I was almost a very sad man last month, as I looked forlornly at Seismic Squirrel and Chaos Theory Games’ Aether & Iron after not seeing a review copy land on my doorstep. However, that was simply a problem with our emails, and I thankfully got to play it last week and now talk about a stunning turn-based tactical RPG that I instantly fell in love with. I knew I would. Set in an alternative 1930s New York, Art Deco is still in swing, but with anti-grav tech and a genuinely sexy “decopunk” style to everything. I love a committed style – and alt history for that matter.

Like all futuristic dystopian fantasies, there is a hint of class warfare as high above New York City, the deviously rich, powerful, and highly educated (“the Uppers”) live in Aether & Iron’s high floating city blocks. While the poor and normal folk (“the Lowers”) are plunged into darkness under the shadow of the Uppers in the lowest floating portion of the city. You play as Gia Randazzo, an “Underworld smuggler” who couldn’t be more disgraced Italian mobster-coded if you tried. Progressively throughout Aether & Iron, Gia will assemble a gang to unravel a mystery you are dragged into through happenstance and a little bit of personal grievance.

Similar in presentation to Disco Elysium and other RPGs of its ilk, most of your interaction with the world is through flavored, detailed descriptions of the area and conversations with similarly unsavory characters. Dice rolls for skill checks and car combat that’s turn-based, Aether & Iron is almost a gumshoe fantasy on the other side of the law in that gameplay framework. It sounds like it shouldn’t work, and it would be hokey at times, but gameplay is tried and tested, and the story has some intriguing ideas.

Aside from the idea of smoke-filled rooms and the smell of alcohol on our lead’s breath, Gia Randazzo is given a simple job. Smuggle this innocent and naive young woman from the Uppers to the Lowers, no questions asked and no details required. That’s until Gia notices the tail she’s got, the first instance of car combat, and Dr. ‘Nellie’ Reinhardt reveals she’s fleeing with the research in her briefcase and the danger of The Well. The Uppers might have peace of mind, but below the Lowers is a “gravity anomaly” that hovers over old New York.

One might even call the Uppers, New New New New New York, to slip in a Doctor Who reference. No one really knows where The Well came from, but both Uppers and Lowers have theories. There are hints linking it to Aether, the anti-grav material noted as “A form of electromagnetic radiation” that is processed to allow cars and even whole boroughs to float in the sky. As miraculous as this element sounds, it comes at a high cost, requiring large amounts of water to create. I wonder if there is a message to be parsed somewhere in there.

Almost every line, every description, every hint of the world being opened up breathes a long breath of atmosphere into your lungs. From colorful characters to a literal library of history and propaganda. Though you see the world through the eyes of Gia, it is as colored by others with their own backgrounds and views tainting the miracles of floating sky cities. The political landscape of the New York skyline is a lot more disparate and fractured.

Your first location is politely called “White Street,” I assume named so after the white uniforms of an autocratic rule, commanding absolute devotion to the cause set out by its baron. Each part of town has its own baron with their own way to rule, though often with an iron fist and unsavory political characteristics. No, Aether & Iron isn’t like the Communist Manifesto for Dummies of Disco Elysium, but neither is it lacking something to say or do with its story.

Though the descriptions of everything, including the bullet holes in the walls of a theater, are dense with world-building and character, Aether & Iron knows exactly what it is. While threats and plot intrigue are treated with a sense of solemn concern, characters like the large German man with lots of jewelry and former Baron of Dreamland, Balthazar Killmeyer, have an almost Saturday-morning-cartoon mystique around them. Then you get the ginger Irish stereotype in Saoirse “Banger” Byrne with one of the worst Northern Irish accents possible. That’s just me being a pedant, though.

In discussing Aether & Iron, I’ve described it as dripping atmosphere, details, and world-building; if I could praise it on those alone and nothing else, I would. However, like all video games, there is a bit of gameplay, and in the case of Aether & Iron, it functions; it works, but it might not work as well as I think it possibly could have.

Every confrontation that can’t be settled by skill checks and words is settled by slugging iron from high-speed moving cars floating hundreds of feet in the air. It is a bit, almost isometric in this part of gameplay, as you look down on the “road” from an angle, and there are grid spots taken up by different vehicles: Cars, taxis, buses, trucks, trains, and so on. As I say, the concept works and does well enough in practice, but if I were to call this a tactically deep experience, I’d be lying through my teeth.

As you might guess, you work on your car, occasionally adding, buffing, and swapping out parts between repairing yourself after every encounter. You could also say there are elements of Aether & Iron being a party RPG, given you add members to the crew on occasion, but that’s besides the point I’m trying to make. Each car has certain characteristics and limitations: Heavy vehicles might have fewer weapons but have more armor and storage slots, lighter cars like Princess (it’s a story thing) have more gun slots and less armor.

When you’re actively in floating Twisted Metal action, though, it all gets a bit shallower at times. One of the tools available for each car is “Repulsors” that allows you to ram into cars that have set chase on Gia and co, though it can result in sustaining damage yourself. Again, the concept works, but reality feels shallower. Though Repulsors can only be put in certain areas, you can ram anyone from any side, if only there wasn’t a further possible downside of that, too.

Every car combat scene has its own unique risks, as debris and other hazards can/will impact the map on the next turn. Ramming cars, however, can be the most adventurous and highly risky thing to do at any given time. Like all turn-based combat systems, actions are dictated by action points, and in this case, your action points come from your engine and other car elements. With debuffs reducing them depending on status effects. I feel like I’m writing a tutorial being this straight-laced and long-winded.

To cut a point short, occasionally Aether & Iron’s combat can put you in tricky spots where you need to attack a car and risk possible damage, or miss out on the objective and replay that whole section again. The car combat is fun enough, but to go through dialog and a handful of long turns on failed objectives or dying multiple times is a bit more than just frustrating. The same can be said of dialog-based fail states.

Early on, you’ll encounter a delightful and jolly quartermaster for White Street with an interaction that (without warning) can get you arrested. In permadeath, that’s a game over, and you’re done (you lose, sir, good day!). That itself isn’t the problem, but rather the fact that you have to go through all the dialog again, and as you might guess, being an RPG, there is a lot of dialog. There is a reason the Steam page boasts: “over 200 voiced characters in the game.”

As a dyslexic who loves RPGs but can find them tiring at times, I love that. Though sitting there for several minutes going through some scenes only to sometimes walk unknowingly into those fail states, having to repeat that over again, it sort of pulls you out of the fun and enjoyable part of Aether & Iron. I won’t lie, I did save scum a few things, but it is hard to save scum things a few minutes into a scene when you can’t save during dialog. Which, if I’m over exaggerating for effect, is about 90% of the game.

You might think that’s a criticism itself, but Aether & Iron isn’t generally bloated with its exploration or endless narration by Gia. Where others of the CRPG lineage often have you traipsing over hill and dale with every click, Aether & Iron throws you in front of 2D point-and-click adventure-style backdrops with things to observe, interact with, or go deeper into. White Street’s Freehomes and the library within are a good example of the latter. It means you aren’t in any one location too long, but you aren’t tracking back any time soon either.

As linear as any predetermined story can be, you can affect the plot of Aether & Iron in small ways, but don’t expect to be hearing David Cage praise it any time soon. Skill checks and unlockable interactions allow for changes that make the world feel lived in, but make no mistake, you’re being told a story as much as you are playing and affecting it.

You only unlock new locations to go to throughout the city when absolutely needed, and each chapter is broken up by which part of the Lowers you’re in. I don’t want to spoil too much in that regard, but you certainly have things locked off and are warned: “This is a point of no return, do you want to continue?” In a more conventional CRPG-style of exploration, I’d probably bemoan that, but nothing throughout Aether & Iron seems to settle for too long, keeping the pace over 20+ hours light and engaging.

Ultimately, in a year that’s going to be dominated by big releases, one in particular, I think Aether & Iron is a hidden gem for fans of RPGs/CRPGs. With noir detective-like descriptions in every line building the world, and when built up, it is breathtaking to look at. Maybe the combat could be tightened up a bit more or given more tools to work with, and reloading from fail states could be a bit less soul-draining. Yet for all the nitpicks I could make on the technical side, I fell head over heels for Aether & Iron over 20-some hours of play.

A PC review copy of Aether & Iron was provided by Seismic Squirrel for this review.

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Aether & Iron

$24.99

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Such a stunning world.
• Writing and pacing that's as lean as can be.
• Accessibility: Voiced lines throughout.
• A great soundtrack by Christopher Tin.

Cons

• Car combat can be a bit clunky.
• The save-load system can be draining after long talking segments.