I decided to remake my review since I have a lot more experince under my belt.


Rivals of Aether is a Smash Bros styled game created by Dan Fornance (who is also the creator of Super Smash Land)


As a big fan of the Smash Bros. series, I love Rivals of Aether and bought it the game Day 1
of its release. Some of you might find it a little harder to get ease into but for someone who's played a lot of Project M, albeit casually, it wasn't too difficult to get into as I felt I was playing in familar territory unlike my expericene with Brawlhalla.

Don't get me wrong, Brawlhalla is not a bad game, its rather enjoyable and it's free. It just didn't click with me on a personal level. It didn't give me that fluid feel that Rivals gave me (Again, the game is pretty good)


Speaking of familiar territory, while playing the game you might notice that some characters might have similar moves to other characters. Zetterburn is literally PM Wolf, Orcane is Vaporeon from Smash Land, Kragg has moves like Bowser and so on.

I feel like the characters have enough diffrence to keep them original but enough for Veteran Smash players like myself to fit into. As a Bowser main, I warmed up to Kragg the quickest as he just felt good to play as. Always was a fan of Heavy-weights.
While the Roster is small, if you're like me, it won't change a thing.


Speaking of familiar territory, most of the Melee/PM and Smash mechanics are here: you've got Dodging, Wavedashing, Dash-Dancing, erm... um... a lot of the other stuff?... Did I mention I play Smash casually?

However, not everything is the same. There is no edge-grabbing or no grabbing and the shield is replaced with a Parry. The Parry works is when your opponent hits you during the parry frames it will protect you and cause an increase of endland for your opponent. Think like 3rd strike but much... slower.

To be honest, The Parry is my least favourite part of ROA. It causes everything to come to a screeching halt before the flurry of attacks begin again. For a game so fast paced, it just feels out of place.

It don't think they'll be changing it anytime soon though since they've had it from day one, even before the steam release. I just wish it was a bit more quicker like 3rd strike.


As for Online... Well, it's been a while since i've played and the amount of players have declined for the moment so finding a game is a bit hard. Though it might be because I'm Australian. From what I can remember it's pretty ok, it can vary but not nearly as bad as my expericences with For Glory in Sm4sh... oh god the lag was really off-putting.


Anyway. At the moment of the publishing of this, Dan and his team still have a lot more to give us in the future and it looks great.

If you're usually a bit sceptical of Early Access games due to how it can be a quick buck for something unfinished, Don't. We've seen what Dan and his team have given us and what they are capable of. They care about this game and it shows. They won't be trying to run off with your money anytime soon.

If you play a lot of online with these kind of games... erm I'm not sure. I haven't seen a lot but I think you'll still find enjoyment in this title.


I'm hyped for the future of Rivals of Aether and hope it keeps going strong for years to come.

I decided to remake my review since I have a lot more experince under my belt. Rivals of Aether is a Smash Bros styled game created by Dan Fornance (who is also the creator of Super Smash Land) As a big fan of the Smash Bros. series, I love Rivals of Aether and bought it the game Day 1 of its release. Some of you might find it a little harder to get ease into but for someone who's played a lot of Project M, albeit casually, it wasn't too difficult to get into as I felt I was playing in familar territory unlike my expericene with Brawlhalla. Don't get me wrong, Brawlhalla is not a bad game, its rather enjoyable and it's free. It just didn't click with me on a personal level. It didn't give me that fluid feel that Rivals gave me (Again, the game is pretty good) Speaking of familiar territory, while playing the game you might notice that some characters might have similar moves to other characters. Zetterburn is literally PM Wolf, Orcane is Vaporeon from Smash Land, Kragg has moves like Bowser and so on. I feel like the characters have enough diffrence to keep them original but enough for Veteran Smash players like myself to fit into. As a Bowser main, I warmed up to Kragg the quickest as he just felt good to play as. Always was a fan of Heavy-weights. While the Roster is small, if you're like me, it won't change a thing. Speaking of familiar territory, most of the Melee/PM and Smash mechanics are here: you've got Dodging, Wavedashing, Dash-Dancing, erm... um... a lot of the other stuff?... Did I mention I play Smash casually? However, not everything is the same. There is no edge-grabbing or no grabbing and the shield is replaced with a Parry. The Parry works is when your opponent hits you during the parry frames it will protect you and cause an increase of endland for your opponent. Think like 3rd strike but much... slower. To be honest, The Parry is my least favourite part of ROA. It causes everything to come to a screeching halt before the flurry of attacks begin again. For a game so fast paced, it just feels out of place. It don't think they'll be changing it anytime soon though since they've had it from day one, even before the steam release. I just wish it was a bit more quicker like 3rd strike. As for Online... Well, it's been a while since i've played and the amount of players have declined for the moment so finding a game is a bit hard. Though it might be because I'm Australian. From what I can remember it's pretty ok, it can vary but not nearly as bad as my expericences with For Glory in Sm4sh... oh god the lag was really off-putting. Anyway. At the moment of the publishing of this, Dan and his team still have a lot more to give us in the future and it looks great. If you're usually a bit sceptical of Early Access games due to how it can be a quick buck for something unfinished, Don't. We've seen what Dan and his team have given us and what they are capable of. They care about this game and it shows. They won't be trying to run off with your money anytime soon. If you play a lot of online with these kind of games... erm I'm not sure. I haven't seen a lot but I think you'll still find enjoyment in this title. I'm hyped for the future of Rivals of Aether and hope it keeps going strong for years to come.