Aeon Drive

Aeon Drive isn't quite up there with modern platforming classics like Celeste, but it's pretty darn close nevertheless. While its narrative won't win any awards, this is simply a supporting backdrop to the fantastic gameplay on offer. Bolstered by solid performance and minimal loading screens, racing through the levels feels exhilarating as you jump, slide, and teleport your way through the maze-like environments. With an online leaderboard to satisfy your competitive nature and added multiplayer to boot, Aeon Drive is a speedrunning triumph that absolutely deserves your attention.

An extremely addictive adventure that "takes you off" early from various difficult points in the game.

It does have a multiplayer option and online leaderboards for each stage, so if competitive speed running is your thing, Aeon Drive delivers. For me, it's an interesting curio that I'm glad I played, but won't be returning to often.

Sloppy level design and sluggish run speed and teleportation turn the speed-based Aeon Drive into a bit of a slog.

While Aeon Drive undoubtedly has its good, stand-out moments, various grievances hold the game back from being more than your average platformer.

Aeon Drive delivers a very focused experience for anyone who loves classic platformer action and wants to test their skills against other players on constantly updated leaderboards. There are a lot of cities to get through and plenty of paths to master using the teledagger. But the game would be much more engaging if it dropped the 30-second limit.

Aeon Drive is fast, it's demanding and, above all, it's a lot of fun! With mechanics that are simple to understand, but that set them apart from much of the competition, we never stopped having fun exploring well-designed levels and experimenting with new tricks. It lacks the excellence of other titles from the same genre, mainly due to some technical hiccups and small decisions less well achieved when it comes to placing traps. Still, it is definitely a game that deserves a bigger audience than what it got so far!

Aeon Drive is a high-octane speed-running platformer. I played as Jackelyne (Jack) and travelled through the same thirty seconds repeatedly, trying to rebuild my rocket ship. This gameplay loop seems tedious, but each thirty-second period takes place on a different level, making each period different from the last. Is this race against time worth your effort? Find out in this Rapid Review.

Aeon Drive is a 2D platformer focused on speedrun with a touch of collecting. It's also a lesson that not everything has to be complex, deep and emotional. Sometimes, simple fun without major complications is best.

Those into speedrunning or action-packed platformers would be wise to check Aeon Drive out. While it’s not spectacular in any particular way, there’s little to find fault with here, and it’s fun to jump into if only for a few minutes at a time, attempting to finish new levels or improve your times on those you’ve already completed. And as ever, dashing through levels with a friend or family member by your side makes the action that much more enjoyable.