Test – Aaero 2: the rhythmic rail shooter returns in top form

Mixing the rail shooter and the rhythm game was the somewhat crazy gamble taken by Mad Fellows in 2017 with Aaero. Seven years later, the studio is doing it again with a sequel. It uses the same recipe while incorporating some new features, including a multiplayer mode. What to get back into?

If you have already played the first Aaero, know that you will be on familiar ground with this sequel. The developers used the same recipe. Concretely, we direct a spaceship which moves on a rail in a sort of (imaginary) tube. The action takes place at the contour of said tube. The latter is lined with ribbons and the mission is to control your ship so that its trajectory coincides as closely as possible with the ribbons. This allows you to set the timing precision. The best part is that the soundtrack is added to the background music when the synchronization is good. Of course, to make things worse, there are some obstacles to avoid, including some dynamic ones which display an arrow to indicate where to pass in order to avoid crashing.

On top of that, there is a shooting aspect. If with the left joystick you control the trajectory of your ship, with the right you direct a viewfinder. This allows you to lock on to opposing targets in order to shoot them with a press of the lower right trigger. Small specificity, a cursor on the target allows you to determine the rate of synchronization of the shot with the music, adding a rhythmic aspect which adds to the challenge. Of course, the more you are in rhythm with the music, whether for ribbons or shooting, the more points you earn and your multiplier increases (up to 8x). The concept still works just as well even if it is clear that the gameplay requires good eye/hand coordination. This is all the more true during phases which require both following the ribbons and shooting at the enemies at the same time, or even at the projectiles sent.

Fortunately, you benefit from three lives to avoid any frustration and thus complete a piece despite a handful of incidents… But this breaks the multiplier and therefore reduces the score. To reach the 5 stars to be obtained per musical track, death is not an option. So we start again and again to try to improve our score (this also allows you to move up in the online ranking) and obtain the maximum number of stars. These are essential to unlock the following tracks, or even higher difficulty modes. Rest assured, it is not necessary to obtain 5 stars each time to progress but you need at least 3 on average, with a few four-star tracks if necessary. The title is far from frustrating though. You can already get started with the tutorial which allows you to understand the basics. Then, there is a relaxing difficulty which allows you to discover all the tracks (without restriction) with unlimited lives, simplified ribbons and magnetic assistance for the latter. Enough to get used to the need for precision controls and take into account the placement of the ribbons.

To destroy a boss, you have to dodge projectiles and shoot weak points

Then, you have to go through Normal difficulty, collect enough stars to unlock Advanced mode. For Master mode, it gets a little complicated since you have to obtain 80 stars in Advanced on the 18 available tracks. This is the equivalent of a score of 4 stars on 10 tracks and 5 stars on the rest. With each new difficulty, we start the same tracks again, with the same settings, the same music and the same bosses on certain levels. This gives the impression of playing the same game three times instead of setting the difficulty in relation to the musical track. On the other hand, this allows for a smoother margin for progress. In Normal, the magnetic assistance is retained and the ribbons are simplified, which increases the margin of error. In Advanced and Master, assistance is deactivated, the ribbons are full and the enemies are ever more numerous. We therefore take a certain pleasure in playing, especially since the musical synchronization is rewarding.

Of course, rhythm game requires, the studio took care of the soundtrack. We therefore find eighteen very electro-typical pieces from the independent music label Monstercat. Unless you’re allergic to the genre, it’s a real success, with enough variety in sounds and styles to make you want to return to it again and again. Visually on the other hand, if the effects are rather nice, it is clear that the graphics are not the strong point of the title. Many textures and modeling are simplistic and several elements are reused throughout a level. Nevertheless, we appreciate the artistic direction of some of the environments covered. In caves, with a snowy landscape, above a body of water or even in the water, it’s varied.

To encourage players to restart the game regularly, the developers have integrated a system of daily and weekly challenges. They grant XP which increases your level. This gives access to some rewards (title medals, etc.) to personalize your end-of-mission display, also used in the waiting lounge for a multiplayer game. It’s anecdotal.

Two players, each their color, each their ribbons for an artistic broom

Finally, this is the big news of this sequel, Mad Fellows has integrated a two-player multiplayer mode. Online, you can invite a friend or take advantage of matchmaking to find a gaming partner. As the title has not been officially released at the time of writing, we have not been able to test it too much. On the other hand, we were able to enjoy local multiplayer for longer. Two choices are available to us, cooperation or competition. In the first case, the two players evolve together, each having their own score and multiplier. Each player has their ribbons, blue for the first, orange for the second. On the other hand, the final score combines the two players’ scores and both can defeat enemies that appear. In the second case, everyone has their ribbons, their enemies, their multiplier and their score, the goal being to master more sections of the track than the opponent. Both modes are very enjoyable, especially since the game remains fluid in all circumstances. The only two points on which we can complain are the readability of the action sometimes, even if a lot of effort has been made to limit confusion, and the necessary precision which is a little abused at certain moments to maintain the trajectories.

Conclusion

You don’t change a recipe that works. Mad Fellows understands this well. The first opus was critically acclaimed and the second succeeded brilliantly. Everything is not perfect but we really enjoy going through the levels while trying to be as synchronized as possible with the ribbons. Likewise, as high-score fans, we try to be as precise as possible in the timing of shots. It all requires training and a good gymnastics between the eye and the hand but, when you succeed, it is very rewarding. The soundtrack is quality and makes you want to listen to it again and again. Be careful however, even if the lifespan is not very high, you complete a difficulty in a little over an hour, occasional players could well stop even faster, certain levels requiring increased vigilance and precision. Finally, the multiplayer mode is a success, especially since it allows the choice between cooperation and competition.

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