If you have been reading my reviews for long enough you know that I love myself colorful games. If something pops, chances are that it makes its way onto some digital stores wishlist. Aeolis Tournament is a perfect example of this. I came across this one from a random blurb in an email and didn’t think much of it until some screenshots popped up.
Aeolis Tournament is about as classic as a party game can get. Think of it a lot like a mix of Mario Party minigames only stripping away the boardgame aspect. What you are left with is an action party game that excels in couch co-op but falters in solo play.
This is the sort of game that I consider a “palette cleanser” sort of experience. It is the game you pop on in between Smash tournaments or similar games as a way to take a break. It is also the perfect party game for the family as it is incredibly easy to grasp as the only gameplay element of the titles works the same across all the game modes.
This Kickstarter-baked title keeps things simple across its six modes of play. It uses a single button format that sees you using your characters air fun to suck in air and shoot it out at other players. It is the nicest shooter you are ever going to play with friends. The goals of each of the various game modes differ but the mechanics stay the same.
You suck in air and try to knock your opponent’s off the edge of a map in one, suck up snowballs to tag others for points in another. Maybe you will suck up balls and return them to your base or use your air gun to play a game of table hockey. There is some variety but a lot of it is an illusion as the mechanics never alter.
That said, some of the modes are a lot more fun than others, this doubly so if you decide to ever play the game alone. Sportsball is my favorite as it plays just like Lucio Ball or Rocket League only much simpler. The Ice Hockey is another standout as I am a huge fan of Windjammers and it feels a lot like that title. Playing those competitive games with friends and family really does make for some great moments, especially after a few drinks.
And while there are no single players options in terms of story, Aeolis Tournament amps up the customization options. There is a fair amount of characters to choose from all of which you can change about how you wish. Give them new gear, accessories, and change around their colors to give you just the furry, err, character you want to play as. Gameplay options also let you change multiple difficulty settings for the bots which is nice.
None of this is stuff you have not seen before, but it helps give the game a bit of life. That said, there are a number of issues that sort of nag away at the game. I usually drop a review on launch day but because Aeolis Tournament has online multiplayer I decided to wait about a week to see the sort of community that pops up as it is no fun playing the game with only a couple of other early reviewers that got the game for free.
But exactly seven days after release the lobby for the game was a veritable ghost town. The game list was empty and I could not find another living soul to play the game with, and when the game features 8-player action, not finding one other person to blow air with was a real disappointment as that is when the game really shines. Local co-op is a blast on Switch when everyone has a controller but having a thriving online community would have allowed the game to survive far longer. That said, I fear that Aeolis Tournament, while a lot of simple fun, is dead on arrival and will be forgotten about by summers end.
On top of all of that are the cute and colorful visuals that sucked me in in the first place. The are nice, is somewhat simplistic, but become a mess once a match starts. This is great for some laughs but makes competitive play a difficult task. Characters clash into giant messes of bodies and many colors are too similar to each other that your eyes will get lost easily. This is all compounded by the fact that stages are tiny and not providing much room to move freely before smashing into a wall, falling off a ledge, or getting stuck on another player.
Aeolis Tournament is not by any means a bad game and probably lives up to what the Kickstarter laid out. If you backed this one then I am sure you love what you got, but if you are coming in fresh the title might be a little to simplistic and lacking the depth you might expect from what it shows on the surface.
In the end what we are left with is a really fun party game that probably will not keep you entertained for that long unless you are picking it up for some family fun. Young kids and parents are sure to love this one for the couch co-op, but if you are looking for online play you may want to go with the Steam version of the game.
“Aeolis Tournament is a blast with a group of family or friends locally, but the online side is DOA and the lack of depth holds this one back in the long run”
Final Score
*A review copy was provided by the publisher*
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