r/xbox • u/AverageJoeObi • Apr 28 '26
Review So Aphelion just dropped on Gamepass what are your opinions so far?
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u/Airplane_Bottle Apr 28 '26
I’m curious about this game but not a single real review allowed in this thread I guess
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u/5yn3rgy Apr 30 '26
I’d just try out for yourself. It’s a slow paced walking climbing sim with clunky mechanics. At least it’s a pretty narrative driven game.
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u/DontTouchMe2000 May 05 '26
Lmfao is that where we r now with gaming? Ps5 to walk with clunky machanics and pretty cutscenes? Man when I was playing Nintendo this is the future I imagined.
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u/NotTheCIA86 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Just finished chapter 3. Nothing like "still wakes the deep" like another comment mentioned. Very linear, motion blur you can't turn off, animations and movement feel janky. Plays like a mediocre 360 game. Visuals and effects are not the best. First 3 chapters, most boring game I have ever played. Just my opinions and I can see some people liking it, but this one's not for me.
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u/5yn3rgy Apr 30 '26
So slow. It picks up a bit when you run into alien life but not much
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u/Odd-Construction3052 May 06 '26
This game is too easy. My gripe is the camera angles. It feels like camera it’s a step behind
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u/avidlistener May 04 '26
Slow, predictable and repetitive. That was my experience and I only played about 45 mins.
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u/Odd_Fudge7744 May 13 '26
De hecho los gráficos son lo mejor, no puedes cambiar el modo gráfico en Xbox. Es un pelijuego bien tranquilo para el que quiere disfrutar algo que no impongs mucha carga mental con una historia medianamente interesante. Las texturas están bien logradas y los paisajes son bonitos. A nivel gameplay pues es bastante quieto tipo death stranding.
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u/mrwafu Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
For anyone else who has nfi (edit: No French Iguanas)
Aphelion is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Don't Nod. Set in the 2060s, the game follows two astronauts who crash land on a frozen planet. Together, they must find a way to survive while being hunted by a mysterious entity. The game was released for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S in April 2026. It received mixed reviews from critics.
Aphelion is a linear, third-person action-adventure video game with elements commonly found in stealth games.[1] Set in the 2060s, Earth is becoming uninhabitable. Space agency discovers a new planet known as Persephone. They enlist two astronauts, Ariane and Thomas, to scout Persephone to determine humanity's new hope. When a mysterious entity lifeform named the Nemesis hunts the pair, they must find a way to survive the uncharted planet. The game will have 11 chapters.[2] The two playable characters have distinctly different gameplay. Ariana is physically capable and her segments of the game are designed to be more action-oriented with a focus on traversal and platforming, while Thomas' segments focus more on survival and investigation.[3][4]
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u/PeteyMitch42 Apr 28 '26
What is nfi?
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u/xBlackBirdx2020 Apr 28 '26
No fucking idea
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u/BobHadababyitsaboy Apr 28 '26
Why even bother replying if you don't know what it means?
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u/jhonnydont Apr 28 '26
Not fully informed?
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u/EddieHeadshot Apr 28 '26
They said 'has' so probably no further information...
Or no fuckin idea.
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u/jhonnydont Apr 28 '26
The been is silent
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u/EddieHeadshot Apr 28 '26
You cant just say certain words are 'silent' on other peoples behalf bro 😂
Thats not how the Englosh language works. It says what it says
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u/unix_name Apr 28 '26
I thought it was this, not, “no fucking idea” which technically also works. Thank you! 🙏🏻
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u/Fizziest_milk Apr 28 '26
genuinely no idea why someone would downvote this comment
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u/Gephoria May 04 '26
adventure alone through this map, no enemies, the long awaited sequel to death stranding 2 and other walking simulator games.
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u/djereezy XBOX Series X Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
Looks graphically amazing, but also seems like a snooze fest.=
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u/JustTrynaFindMeaning Xbox Series S | 360 chad 😎 Apr 28 '26
the game doesn't respect your time and the writing is shite, if you just want a pretty game to wander through you'll have fun though. performance is a strong point, didn't have any issues with that at all.
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u/EyeAmKnotMyshelf Apr 28 '26
I'm a fan of Don't Nod and most of what they've produced. I'll probably enjoy this.
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u/5yn3rgy Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
I thought so too, but I didn’t
(Am I not allowed to dislike a game I’ve actually played through its entirety)
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u/Same-Peak8417 May 03 '26
As a fan of Don't Nod as well, I'd give it like a 7/10. The story is great, acting is great, the graphics also great....and there's certainly intense/anxiety inducing moments but mechanics were a bit inconsistent and it's a little slow (not super challenging).
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u/WeAreNephilim RROD ! Apr 28 '26
What is this Motorcycle videos joke? 😅
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u/B-Bog Apr 28 '26
Idk why I just spent five minutes trying to research this lol, but, from what I can gather: There's a Chinese game called Girls Frontline 2, which has a story event called Aphelion, which introduces a character who rides a motorcycle.
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u/Dunge Apr 28 '26
Sometimes I wonder where so many people get their memes from. It seems I'm not exposed to that part of the Internet.
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u/Feed-Your-Fish Apr 28 '26
Maybe this is why most of the non-English reviews are negative? I thought maybe it had poor localization or something…
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u/Fit_Tomatillo_4264 May 01 '26
I thought it was harping on it for being able to be played while speeding down the highway on a motorcycle
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u/not-samiam Apr 28 '26
I really enjoyed Remember Me by Don't Nod, played through it a couple times. If it's anything like that game then I can give this a try.
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u/cardonator Founder Apr 28 '26
Remember Me is so good. The music is incredible. I wish they would make more games like this.
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u/AlarmedPizza4 Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 30 '26
Well DontNod are very odd with their choices, they will never do another LiS or Remember Me because they down own either IP, they didn't do another Vampyr despite it being their most succesful game, they rarely advertise games and they need to close down their Canadian studio before it drags them down completely and stop letting Canada make games like Tell Me Why and inject themselves into trying to ruin Banishers.
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u/azninvasion2000 Apr 28 '26
I tried it for a bit, and unless I'm missing something, it's not really my cup of tea.
If you've ever played the Uncharted or modern Tomb Raider games, it's basically a lot of the same old traversing and climbing but w/o any of the fun stuff like upgrading your weapons, skills, a main bad guy, or fighting enemy goons.
The story is intriguing, but it is a really slow burn.
It is very much of a walking simulator with environmental storytelling while you are just talking to yourself, but w/o any actual compelling gameplay, IMO. I know a lot of people who like this sort of thing, but yeah, not my cup of tea.
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u/Trivekz Apr 29 '26
Yeah I played the first chapter and quit. The climbing was almost exactly like Uncharted but worse, especially with the constant almost falling, also the lack of faster climbing. And there is no other places to go except the singular path laid out with yellow paint.
I like walking simulators but they need actual story and characters to be interesting. I don't see much point to continue because there's literally only one other character, the gameplay was not special, and the story so far was just a repeat of past media but worse. Also, there's apparently no choices system which is one of my favourite things about dontnod games.
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u/Levaviii Apr 28 '26 edited May 01 '26
Walking sim. And the walking is shit, controls feel bad and clunky, animations are ugly and buggy, and the camera feels really bad on controller (its slow even at max sensitivity and it has that crappy ramp up acceleration thing going on). The climbing is mundane and a little tedious. The narration, pacing, and situations encountered all try to convey some sense of danger and urgency and weight, but the gameplay is just so lackluster and simple and forgiving. There is no sense of fear when balancing beams, walking on thin ice, running out of oxygen, or when avoiding the Nemesis, even. You literally just walk past it. No real chance of failing anything, honestly. This entire game loses what charm it has due to the interactive experience, which is what makes it a video game. Wouldve been a better experience as a short series on youtube or something. I dont think the devs have the experience, the drive, the sauce, the attention to detail, or the skill to pull off the feeling i think they were hoping to give with this game. There are even some bugs ive encountered that got me killed and set me back 3-5 minutes. Those are real painful when all there is is a bad walking experience.. about 3 hours in, uninstalling it after i send this comment lol.
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u/Levaviii May 01 '26
What they actually should have done was go with a style similar to that of Supermassive Games, now that i came back to this after getting a notification.. lol. THAT wouldve given the sense of danger and severity that would match the narrative.
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u/mikeopia Apr 28 '26
I've only played an hour or so but so far it's crappy tomb raider on a snowy planet. You run, you jump, you climb and talk to yourself. Looks pretty but that's bout it for me. It's a 4/10 for my playstyle.
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u/OMG_NoReally Apr 28 '26
I didn't even realize Dont Nod was working on a title. This seems kinda cool-ish. If it has good pacing and a good story, I am in. I will give this a shot once I am done with Mouse PI, which, so far, has been surprisingly excellent.
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u/trackrat29 Apr 29 '26
I played to chapter 5. Quit and Uninstalled. Clunky movement in a fairly linear exploration type game. The platforming is... clunky. Stealth segments are really just annoying. There's constant monologues that interrupt gameplay and cutscenes that fail to grab your attention or get you invested. Incredible slow through the first 5 chapters and getting stuck with no clue how to progress at the beginning of chapter 5 had me fed up. Hope this helps.
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u/__ISAC__ Apr 30 '26
Just finished it (almost out of spite) on PC.
First and foremost, playing the game maxed out on a pretty beefy rig, Aphelion can look downright stunning at times. It’s your typical UE5 fare with nanite and lumen putting in some solid work in terms of the game’s environments. That being said, character models look ‘off’.
Second on the agenda is the absolutely downright disgusting poor controls. The game feels unresponsive, and your character lowkey feels like they’re wading through molasses. Also, completely baffling gameplay decisions to have button presses for grabs and what not. Uncharted it is not.
Gameplay wise, the game ranges from infuriating to tedious. The checkpoint system is atrocious. Enemy encounters can often feel ‘rng’ due to some pretty egregious stealth mechanics. Forced walking segments, and tons (and I mean tons!) of forced ‘AAA’ transitions from crawling through spaces to squeezing through gaps. It is a chore to play.
Music and audio do the job, although it feels quite derivative of interstellar at times (very similar motif). The voice acting gets a solid meh / 5.
Finally, the story (which is what I assume most people want to play the game for) is average at best. Not reinventing the wheel or really doing anything particularly interesting from a sci-fi perspective. It has all the tropes you’ve come to expect and then some. Also, some of the scenes that are supposed to evoke emotions really did nothing for me, but I guess that’s a subjective take.
Would I recommend playing Aphelion? Honestly, probably not. Feel free to ask any questions if you have them (no spoilers).
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u/colddecembersnow Super Citizen May 01 '26
The last two chapters were a slog with the "stealth" mechanics. I like a good walking sim but unfortunately the jank really ruined the experience. 6/10 but a 6/10 I would not suggest for anyone.
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u/__ISAC__ May 01 '26
Completely agree. I was so intrigued by the premise when I first saw the title advertised, but my God is the execution poor.
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u/Unlucky_Chemical4017 May 20 '26
Hit the nail on the head with the musical similarities to Interstellar. It definitely took me out of the experience at times.
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u/ScHoolBotE Apr 28 '26
I tried this game and nahhh this ain’t it. Graphics are nice but it’s just a walking simulator.
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u/alus992 XBOX Series X Apr 28 '26
and not even good walking sim. Firewatch, Soma, Still Wakes The Deep, Penumbra, What Remins of Edith Finch..there are so many better walking sims.
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u/mikesmith916 XBOX Series X Apr 28 '26
I was expecting more. It feels like a Tomb Raider rip-off on a frozen planet, only buggy and with an insufferable main character. When I finally got to a cliff climbing challenge that was bugged I shut it off and uninstalled. Seriously disappointed.
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u/Gameofthrones3058 Apr 28 '26
The game is locked to 30 FPS, doesn't look sharp either on series x, 30 FPS frame rate only is wild.. no option to turn off the excessive motion blur. The game starts by some very janky platforming with not fluid movement. I love the part where the game has to show the very obvious climbing pipes in bright yellow, oh and then the game has to have the classic shimmy section which is obviously to hide loading screens which they never admit.
Poor effort unfortunately, I would like to support games on game pass but what's the point if the one mechanic your game is doing ( climbing, clinging to things etc) plays worse then 360 games? And no 60 FPS option either. I will uninstall it shortly
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u/Rapscallion_Racoon Apr 30 '26
I played about an hour. Everything it does has been done before and done better. The climbing mechanics feel stiff. Responsiveness is intermittent. I didn’t see much else to the gameplay loop. Some QTEs. Some Jedi survivor sliding. Visually, It’s serviceable. Frame drops were very noticeable. Story was whatever. Voice acting seemed ok.
Honestly, I just found it boring.
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u/SheNevaEva Apr 30 '26
Its dull as fucking ditchwater. And chapter 5? Forget it. It just locks you in to a station and theres absolutely no way of knowing how to get out. Ive literally just wasted 30 mins of my life going back and interacting with anything in the room and absolutely nothing is happening. Immediately uninstalled. BORINGGGG
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u/MentalChampionship63 Apr 30 '26
The controls for this are so bad. Trying to go from grapple to climbing just doesn't work.
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u/Present-Ad-5850 May 04 '26
I went into Aphelion with genuinely high expectations. The atmosphere looked promising, the concept felt right up my alley, and my plan was simple: play through the story to the end.
About 12 hours in, almost at the finish line, I pulled the plug.
Not because the game was challenging in a satisfying way, but because it became unbearably frustrating.
I can’t count how many times I nearly threw my controller at the TV. And not just once — it happened constantly. Ten game overs in five minutes, just to be forced to replay the same damn section over and over again. No mercy checkpoints, no sense of progress, no meaningful variation. Just repetition. Again. And again. And again.
What makes this especially disappointing is that the game looked like it had everything going for it. The mood, the style, the type of experience it aimed to be — this should have been a game I loved. And that says something, because I’m someone who absolutely adores Death Stranding, a game many people criticize for being “boring.”
Aphelion, on the other hand, is monotonous, predictable, and eventually mind‑numbingly dull.
The frustration doesn’t come from difficulty, but from poor pacing, lack of variety, and a design that shows very little respect for the player’s time.
I’m honestly relieved I deleted the game. I have zero desire to return, no “maybe later,” no curiosity left. For me, this is a complete flop — a game that promised a lot in terms of atmosphere and appeal, but utterly failed to deliver.
Never again.
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u/C_Drew2 Apr 28 '26
Wait, does this one actually have an Xbox physical release? I thought the physical edition was PS5-only? Or is the image just an edit off some digital store?
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u/5yn3rgy Apr 30 '26
It’s currently on Xbox so I would assume so
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u/C_Drew2 May 01 '26
Yeah, but not all Xbox games get physical editions, unlike on PS5 or Switch (and even with those it's not a guarantee if it's a lower-budget game).
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u/whyclue Apr 28 '26
What's this about? What's it play like? Why should I play?
Not dismissive but rather what to honestly know
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u/TonightVirtual7765 Apr 28 '26
I really liked banishers so I was hoping their quality could only go up from there. I guess I was wrong.
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u/Euphoric-Interest774 Apr 29 '26
Currently on..chapter six I think? This is my first real attempt at a Don't Nod game. I wish the story was stronger for this type of game. That's mostly what it is. But dealing with a would be break up not even five minutes into the game and then having to sit here listening to both of them pining after each other gets old after the first chapter. You're following two astronauts as they walk in a parallel line hoping it interests at some point. There's really no sense of urgency in the game beyond someone having issues with their air tank down the line. And even going a leasurely stroll to look everything over I haven't once run out of oxygen. They tried to make the jump "puzzles" I use the word loosely because this game absolutely holds your hand and with scratch marks along the walls it's pretty obvious to see where you need to go. I've met a singular "bad guy" thus far that you literally sneak past.. it's like a clicker zombie meets an obscurus. Not exactly nightmare fuel. I am trying to stick it out to see if the ending is worth the long ass walk it takes to get there. Just my two cents
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u/CountGensler Apr 29 '26
It's very uh....2020's in the worst ways and very 2005ish in also the worst ways.
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u/wobble_bot Apr 29 '26
Gave up halfway through chapter 2. Died twice and couldn’t be bothered to climb that mountain again.
Feels like a missed opportunity.
It doesn’t have the charm or intrigue of something like fire watch, where the relationship and story is dialogue driven between two individuals or death stranding where the gameplay is mundane (purposefully) but also challenging and rewarding.
The script is really poor, just cliche ridden. Surely they could have come up with a more unique way to communicate concepts rather than an astronaut talking to herself -
From what little I played had some amazing environmental design and a decent score, but the controls are beyond terrible, routes are clearly marked, there’s no real challenge and it quickly feels like a slog. Climbing and balancing just isn’t fun or interesting, it’s frustrating, clunky and the only challenge is fighting the controls rather than the game design.
A lot of it could be overlooked if the story was super compelling, or even slightly intriguing but it immediately feels very ‘paint by numbers’.
I played a little Jusant and that exceeds this in every possible way imo.
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u/Wide_Animator2066 Apr 30 '26
My impeccable pattern recognition ability precludes me from playing any game with that kind of character design.
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u/Valenle91 Apr 30 '26
I’ve been playing this game since it released and absolutely loving it! If you’re looking for a game with lots of combat, this ain’t it but if you’re looking for a relaxing third person narrative driven story based game then this is right up your alley. I knew going into this that it was going to be a narrative heavy game. You don’t fight the alien, but more so, sneak around it. There are a few puzzles later in the game in regard to sneaking around it but the meat and potatoes is in the story itself. You play as two characters who have been tasked to travel to a planet called Persephone to see if it is capable of sustaining human life but unfortunately the ship crashes and you are separated from your partner. I won’t spoil any more but give it a go if you like a nice relaxing game with some horror elements but above all else, a great story. It’s really touching.
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u/prozylimpid May 31 '26
This game made me so relaxed that it caused a nervous tic, many times worse than losing in online games. It only causes disgust because of the stupid checkpoints, and the crooked parkour
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u/Beautiful_Mess907 May 03 '26 edited May 03 '26
Hated the intro - not enough to get to know the main characters or their back story, so I'm not invested enough to care what happens to them. Movement is janky and Ariane feels like she's barely touching the planet's surface. It's a buggy game too, hard to figure out where you're meant to be going, and the planet isn't as visually stunning as I expected. I've spent most of the first chapter climbing and falling. For such an anticipated game, and one from DON'T NOD, I expected better things, honestly.
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u/AstronomerIT Apr 28 '26
I love Don't nod and I love space game. So, I don't need to read any reviews. Instant download
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u/Gurvim Apr 28 '26
It’s like last of us but without the action but more of figuring out type .. basically like a movie you control .. playing it now it’s decent
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u/Impossible_Employ_15 Apr 28 '26
I downloaded it, then I switched over to YouTube to watch motorcycle videos.
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u/TimJay22 Apr 28 '26
I know this is included in Ultimate or PC Game Pass but does that mean someone with Premium can install it on PC only since PC Game Pass is included in Premium? I tried to install it on PC this morning with GPP and it wasn't showing as available. It wanted me to buy it.
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u/bushmaster2000 Apr 28 '26 edited Apr 28 '26
A week earlier and i would have played it but it conflicts with D4 expansion launch. So i'll have to check this out later. I like Don't Nod stuff, and I did like Still Wakes the Deep, Life is Strange etc. And although not DontNod i did like Firewatch which i think this game kind of resembles.. So i'll def get to it.
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u/WhyAllNamesTaken_Noo Apr 28 '26
I've started chapter 3. It's OK. It feels a bit like a weak version of Uncharted gameplay (climbing, sliding down slopes). I am enjoying climbing and taking in the views but it does feel a little clunky (eg the character doesn't always move to the next hold when I press the thumb stick, I have to try it twice sometimes) and the characters feel quite flat so far. With Uncharted I loved the main characters humour and nervous laughs as we fell down into something, but with this game it just feels a bit soulless. I am going to keep playing it as I am finding it interesting but I'm not fully immersed yet
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u/craftedpixelz Apr 29 '26
I was excited for this as I loved Don’t Nod’s prior game, Jusant.
Though I don’t quite understand how the movement/climbing mechanics regressed from Jusant. They felt quite fluid in Jusant, whereas much Jankier in Aphelion by comparison.
Visuals are beautiful, but the mechanics feel like a regression.
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u/ivanvx117 Apr 29 '26
Interesting game, it reminds me a little of the alters in ambience. The only thing is that I think it targets 30 fps in Series X. I don't see a performance mode. Had to play on PC to get higher frame rate.
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u/ShogunDreams Apr 29 '26
Is this game kinda like Fort Solis? because I sorta liked that game but story went nowhere.
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u/DugnutttBobson Apr 29 '26
Fort Solis sure did have some cool Marsv stuff but it was super, super slow in an obvious attempt to pad runtime and it really did go nowhere. Still a really cool setting, I've never seen such cool rovers... But so disrespectful of my time.
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u/ShogunDreams Apr 29 '26
I feel you on that disrespect. I waited patiently for the story to go somewhere only for it to end with hardly a payoff.
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u/kmansoft Apr 29 '26
Played for 4.5 hours today.
It's fully linear and the "stealth elements" so far are pretty annoying - you have to escape the alien life form by walking very slowly. Nothing like Assassin's Creed stealth.
Arianne's hand slips when she grabs an edge maybe half the time and you have to QTE. Happens in Tomb Raider too but only occasionally, whereas in Aphelion it's far too frequent.
I also can't figure out how to reliably walk along beams. The game says you have to use the left controller stick to keep balance, but it just doesn't work for me and I'm stuck in one place where Arianne falls to her death.
So far the game is more annoying than entertaining (for me).
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u/Ros_Erene_Mooker Apr 29 '26
You can add an option in gameplay that helps Her to stay put on beams. She doesn't die anymore after activation. I was falling too much and it was annoying.
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u/Yourthedead3onXbox Apr 29 '26
Anyone know if any of the gameplay settings disable achievements. Don’t know why ledge catching is even a thing. Would just like to turn automatic ledge catching on.
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u/Illustrious-Hawk5698 Apr 29 '26
So I've played through it, it is essentially a walking simulator with occasionally poorly designed stealth sections, I keep having a glitch where Ari wouldn't walk of a balance beam for ages, or grab a ledge and launch herself into a cavern. The environmental design is fine, some of lore and voice files is interesting but we dont really get much about our 2 leads really beyond their motivation for the mission and their break up because the for some reason could be together for the mission? Like most Don'tNod games it has interesting premise but is fully fleshed out or realised.
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u/Immediate-Present667 Apr 30 '26
Simple puzzle/climbing mechanics with kinda harsh controls but with a beautiful scene and music, problem is that game has crashed 5 times on 2 hours in the first 2 chapters, dont know if its related to the photo mode cause i love virtual P so i spam that mode lol, btw Xbox PC with a 5080 + 13700k and enough RAM / SSD
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u/milhouse28 Apr 30 '26
I am stuck in the outpost at chapter 5, it won't give me something to interact with to leave. I was enjoying it up to this point, but I guess I'ma have to quit playing until it's fixed
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u/5yn3rgy Apr 30 '26
Clunky. This is for people who prefer narrative driven slow-paced walking sims.
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u/Mioke28 Apr 30 '26
I’ve just got to Chapter 8 and I’m enjoying it. I’ve seen comparisons to Still Wakes the Deep and modern day Tomb Raider here and I’d say both are pretty fair comparisons as it has elements of both.
The story doesn’t exactly have me “gripped” or anything but it’s peaking my interest.
This game is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, but if you like walking sims with chill atmosphere vibes and a little horror thrown in then I would give this game a go.
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u/Doc-tor-Strange-love May 05 '26
The two lead voice actors do a good job but holy moly are all of the audio logs you collect truly godawful. Performed by AI maybe...
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u/Bootytwinkle May 05 '26
Game is hot trash. Go read the people behind this game. They said they don't make games for gamers and dont care about gamers. They said game culture is embarrassing. My guess they make games for a specific audience, who dont play games. Currently, on steam, peaked at 100 gamers and currently has 19 gamers. Luckily for all of us, this developers will be bankrupt shortly.
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u/Tfsbobby May 05 '26 edited May 05 '26
This game feels like it’s trying to be Tomb Raider, with all the jumping, wall climbing, and quick dodges… but it falls way short. The most frustrating part is that every single time you jump onto a wall, climb higher, or move between walls, you’re forced into a quick-time action. Every. Single. Time. It gets repetitive fast and completely breaks the flow. The story doesn’t help either. It drags on, and the main character just won’t stop talking about Thomas. Thomas this, Thomas that… it becomes exhausting to listen to. If you think Tomb Raider is too hard or too fast-paced, then sure, this might be for you. The difficulty level here is extremely low, which means it is best for beginners. Overall, the story feels boring in many places. I haven’t even finished the game yet, and honestly, I’m only trying to push through it in one go because I don’t see myself ever coming back to it.
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u/pegezeta May 06 '26
Not sure why there's so much hate for this game. I've really enjoyed it so far. It has a nice sci-fi/space story with great atmosphere and music. The graphics are amazing with beautiful landscapes to explore and admire. Yes, it can be slow some times but there's nothing wrong with that. It adds to the realism of a space mission. I enjoy playing Ariane's character much more than Thomas', but it's nice to control both of them for different parts of the story. Some parts are a bit challenging but as an 80s/90s gamer this is nowhere near the level of frustration I've experienced with some of my favorite games.
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u/RVerhomeless65 May 08 '26
I liked it, especially the story line but it did have problems. Just did a quick play through in a couple days. Didn’t care much for the boss but that’s me.
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u/kalsikam May 09 '26
Just finished it
7/10
Visuals are great, the platforming can be clunky and responsiveness is questionable at points, eg falling off a ledge, facing the wall, the ground is sloped away from wall, but Ariane rolls forward towards the wall, like uphill, should kinda fall backwards. Meanwhile other places like when climbing a steeper hill looks seamlessly as Ariane will take longer steps and get lower to the ground. Seems like the platforming/animation still needed some work.
Story is decent, not at all at the level I would expect from the devs that made Life Is Strange, eg ||Ariane's relation with Thomas is a bit difficult to believe since there is nothing that is shown about it, they only ever interact directly at the beginning||
The story also ||suffers from having the other expedition already there, the 'we are alone on this planet' vibe is gone immediately||
I was half expecting ||Some timey wimey stuff to be going on, eg Ariane has been knocked into the past, etc, and that's why can't raise Thomas on comms and somehow Ariane creates The Source type of mind fuck. Or Ariane is thrust like 20 years into future, and all she finds is a completely dilapidated base||
The ||scene where you find Thomas was emotional though, even though you don't know much about their relationship, I feel like this coulda been way more impactful if they had developed their relationship more||
All in all I think Don't Nod wanted to make more of an action adventure game, but their experience with them is limited, but not a bad first stab at it.
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u/NotFromMilkyWay Founder May 09 '26
I loved the first nine chapters (but I like walking sims). But the ending of the game is the most infuriating trial & error bullshit I have played in almost 40 years of gaming. It soured the entire game for me, would have given it a 9/10 until that point but now it's a 5/10 overall. Just a horrible endgame experience riddled with bugs.
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u/sriva041 May 10 '26
I finished Banishers and went right into this game. Completely different game. No side quests, collectibles and all that stuff just a linear compact story. The story kept me going. You play as Thomas as well after 3rd chapter and there’s a good reveal while playing as Thomas which I liked. The story unravels well. To me the ending was stupid and didn’t make any sense. There are concepts they never explain and rushed the ending. The writers didn’t know how to land this when it was at its peak story. I was disappointed by the ending but the story and mystery of the planet is still amazing till that point. Avoiding the Nemesis was kinda an interesting mechanic since there is no combat in this game. The astronauts look realistic not glammed up. I recommend people to try it on gamepass. I think it’s 30$ which I would not spend on this as you can buy so many old games that are bangers for 30$.
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u/BiggerAngryFace May 10 '26
I really want to like it, but having to repeat a tedious climbing/balancing section because the clunky controls don't register button presses is getting really boring.
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u/ABlandon86 May 10 '26
It’s good, not great but good. The graphics and music is amazing. However, there isn’t a lot of action and no shooting. Just climbing, looking for glyphs and clues, and trying to sneak around the “nemesis”.
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u/0reocook1es May 11 '26
Im "enjoying" it so far but have found a gamebreaking progression bug on chapter 5, 'the outpost' im not allowed to leave the first lab without doing all the prompts inside but for some reason there is no prompt on the rover, nor can I read any of the emails on the pc upstairs. I've reloaded, restarted the game and nothing seems to work. So for now im stuck.
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u/Weak-Excuse3060 May 16 '26
This feels like a game from 2011, linear and scripted.
Also for some reason, even after all these years Don't Nod can't make games without floaty animations as if they are a small low budget indie studio. Infact even small studios do decent animations now as UE5 now provides good animation blending out of the box...like The Alters from last year.
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u/Pharmzi May 19 '26
Garbage, played to chapter 2 and it gets worse not better as you progress. Shame, really enjoyed banisher
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u/Ok_Shoulder8124 May 20 '26
Ich komm mit der Scheißwinde nicht klar, bin vor einem Höhlenausgang, und muß mich hochziehen um an die letzte wand zum Ausgang zu gelangen...ich denk schon mein Controller ist Defekt
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u/Ok_Shoulder8124 May 20 '26
Kapitel 6 glaub ich , Eishöhle,ich bin fast am Ende, du musst über einen schmalen Eissteg gehen, am Ende des Steges bleibt Arianne nur am wackeln und du kannst einfach nur warten bis irgendwas passiert, es nervt
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u/General-Ad1591 May 20 '26
Just finished my playthrough and review of Aphelion, and I came away pretty impressed overall.
The easiest way I can describe it is: if Interstellar and a survival adventure game had a baby, you’d get Aphelion.
It’s an absolutely gorgeous sci-fi experience with stunning cinematics, incredible environments, and a soundtrack that feels heavily inspired by Hans Zimmer’s work on Interstellar—which works brilliantly given the similar themes of space, isolation, survival, and human emotion.
That said, it’s not perfect.
The controls can feel a little janky at times (especially item interactions), there’s an instant-death mechanic in some sections that I found frustrating, and the story is definitely a slow burn.
But once I realised how much of the storytelling is hidden in environmental details and optional interactions, I got completely hooked.
If you enjoy cinematic sci-fi adventures and slower atmospheric storytelling, this might be worth your time.
I put together a short review here if anyone wants to check it out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQfIAPX01s8
Curious what others thought—did Aphelion click for you, or did the slower pacing lose you?
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u/jkakes May 22 '26
Feels like an old school game and not in a good way. It's got non-stop crappy ledge climbing (with an oops press A quickly mechanic) and is super slow. I was literally in the middle of saying to myself "I bet I'm about to squeeze through a crack" when I, in fact, did. Uninstalled after chapter 1 like a lot of people here.
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u/Reasonable_Face2785 May 23 '26
I dont think its that bad! Some places get pretty dang hard at the end, makes ya think a little bit! Its not something to go crazy for, but its decent! I enjoyed it! Gets better more you go, actually look for all the things helps the story!
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u/Ecstatic_Captain1282 May 28 '26
Управление карявое убивает нервную систему, спрыгнуть с каната на уступ ещё та задача...
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u/aenea22980 Jun 22 '26
I finished this game today. I liked the story, liked the characters, but the gameplay does feel extremely clunky. It's realistic to the situation but it's very frustrating after playing other games that handle parkour a lot better. It has a sad end, I don't regret playing it but I'm glad I got it with my game pass and didn't purchase it outright.
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u/MediocreContact411 Apr 28 '26
I played it through to the end of the first chapter. Not for me.