Whenever I review games, I often overlook a very important aspect, the music. Music in games (like films) can really set a tone and help evoke feelings whilst playing a game. Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield, developed by Aerial_Knight and published by Headup, is a title where the music is a pretty important aspect.
Survive A futuristic Tokyo style Detroit in this 3D runner that tells the story of Wally who has uncovered the evidence that can change his city forever. Explore a game world with a dope-tastic soundtrack featuring the authentic sounds of Detroit Artist.
So, what is Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield all about? Well, it’s a side-scrolling runner type thing. You play as Wally, who is on the run from the authorities with some information that could change the futuristic Tokyo-styled Detroit city he lives in. In terms of plot, this game has very little. But it how it plays that is the most important part. The gameplay here is simple, Wally runs and you direct his actions with the press of a button. Various obstacles will appear and you have to do your best to avoid them. Think of this as a reflex test more than anything else. The different obstacles will require you pressing the correct button and the right time.
The controls are simple. Using the D-pad, press up for a big jump, left for a low/parkour jump, down to slide and right to run faster, that’s it. The obstacles in the game are colour-coded for ease of recognition to each of the four buttons. Red = up, yellow = left, purple = down and blue = right. Getting to grips with the basics of Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield won’t take long at all, this is simple and is very ‘pick up and play’. What the game really boils down to is your speed at pressing the correct button for the correct obstacle at the correct time… and that’s it.
You get three difficulty settings, normal gives you plenty of slow-motion before each obstacle for you to react. Hard reduces that slow-motion to make things a bit harder. While insane difficulty removes the slow-motion completely and adds more obstacles. Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield takes place over thirteen levels, with each level taking no longer than a few minutes each to finish. For instance, playing on normal, it’ll only take you about an hour and a half to get to the end. This is a very short game but one that will definitely take longer to get through in the harder settings if you want to challenge yourself.
The big issue with Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is just how repetitive it is. There are only a few obstacles and the assets are used and reused many, many, many times. The game and levels may be short, but you will see the same things over and over again. The levels rarely offer any variety, save a couple of minor instances towards the end. What Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield lacks in gameplay, it makes up for in presentation. The graphics are furitrusic, cel-shaded comic-like and they really do look rather nice. The aforementioned music is amazing. There is this funky, hip-hop, jazz, rock fusion soundtrack that is sublime, easily the best thing about the game. Criminally, there’s no option to just listen to the soundtrack though.
£10 is how much you’ll have to pay for this one (though I believe it is currently ‘free’ on Xbox for Gold members). I can tell that Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is a real passion project and that passion does shine through… in terms of how the game looks and sounds. The gameplay is just a bit dull and repetitive and the shortness of the game doesn’t really help either. For £10, there are better indie games out there. Style of substance is the perfect way to describe Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield and while I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy playing it, I’d also be lying if I suggest you pay £10 for it. Though it is currently 40% off on Steam.
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