REVIEW : Aeterna Noctis (PC)
From the award-winning Celeste to The Messenger, platform games have seen a resurgence in recent years. Releases of Metroidvania games have paved the way for a new generation of retro-styled gaming. As the newest offering, Aeterna Noctis shines proudly among them, bringing a fresh perspective on classic gameplay. Chaos, the world’s ruler, pitted two ungrateful entities intent on destroying each other in an unending war: The King of Darkness and The Queen of Light. They fight for the right to sit on Aeterna’s throne. In order to return to the sky, players must scour the world for seven bits of their lost power, each of which unlocks a new skill. While there isn’t much of a storey in the game, there are enough NPCs to keep you entertained.
Aeterna Noctis narrates the eternal struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, represented in her world by two immortal figures locked in an eternal struggle: the queen of light and the king of darkness. Aeterna Noctis is set in a world of eternal war. The creator god, Chaos, demanded loyalty from his creations, but the creations — led by the warring factions of the King of Darkness and the Queen of Light — began to ignore his demands. The two were cursed to war with one another forever, as they constantly vied for the crown that gave them leadership over the world. This assured a “natural” cycle of Light and Darkness. Our story begins with the King of Darkness suffering his most recent loss, falling to Earth, and forcing himself to set out to defeat the Queen of Light once again. This time, however, there’s something unusual about the cycle
Aeterna Noctis begins with the defeat of the King of Darkness, which serves as the standard starting point for all metroidvania games: we have a character who has lost all of his abilities, which means that the range of attacks and movements is limited at first, and many Zones are impassable until you learn the right skill. Gathering keys to examine crypts, going to particular spots on the large maps, conversing with NPCs, and other RPG fare are all part of quests. Ascending the Tower of Light is a spectacular quest that introduces new gameplay mechanics such as teleportation, bouncing platforms, and a giant cylindrical beam that emits a nuclear attack every thirty seconds, forcing players to either side of the tower, where invincible angels await their retreat.
Money can be used to buy potions, the occasional skill point, weapon components, and to unlock a more complete fast travel system, but treasure is more monetary than fun. Soul mirror pieces are an uncommon find, and gathering 10 of them will get you your first reward. Aeterna Noctis, on the other hand, takes a slightly different approach within the metroidvania. For example, instead of being distributed throughout the area, the powers are immediately available as soon as you start the game, hiding behind 10 massive white doors. Of course, we must first locate the right key in order to open these doors, but it is an intriguing change that adds novelty to a genre where it appears that everything has already been devised.
The numerous and forgiving checkpoints, low load times, and freedom with which the world can be explored mitigate the irritation of the environmental threats. These areas test the limits of a keyboard and mouse combo and are best played with a controller. Unfortunately, there is one major “flaw” in the game, and it may cause a lot of people to abandon it. Aeterna Noctis, on the other hand, starts at that point. The game contains a lot of insta-death locations, and most of the platforming areas require you to thread the needle. It’s as if Hollow Knight began at the White Palace and then continued on his journey. It’s not always like this, but it happens more frequently than I’d think.
As a result, navigating the game becomes taxing, especially in later stages. You’ll be able to accomplish long chains of pinpoint teleports, bounces, hops, and more if you gain some precision upgrades like the teleport-arrow. It’s entertaining, but when it’s a constant aspect of your journey, it can wear you out and make returning to grab objects you’ve missed feel like work. Because I didn’t want to go through a sequence of jumping puzzles again, even when I got a new power that made it a little easier, this took away some of the fun of a Metroidvania game. And, every now and again, there’s nothing like that feeling of being lost that you get in metroidvania.
It’s typically an indicator that the exploration and level design are both excellent. But, without a question, the most surprising component of Aeterna Noctis, and the one that has shocked us the most, is the enormous amount of content it provides. It’s simply a massive game, both in terms of size and scope. It’s the kind of title that gives so much for so little that it’s impossible not to feel like we’re robbing the people who deserve it. And, despite the fact that Aeternum Game Studios advised us that completing the game based solely on the main story may take up to 20 hours, we had only managed to gather two of the seven fragments required to complete the game at the time.
