It’s been a frustrating time reviewing Aphelion. On the one hand, the story is excellent – its acting superb. On the other, gameplay is more often than not uninviting and almost broken. Visually, the planet of Persephone is remarkable to look at and admire. There are plenty of plus points while playing DON’T NOD’s space adventure, but when core mechanics are something you often groan at when having to perform, you know you can’t give your heart to it completely. The frustrations are hard to look past, but there’s still a good game here.
In 2060, Earth is almost inhabitable. A story familiar to science fiction fans the world over. However, it is the two lead characters that make us care and make us endure the mediocre traversal. Ariane and Thomas have a deep connection. Love was there once, but with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance, more important things take over. When their ship crash lands on Persephone, a newly discovered planet and a possible hope for civilisation to thrive on, they must reunite after being separated as well as uncovering the secrets this new world is hiding.
Aphelion has a story that grabs you instantly. Ariane is struggling with the guilt of calling off her relationship with Thomas before it starts. This struggle intensifies when she sees projections of him, knowing he’s alive somewhere. You feel her pain and understand those moments of clarity and hope whenever she ‘sees’ him. It makes the journey more important and wills you on. Ariane’s sections are more in line with Uncharted or Tomb Raider. Climb, swing, and jump from icey platform to to icey platform.
Thomas was significantly injured in the crash. The focus for him is more about managing his damaged oxygen supply, looking for the next hit of that sweet, sweet air. Gameplay only serves as a weak link to the next sections of the story. I preferred playing as Thomas, yet was more fascinated by Ariane. It’s just a shame there are far to many invisible barriers and janky movement to ever enjoy playing. Jumping from one ledge to another can unexpectedly see you plunge to your death after not grabbing it correctly.
Swinging from your rope and jumping to connect to another ledge can lead to the same outcome. Every time to don’t have the option to climb automatically between smaller ledges a QTE appears. Perfect grabs can be initiated by pressing the correct button; the problem is it’s every time and gets so annoying. There’s no satisfying flow to traversal. Uncharted was a dream to play. Aphelion is not. The introduction of a mysterious creature tries to add to the gameplay, but it often falls flat.
This giant formed from electromagnetic radiation stalks you between areas. While it cannot see you, the slightest noise leads it to your location. Sometimes it’s too aware and others it isn’t. There’s not really any consistency in attacks, leading to a feeling on unease as Ariane explores Persephone. Aphelion does have some good ideas. One of the coolest is the way the ice can break under your feet if you move across it too quickly. Ariane is also armed with a scanner to see your next location as well as picking up waypoints in the form of electromagnetic waves.
Most of Persephone is covered in ice and snow. The big selling point however, is just how beautiful it is. The draw distance is incredible. Detail goes on and on, highlighting the scale of the planet. An open world it is not, but it’s scope is incredible. Even in smaller areas the detail is sublime. Both Ariane and Thomas see different environments, yet each one is beautifully designed. This is what makes Aphelion most frustrating. If the gameplay was tighter and more fluid, it could be a big hitter.
Despite it’s frustrations, Aphelion has a gripping story. Without giving too much away, Thomas and Ariane might not be the first to find Persephone. Along with the creature and the planet’s weird properties, there’s plenty to wonder about. On top of that, the acting is excellent and pulls you in to each character’s plight as they ponder the possibilities of humanity’s demise. DON’T NOD has proven time after time its prowess in storytelling. The developer has once again done a great job of creating characters we care about.
Aphelion features a great story and characters, let down by the limitations in gameplay. Discovering the next part of Ariane and Thomas’ story is what carried my interest. I hated that I rolled my eyes whenever I had to scale a mountainside or swing from one platform to another. Thomas’ moments were less frustrating, even when I missed out on the next oxygen tank and had to reload my last save point. This is a hard one to fully recommend. Saying that, there were moments where I enjoyed finding out whether the two leads were successful in their mission or not.
