Reviewing Episode I (The only episode out at time of release, will update review as more comes out.)
Fallen Aces is a pretty damn cool immersive sim, and my highlight out of nowhere hit of 2024. The 1950's comic book sheen is slapped all across this game, from the impeccable jazz soundtrack to the gritty noir vibes of the environments, to the way the goons interact and how the story is told, and man... does it make for an awesome cartoon like vibe. When I saw the trailer for this title at Summer Games Fest, I thought it looked neat on the surface but initially wrote it off as a beat 'em up indie that was trying to fish people in on some beautiful art work with presumably not much behind the surface. I'm really glad to see and say firsthand that I was wrong. Impressions from friends and folks on Steam and Backloggd implored me to purchase and dedicate just a few hours to the first episode of the game which exists in five separately located chapters. Each of these chapters operates under varying parts of the same narrative, a detective hunted and on the loose trying to get to the bottom of the disappearances and murders of a city's heroic protectors. You begin your journey with a simple task, escape the goons zeroing in on your location with your head as their goal which quickly devolves into a devious mystery full of (comically simple, and I mean comically like literally a comic) twists and turns. The narrative is easy to parse and follow, and surely doesn't take itself too seriously, which I greatly appreciated for a title in this narrative genre. I enjoyed the way you interact with characters, friends and foes alike, giving life to the city you're exploring and the story at hand.
Fallen Aces is ostensibly an immersive sim, complete with the cathartic secrets and seemingly endless alternate methods of completion that objectives have. I generally think I'm not the best or brightest when it comes to exploring hidden paths and utilizing item combinations/notes to get into areas that were previously unavailable, but I will say Fallen Aces does a phenomenal job rewarding in making secret and puzzle solutions feel naturally intuitive. I felt like I was genuinely intelligent in the way that I could stack objects and make walls for myself to get to places that appeared unreachable, and that I could kick or throw certain objects to get into places that were fenced off/hidden from the apparent eye. In the same way that Metroidvania's need to do things right to succeed for me, Fallen Aces did for Im-sims. It made me want to search for and solve secrets, I felt vindicated when I did so and went out of my way to expand runtime on each of the game's five chapters so I could nab as many secrets as I could find without looking anything up.
Gameplay, vibes, presentation... Fallen Aces has it all and is my surprise smash hit of the year. I look forward to see what the developers have in store for the rest of the narrative and gameplay that will ensue. I highly recommend Fallen Aces to fans of Im-sims and newbies alike!
Fallen Aces is a pretty damn cool immersive sim, and my highlight out of nowhere hit of 2024. The 1950's comic book sheen is slapped all across this game, from the impeccable jazz soundtrack to the gritty noir vibes of the environments, to the way the goons interact and how the story is told, and man... does it make for an awesome cartoon like vibe. When I saw the trailer for this title at Summer Games Fest, I thought it looked neat on the surface but initially wrote it off as a beat 'em up indie that was trying to fish people in on some beautiful art work with presumably not much behind the surface. I'm really glad to see and say firsthand that I was wrong. Impressions from friends and folks on Steam and Backloggd implored me to purchase and dedicate just a few hours to the first episode of the game which exists in five separately located chapters. Each of these chapters operates under varying parts of the same narrative, a detective hunted and on the loose trying to get to the bottom of the disappearances and murders of a city's heroic protectors. You begin your journey with a simple task, escape the goons zeroing in on your location with your head as their goal which quickly devolves into a devious mystery full of (comically simple, and I mean comically like literally a comic) twists and turns. The narrative is easy to parse and follow, and surely doesn't take itself too seriously, which I greatly appreciated for a title in this narrative genre. I enjoyed the way you interact with characters, friends and foes alike, giving life to the city you're exploring and the story at hand.
Fallen Aces is ostensibly an immersive sim, complete with the cathartic secrets and seemingly endless alternate methods of completion that objectives have. I generally think I'm not the best or brightest when it comes to exploring hidden paths and utilizing item combinations/notes to get into areas that were previously unavailable, but I will say Fallen Aces does a phenomenal job rewarding in making secret and puzzle solutions feel naturally intuitive. I felt like I was genuinely intelligent in the way that I could stack objects and make walls for myself to get to places that appeared unreachable, and that I could kick or throw certain objects to get into places that were fenced off/hidden from the apparent eye. In the same way that Metroidvania's need to do things right to succeed for me, Fallen Aces did for Im-sims. It made me want to search for and solve secrets, I felt vindicated when I did so and went out of my way to expand runtime on each of the game's five chapters so I could nab as many secrets as I could find without looking anything up.
Gameplay, vibes, presentation... Fallen Aces has it all and is my surprise smash hit of the year. I look forward to see what the developers have in store for the rest of the narrative and gameplay that will ensue. I highly recommend Fallen Aces to fans of Im-sims and newbies alike!