Aether & Iron

The writing is a bit cringeworthy on occasion, which makes the characters less than believable. The setting per se is great and very creative, but the game is trying to sell itself as something it is not. This is not a turn based tactics game with occasisonal story elements. This is a pretty linear interactive novel with a weird car-fighting minigame attached to it that usually feels completely out of place because 99% of all dialogues happen outside of cars. It's really in no way a car-focused game, so the fighting mechanic being ONLY about car chases feels super off, as if someone had an afterthought that we need a bit more than just dialog. If you expect depth to the fighting or any kind of challenge, it's probably not your kind of game. It's not a BAD game, mind you, it's just not a game I would recommend.

The devs tried a new thing with the combat and while at some points it either feels like it's too easy, other times it feels like it's a bit overtuned, but it all comes together quite nicely. The artstyle and voice acting is where this game does great at, with the narrative lagging a bit behind it, but i do think it was made to be somewhat cheesy by design. It's not a fantastic game, but it's good enough to warrant a recommendation for fans of the genre, and especially since it's the first game of the studio.

The game is essentially a visual novel with some TRPG combat tacked on for a change of pace. The story is good enough to get it a thumbs up, and there are a few genuinely emotional moments throughout the game. It incorporates a "Disco-like" system of skill checks in conversation, but it is not well implemented. The only difference between a failed check and a passed check is that passing will reward you with xp and sometimes an item. The story doesn't change, and in a few cases it looks like the exact same dialogue gets displayed after the check regardless of whether it passes or fails. Choosing to specialize in one or another style of skill check changes very little about the story. Similarly, there are very few real choices in the game, and the ones that do exist mainly just affect the ending slides. The overall story will always play out the exact same way. The combat is pretty easy now, and I lost maybe two fights the entire game. Apparently it started out much harder and the devs did a balance patch to tone down some of the bosses. I'm a little disappointed, and wish I could have seen the hard version. Still, the reason it's easy is because there are a lot of different options and team builds you can combo together to win it, so it's very fun trying out new things to see what works best. I got it on sale, and recommend waiting for one before buying.

setting atmosphere and art style is amazing. a simple game to get into.. just get it.

Great game, really enjoying it. STory and art are excellent.

The story is fun and enjoyable. The car combat is ok. I'm getting a good time with this game and that's the important part.

Diversity-intense game. You know, THAT diversity. The one everyone runs away from to the videogames. The untasteful narrative with the scientist client fooling around all over the place. That is not how you drive a detective-like plot. The setting is nice but the narrative, man. The game tries to be Disco Elysium and fails so miserably hard. The scientist makes me cringe each time she is on display. Hell, I am still playing only because the voice actor murmurs main character's word salad into my ears. Cheap little trick to keep me hooked. The story is definitely written by some female fanfic maniac. No depth, just words upon words upon words. Twitch ASMR got to my vidya. 6/10

A very good RPG for those who like authenthic atmosphere of the early 20th century, well-written memorable characters and appreciate games with a lot of text (a pro good voice over is present). The combat is also pretty interesting, yet it may prove to be a bit of a challenge for those who don't invest into it early in the game, as the final boss fight is pretty hard, at least the devs are thoughtful enough for you to be able to load up an earlier save or to ease the combat a bit, which is nice. Finally, a great amount respect for introducing a diverse cast (you've got characters from american, italian, german, russian, irish, balkan, jewish and various african descents) the way it always should be IMO - each character blends well into the world, no forced agenda whatsoever and the differences are celebrated with good humour and chemistry. Hope more studious will follow cue. Really hope to see more content in the future :)

I have not seen a narrative like this since Disco Elysium, and I cannot even remember if there was any indi game ever that created such book-like immersion on a parallel reality

First ever steam comment This game is one of the greats , Dialogues and VA is impeccible Story is Great Combat Is a fresh breeze as in not the generic type Charecters are memorible , their Story and interactions are fun , some mature some open up some forgive , almost like they are alive Its honestly a better/equal to disco Elysim A 10/10 Buy its worth it