complete the main story, there's little incentive to go back and play again.”
“The lack of varied endings or significant choices makes replaying the game feel pointless.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express that the game evokes strong negative emotions, particularly highlighting feelings of guilt and discomfort associated with internet usage.
“This game has an incredible ability to evoke deep emotions, making me reflect on my own experiences.”
“I was genuinely moved by the story and the characters; it felt like I was living their struggles.”
“The emotional depth of this game is unparalleled; it left a lasting impact on me long after I finished playing.”
