Shane
Timewarp back to 1993, when the Sega Genesis (Megadrive II) was in it’s prime, releasing games that graphically, shouldn’t even be able to run on the 16BIT cartridge console.
One of the heavier hitters of that era was Aero the Acrobat.
Fast forward to now, and indie game developers Ratalaika Games has given Aero a modern refresh.
Still the same 2D gameplay you may remember from your younger days, but now in 4K and way less pixels.
The catchy soundtrack has also had a rework, swapping out it’s 16BIT blips and beeps to a more synthesized sound.
Gameplay has you running and jumping about through maze like levels in the worlds craziest and most deadly circus, taking out enemies and using environmental contraptions to get yourself through as you escape.
A hard yet satisfying puzzle-like play at times and Aero will gain differing skills as you play through.
Given that Aero the Acrobat is now a 31 year old game, but is more challenging than some current Triple AAA titles.
Ratalaika Games have generously added in the original cheat codes. For those that were not around in the 90’s, gameplay was a stressful affair, as you only had so many lives, once those were gone (unless the game was able to generate a password) it was permanent death and you had the cold hard reality of starting over at the beginning.
Cheats can be toggled on or off, and if you really want to take a trip back to the days of 16BIT you can, and change the graphics to the original.
Aero the Acrobat was one of my favs back in the day, and it was a late comer to the console, as it was being phased out in favour of CD consoles.
Still as fun and super challenging now as it was back then, Aero the Acrobat is the ideal game to introduce a whole new generation of players to a long-standing classic, or relive your childhood.
Released: November 2023
Rating: G
Platforms reviewed: Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Platform
Developer: Ratalaika Games
Publisher: Ratalaika Games