A Heavenly Platformer with a Philosophical Punch
The duality of human nature will always be a fascinating topic. For such simple creatures on our exterior, inside we hold various complex thoughts and ideologies, all opposed by another side of us, challenging ourselves to think again. Whether it be the conflicting ideas of life and death in war, or the innate and eternal fight of good against evil, each coin has two sides.
The latter topic is the one contained in the subtext of developers Team Stargazers’ latest title Aureole – Wings of Hope.
Revenge at the Pearly Gates
Aureole – Wings of Hope is set at the pearly gates of Heaven Kingdom where, during a sermon, Lazel the new Demon King invades and kills one of the angels as revenge for their exile. This dying angel named Ryleth becomes an aureole, a golden ring containing a soul. Upon being discovered by another angel named Ramila, the pair must team up to take platforming to the skies on their crusade to reclaim heaven. The duality, the good vs evil, is clearly in the subtext here, providing a simple narrative with deep thoughts and pondering.
Artistic Ascension
A story such as this may seem particularly out of place in a platforming game, yet due to a couple of beneficial factors, Aureole – Wings of Hope succeeds in the storytelling department. These factors in question being the art style and the soundtrack.
Starting off with the former, the art style comes in the form of breathtaking hand drawn frames in a childish style, opting for vibrancy and dreamlike visuals. The accompanying soundtrack slots perfectly alongside the lush, heavenly landscapes that form the world of Aureole, being the last piece of this divine puzzle and making everything work in harmony.
The Aureole Mechanic
The main gameplay mechanic revolves around the golden ring known as an aureole. After Ramila throws it, you are from then on in control to aid in its navigation to the end of stages, exploration of the hub world, and the various other challenges Aureole – Wings of Hope throws at you. The main gimmick to this aureole you control, is the ability to fire yourself in any direction you like through an aim mechanic, although the catch is only two uses of these can be performed before the ring turns silver and then bronze respectively. To replenish your ability, all you must do is touch the ground which, whilst simple, is so excitingly fun it’s hard to not fall in love with the system.
Ring Blitz and Stomp
Pair this with the ring blitz (an ability that essentially acts as a spin-dash from the Sonic series) and they work as the final, missing piece to this heavenly platformer to make for what is one of the more creative spins on the worn-down reuse of classic platforming gameplay. Other abilities such as a stomp, are introduced throughout your runtime with Aureole – Wings of Hope, all of which allow for the freedom of expression and creativity to the gameplay; something which is so crucial to this genre.
Chasing Gold
These abilities must be used in unison with the objective of each stage, in this case, being to reach the end as fast as possible, rewarded through a bronze, silver or gold medal. An objective as basic as this one still pulls the game to astronomical highs with a simple yet addictive system sure to keep you trying for each gold medal and the best completion time.
The secondary goal of each stage revolves around finding hidden collectibles which, whilst not crucial, is still fun and won’t dampen anyone’s gameplay due to it not being mandatory. And then, the final addition to the gameplay is the incorporation of puzzles. Whilst they are few and between, the puzzles in Aureole – Wings of Hope are cleverly spliced together with clues hidden in stages you must uncover such as the open/closed hand puzzle. They don’t overstay their welcome, yet add that bit of originality and diversity to keep the main bulk from becoming stale.
Masterful Level Design
Sure gameplay on a surface level can be fun, but without the correct playground of stages to take advantage of, that can be the downfall of many titles. So how does Aureole – Wings of Hope hold up in that regard?
Each stage is handcrafted to suit the move-set of the player, a choice that brings creativity on the players behalf regarding how to tackle them with their own unique playing style, rather than forcing everyone into having the same experience. Stage design such as this is always heralded as the gold standard due to it achieving what gaming is about… individualism.
Arcade Grandeur
Gaming has always been a form of entertainment and escapism that aimed to allow each and every unique player to take away their own personal experience. When a game can achieve this, just as Aureole – Wings of Hope does so effortlessly, that is a sign you’re playing a masterpiece of the genre. The level design is an amalgamation of over 40 years of platforming prowess, all clearly and delicately studied from the titans of the genre, which here works in its favour.
Aspects of the Sonic games – the clear focus on speed and maintaining it – along with the stage design gimmicks of titles such as Rayman Legends and Celeste culminate into a surprising, yet welcome, addition to platformers. And for those who want an experience harkening back to days of arcade grandeur, the arcade made does simply that, allowing for continuous, uninterrupted play of each level without the things in between.
A Flawless Heavenly Platformer
Aureole – Wings of Hope sees you jump, ring blitz, and speed your way through the lush Forest Glade, all the way to the pearly gates of Heaven Kingdom, providing all the nostalgic enjoyment arcade titles did for many in the past.
A simple yet effective, easy-to-learn yet hard-to-master gameplay system excels Aureole above most other modern platformers, giving a uniquely divine spin on the classic gameplay of the genre with no flaws.
Important Links
Sonic Speeds Meet Celestial Precision as Aureole – Wings of Hope is FINALLY on Xbox – https://www.thexboxhub.com/sonic-speeds-meet-celestial-precision-as-aureole-wings-of-hope-is-finally-on-xbox/
Buy on Xbox – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/aureole-wings-of-hope/9phkhcf5vrc5
