AER: Memories of Old

 Rating: 8 😸😸😸😸😸😸😸😸

Ages 5+, some reading but you can play the game without it

And again, no DragonWarrior 3. I really need more time to do that game justice.

AER: Memories of Old was another purchase-on-a-whim. I don't regret any of it. This is a very zen game. It's visually beautiful and doesn't really require any kind of rush or hurry.

You are one of the few remaining people in a world fractured into floating islands. You have the power to transform into a bird and fly everywhere. I have to admit, when I got lost early on with no idea what I was supposed to do or where I was supposed to go, it was fine. I spent a couple of hours just flying around and exploring until I picked up the threads of the story again. But that's kind of the point of this game. The story is deep and meaningful, but only if you as the player fill in between the very sparse lines. There are several temples full of puzzles to solve. The game is overwhelmingly visual. The puzzles are pretty much all visual as well. There is no combat or tricky maneuvering, except maybe some jumping in one of the temples but even that was pretty simple.

The story of a major cataclysm is told through ghosts frozen in one point in time. You read their dialogue and make your own interpretation of what really happened. It feels layered in on top of the basic game play and not really integrated with it. One of the rough edges to the game, but it doesn't really detract.

Overall, I found this game relaxing. The music, what there was, was quiet and calming. The flying was fun. If you get twisted around and fall through the clouds, it's no big deal. You just show back up on the last save point you visited. I found the story intriguing and wished there was a little more of it and that it was more integral to the game play, especially solving the mysteries of the temples.

It's a beautiful little game and well worth the few dollars I paid for it.