Throughout this guide you will see a small counter in the form of [X/20], this is counting achievement progress for you so you know if you're missing any. All of these will be present after explaining how to get the achievement so you can keep your own tally.

Depending on how comfortable you are with controlling the character in this game, you should be done in under or on 3 hours. Get yourself something to drink and a snack before venturing as most tasks are done in one go, such as the main puzzle elements of the game.

This is completely Spoiler Free as to the story elements of the game, but the solutions to all the puzzles are here to only read these if you are stuck and need someone to help you.

All chapters marked with a ˣ contain story elements, and all marked with ʸ contain achievements, chapters marked with both are marked with ˣʸ

This is the most linear part of the entire game!

All you have to do is follow the linear path and eventually you will end up in a room with a shrine. There will be pieces of lore along the way in the form of stone tablets, if you wanted to brush up on the story i'd recommend giving them a read.

As soon as you get to the shrine, simply walk up to it and you should be given a lantern and the cavern will turn dark. Follow the lights to find the way out, and as soon as you do, you will get the Light at the end of the tunnel achievement [1/20] you'll be greeted by the outside world!
...and an old guy.

This is the map. This is something that will prove very useful for the rest of this guide, so if an area from this point is mentioned in bold, it'll be referring to an area in the game which can be found on the map.
ALL CREDIT FOR THIS MAP AND THE LABELLING GO TO HANDBALLERMAN

Welcome to the large, beautiful world of AER!
You might feel a little lost and that's okay. Firstly, you want to get used to your bird form (which you can change into by jumping and pressing E). This bird controls the same as aeroplanes in open world games, with vertical controls being inverted, so hold up to go down, and vice versa.

The first thing you want to do is go around the Settlement and pick up some achievements. Let me put some points on the map for you with the order you should do these achievements.


Go to the island marked as 1 on the map and walk up to the statue of the deer. The achievement will pop up immediately! [2/20]

Go to the island marked as 2 on the map and find a family of crabs on a small lake. The achievement will trigger as soon as you walk up to them. [3/20]

Go to the little island with a lighthouse on it and there will be a town. To get the Mama? achievement, find a sheep with their babies following them around and approach them. The little ones will be very happy to see you and they will flock towards you, causing the achievement to appear. Well done, you're the mama now! [4/20] To get the Ripples On The Surface achievement, simply go into the town and jump inside of the well close to the fireplace. It's the closest you're going to get to a bath in this game! [5/20]

After you've went and collected those achievements, go back into town and talk to the family consisting of Daina, John, and their annoying offspring, Erin. They will be telling you to fly north-west but you're going to ignore their advice for now. Tie up your affairs and head directly east towards Lifla's Grove.

Now, the first thing you notice will be the massive, noticeable tree that's slapped in the middle of the cluster of islands. You wanna make your way to the tree and a strange glowing platform just outside of it.
In case you don't know where the massive, noticeable tree is, here's a diagram:

Now that you've found the massive, noticeable tree and the weird glowing platform, make your way onto the platform and bring out your lantern (using F on your keyboard) and interact with it (using E on your keyboard). This will summon 3 large circles around the island cluster .

Yes, you guessed correctly, you're gonna have to fly through those bad boys. Once you've done that, return to the tree for it has now opened up. Get yourself inside.

Once inside you might notice that there is a Deer trapped in some orb (for lack of a better phrase). What you want to do is follow the path down and do some light platforming to disable the orb forcefield. You just have to make it to the middle platform by utilising the varying platform heights (don't worry, further instructions will be a little more clear).

Go back and talk to the Deer, which will give you a small amount of progress towards the Talk to all the spirit animals achievement. There are still 2 more to talk to in different locations. Talking to the Deer will also bag you a Temple Key, which is used to access one of the 3 temples you'll be encountering during the story.

Now that you've done all this, talk to the Fox that is guarding the entrance and take off East once again towards the Ruins of Onn.

Oh look, cool moon island! Unfortunately you're not here for too long (unless you wanna be) so don't get too comfortable.

You wanna make your way to the island marked here (the one to the north-west of the moon)

On this piece of land will be a giant Crane statue, in all of it's glory. Walk up to it and you'll be given the Wings Of Stone achievement! [6/20].

That's all you're here for! Now all you have to do is head north-west, passing The Creator's Shrine, to Windsong Falls!

I know, this place looks really pretty, but you're only here for a key.
Close to the area marked on the map, there are 2 (two) glowing pillars which you must use your lantern on. This will open up a door in a waterfall on the big island!

Take flight and get inside of the cave... which is also a vault.
No treasures here apart from a key that'll be used to get an achievement, so I suppose it's good for something!

Moving ahead you will notice 2 (two) mechanisms which turn the machines in front of them. You want to go and activate the one on the left first and turn it once to the right (→).

Then you want to go and activate the one on the right. Turn this twice to the right (→) and the consoles should activate. It should look like half a sun and half a moon, or something along those lines.

A door should now open and a Temple Key will be there for you to take! This will take us to the first of 3 major puzzles we have in the game. Once you're done, head to the Fox at the entrance, talk him up a little bit, and make your way south-west towards the Twilight Lake!

Welcome to the first major puzzle of the game! Make sure you're in the Twilight Lake and go to the largest island (marked on the map) and activate a nearby console.

This will open up a massive hole in the floor, just go ahead and jump in to start the first of 3 major puzzles.

Once inside, make your way forward until the path deviates slightly towards a cavern full of mushrooms. There should be some flying fish there as well. Proceed down some stairs in the mushroom area towards some platforming consisting of some columns. Once done, there should be a console that opens up a shortcut, but ignore the opening. Keep progressing through the area until you get to pieces of a broken bridge, jump over these to get to the other side. Follow the path down some slopes and stuff (there is really only one way) and there should be a puzzle with 4 mechanisms and a pillar. The way to solve it is to make the laser beam reach an outstanding panel on the wall. Use the console to the left of you to turn it one space left (←), and the one to the left of that 3 spaces right (→). If this doesn't work, it's just trial and error since the mechanisms don't move far.

Once you've completed this, backtrack to the large room you were in just a little bit earlier and there should be another puzzle here. All you have to do is turn the consoles so the hologram coming from them is the same shape as the one etched into the surface in front of it. Just imagine those children's toys with the shaped blocks and the holes.

Cross over the bridge created by this solution, go left and go through the sewer-like tunnel. Once you reach the end, jump to the left of a ledge onto another platform. Use your lantern on the platform and cross the newly-turned bridge once more, and use your lantern again to summon a ramp.

Go down the ramp and go right into a room with 5 seperate platforms. Activate all of them with your lantern to open the door. Once through, activate a 6th platform and summon another ramp. Now all you have to do is go outside and done!

You should talk to some big geezer called the Twilight Guardian, then you should have a mini-cutscene, after that walk into the light and you will be granted the achievement People's Haven [7/20]

Go ahead and fly east towards Eastern Steps!

Welcome to the Eastern Steps, one of the most important areas for achievements and story progress in the entire game! This is a busy area and a long chapter so get yourself prepared (don't worry! it gets a little easier from here!)

I have marked some areas on the map and labelled them in the order you should go to get them:

All you have to do for this one is go and pet a big stone fox, give him some belly rubs and an achievement should pop up! [8/20]

Go to the island marked with a 2 and there should be a birds house of some description, take flight and perch yourself upon it, you'll notice it feels a little like home! An achievement should follow. [9/20]

Head to the biggest island in the cluster marked with a 3 and go to the south-eastern corner of it, there should be a large piece of stone with a map on it! It's on a smaller island closeby (thanks to RelentlessSpark for pointing that out!) Simply go up to it and take a look at it, and an achievement of the same name should shortly follow. [10/20] We're halfway there!

Alright, so the reason I put this island last is because this is the 2nd of 3 major puzzles in the game, and we're gonna get it out the way with so we can get an achievement that can ONLY be done after this area has taken place. So what we're gonna do is go into the centre of the largest island and activate the next area, make your way into the next big area.

Welcome to the archives, you're gonna want to go forward and left, and jump aaaallll the way down to the bottom. Don't worry, there's no fall damage. There should be a platform you can use, so go for it. Two more platforms should appear in a cutscene, go up the ramp and activate that one, Go through into the elevator and use it.

Once at the top, there's an area with 2 mechanisms. Use them very quickly and run towards the gates, as this is a time puzzle. If you fail, just keep trying! Once at the end, go forward and left down some stairs to a machine. Jump onto some grating nearby and walk on the pipe and activate the platform at the end. 1 of 3 platforms done!

Now walk up and along some more grating and there will be another platform, go ahead and use it. Go through the opened door and head left and down some stairs until you reach another platform. Go through the opened door and use another platform. This will set off the first boss of the game, gear platforming.

Use the gears and jump to the other side and use the platform there, after that, another gear should be going at it. Go back onto the gears and jump on the one that's travelling vertically. Once it reaches the top, jump onto the next one and there's another platform. Use it and boom, 2 of 3 platforms done!

Now jump down below the gears and go forward into the blue-ish room, turn left and drop down and you'll find the door you've been unlocking all this time. Turn right, find one more platform and use it, and the door will open! 3 of 3 platforms done!

Go through and talk to another absolute unit called the Keeper of Dreams, and you should get the Knowledge for Power achievement [11/20] after another mini-cutscene and walking into the light.

Step outside and go westwards back towards the Settlement

Go back to Lighthouse island and talk to Diana and John.
Oh no!
Their daughter has taken off!

Go and find her somewhere around the island (it seems random each time so just search the Lighthouse island, that's the only place she can be). Once you find her, you will get the achievement Hide and Seek! [12/20]

Now that you've done that achievement, head north towards Kings Pass!

You're now entering King's Pass, just like the Ruins, you won't be here long so don't get too comfortable!

All you have to do is go to the marked island and there will be a giant skeleton, very spooky, very scary. Just go up to it and you'll get a singular achievement, In The Belly Of The Beast [13/20].

Once you're done here, make your way north to the Howling Peaks!

It feels so cold here, so you might not want to stay long.

There's a few points marked on the map to help, since this area has quite a few activities to do!

Go to the spot marked with a 1 on the map and inside of a frosty cave within the area. The bear will be inside, you just need to do a little walking to get there. Give him some belly rubs and get yourself outta there, emotionally richer than you were before.

Go to the spot marked 2 on the map and there should be a cave with some broken equipment and fabric outside. Once inside, quickly pick your jaw up off the floor from how pretty it is and bag yourself the achievement of the same name. [14/20]

Go to the third spot on the map and make your way into a cave nearly underneath the island. There should be a few bells lying about. Go and jump on all of them at least once and they should all be ringing. Once ringing, a door will open and the last key should be there for you to pick up. At last! No more worrying over keys.

Once you're all done here, travel south-east towards Split Mountain!

Welcome to Split Mountain, the home of a Mountain that has been Split.

There are two things to do in this area which will bag you 2 achievements! They are marked below:

This is the end of the spirit animal achievement, woo! Don't fly too fast or you'll miss the entrance to the cave, which is carved into the mountainside. Once inside, you will talk to the Fox, and the achievement will pop up for you! [15/20]

On this island there will be some skeletons and memorials. There will be the skeleton of a fallen bird, land near or on top of it to bag yourself an achievement of the same name as this. [16/20]

Once you're done with both of these, it's time to finish what we came here to do. Head to the most northern point on the map by travelling north-west, towards the Roof Of The World!

Lastly, the Roof Of The World, one of the last stops on this adventure.

Automatically, you will be given the Cartographer achievement [17/20] for discovering this last area. If not, check the world map for an area you might have missed. If it is The Creators Shrine, leave it for you will be going there later.

You're gonna want to get yourself an achievement before we get this last puzzle done, so head to the marked bit on the map:

Getting to this area will lead you to a weird looking bit of ice, this will get you the achievement Baa From The Past [18/20] and leaving you with no more exploring to do!

Head to the centre of the big island and unlock the last puzzle, head directly inside and prepare.

First and foremost, go upstairs and to the right, then to the right again when there is a deviation. Activate the platform and go through the doors and through the door on the right. There's a huge machine that looks like six squares. Standing on one will begin a sequence. Use them in the following order:
Close-left (←) _ Close-middle _ Far-middle
A door shall open, so get yourself through.

Follow the pathway until there is a platform and use it, then you notice there are weird light orbs floating into a pillar. Weird. Follow their direction and use the next platform, and keep following and doing the same until you see them go into an area you can't reach, that's okay, you'll get to see your glowing friends later. Go up the stairs and use a fun looking slide to get yourself back down into the room.

Now you will be approaching the machine mentioned before from the opposite angle, that's fine. Go up the stairs to the six squares again and use them in the following order:
Close-Right (→) _ Close-Left (←) _ Far-Left (←)
Another door shall open, go on through.

Go upstairs and there will be a contraption which makes shapes when you use the consoles. Make every possible shape at least once (by turning the machines around and making bigger shapes) and go back down the stairs towards the illuminated door. Don't worry if it looks closed, it's actually open, it just didn't want you to know that. Use the platform and go back to the room with a six squares. Go through the door straight ahead from where you are and turn left onto a snowy path that ascends, go all the way up, using a side passage along the way to go up further.

You'll find yourself in a weird room where the only door out is partially opened. Head on through and activate the platform, ignore the door it opens and just continue onwards. Go up some stairs and your old glowing friends are back! Activate the platform and go through the door it opens!

Head outside and go talk to the last big geezer of the bunch, the Watcher of the Veil. Go through another small cutscene and walk into the light for the last of the Puzzle achievements, Mausoleum Of Ice [19/20]

Now that you're done with the final temple, it's time to go and say goodbye. Fly south to The Settlement

Go back to the Lighthouse island and find the Lighthouse, interact with it and a beam of light shall shoot towards in a certain direction. Everyone will be there to say goodbye to you!

Wave them goodbye and talk to them and follow the beam of light towards The Creator's Shrine.

Once there, go inside. Everything from now on is completely linear, so sit back, watch the last of the game unfold, and as soon as you reach the amazing ending, you will unlock the final achievement: Equilibrium [20/20]

Thanks for choosing me to be your companion throughout the beautiful world of AER Memories of Old! If you liked my guide be sure to give some love to some already amazing guides out there such as AER Memories Of Old Achievement Guide by cat with drum.

Thank you once more to the creator of the map handballermann!