Rivals of Aether has been one of the most viable platform fighters on the market and went out of its way to establish its own little universe as well. With the release of its mainline sequel, it seemed like that would be it for the franchise in the last year, but instead the developers had a nice surprise in place. Dreams of Aether is now available on Steam as a shadow drop and offers up a Wario Ware-style format with microgames and a story thread with each boss offering something different when it comes to motivation in the dream world.
Just like Wario Ware, the microgames are based on classic staples of gaming, but there’s nothing quite like this on PC, or even more notable now, portable gaming PCs. Playing this on the ROG Ally showcased just how perfect this style of game is for a modern day audience since we have so many new ways to play games now than we did in the GBA era when the Wario Ware franchise debuted. There’s so much variety offered up here, from maze-navigation to light platforming to light things on fire, and even some classic Nintendo sendups as well. There’s a Punch Out-esque microgame with left and right hooks available and that same kind of format is used for a decapitation microgame – showcasing a level of action you won’t get out of other microgame collections.
Dreams of Aether is… a top-shelf microgame collection.
The driving microgame is one that offers up a surprising challenge since you have to go against your normal instincts and avoid hitting A right away – and the same holds true for the meditation game where you see the same prompts as you do for the boxing game, but have to NOT press the buttons to succeed. Your timing windows are still brief, so you do have to keep your mind sharp to play and I can see this becoming something I play for a few minutes before a workday to sharpen the mind up a bit. It’s no Brain Age, but it sure does ensure that you’re paying closer attention than you otherwise might be.
Wario Ware-a-Like Quick Fire Released for iOS, Android
As far as shadow drops go, Dreams of Aether is one of the best we’ve seen on PC and it’s a top-shelf microgame collection. It’s a sub-genre that’s been starved for content, but what’s here is well-crafted and I’d love to see things like the boxing microgame become their own thing later on given how good they are here. Dreams of Aether is available now onSteamand is free to own forever as long as you add the game to your account by April 2.
