Product Info

Platform

Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC

Publisher

Headup Games

Developer

Aerial_Knight

Genre

Action, Other

Players

1

File Size (Minimum)

698 MB

Release Date (NA)

May 19, 2021

Purchase From

eShop

PSN Store

Microsoft Store

Steam

Epic Games

Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is a 3D side-scroller indie game that plays much like an endless runner. Think of popular mobile games like Temple Run and Geometry Dash. The game was developed by Neil Jones (aka Aerial_Knight), a developer from Detroit, Michigan. Neil has worked on a few games in-house, with Never Yield being his latest, and it shows a lot of promise. This 3D runner is enjoyable and fun to dive into, although the experience is relatively short.

What’s Going On

Never Yield revolves around Wally, a mysterious character who has broken out of an experimental lab and is running to find the truth. His search for answers takes him through the downtown streets, factories, office buildings, rooftops, and wooded areas of a futuristic city. Don’t expect a script telling you about Wally and the mysterious powers he holds, though. Everything is explained visually. The game’s cutscenes, while feeling stiff, are heavily inspired by Japanese anime and the No More Heroes video game series. It’s as if you are watching a visual novel panel before you start your sprint. That said, the game’s story doesn’t do enough, leaving the player with questions, and felt easy to forget. However, it doesn’t detract from the gameplay and its simplistic mechanics.

The level designs are simple but effective. The visuals provide enough detail for objects in the background and the foreground to do what needs to be done. Since you’re running through these environments, too much clutter would’ve made it difficult to know exactly what’s going on. Still, you do get a solid sense of place. The city that is the game’s setting takes today’s modern world and mixes it with futuristic designs, making it feel like a Tokyo-inspired, cyberpunk city. With this and the soundtrack, it is like a match made in heaven.

Dancing in the Street

The game’s soundtrack was composed by Daniel Wilkins (aka Danime-Sama), another Detroit artist. That head-bobbing, underground vibe makes it feel more like a product from Detroit. (The vocals in the soundtrack were recorded around the globe, but that’s fine by us and also just plain cool.) In short, the range of fast-rhythm tracks work well with the fast-paced, side-scrolling gameplay.

It Takes Two (And Two More)

The game uses four buttons (i.e., the directional pad) on the controller. Use any of these to make it to the finish line. On your way there, you’ll encounter objects in your path. Color-coordinated lines appear around objects to help players understand which button to push. Red lines indicate pushing the up button to jump high. Orange lines are for mid-high jumps performed by pressing the left button. Blue lines tell players to push the right button to dash away from enemies or break through doors. Finally, purple lines mean pushing down to slide. It’s simple and easy to pick up and play. Now, just choose a difficulty mode, and you’re ready to run.

Depending on the difficulty mode, when there’s an incoming object, you’ll enter a brief slowdown period to help prepare yourself to avoid said object. For some objects, you’ll have to pay closer attention because if you jump too early, you’re sure to run into it and you yield (i.e., give up). However, players may notice that your character can run into part of the object and avoid the collision. Thus, the hitboxes aren’t fully accurate. If you do hit an object, you’ll have to start back at the last checkpoint and the timer that’s present on each level continues where you left off. To set your best record, avoid collisions.

Lose Yourself

The game’s difficulty has three options: normal, hard and insane. The harder the difficulty, the fewer slowdown moments players have to avoid objects in their path. The normal mode gives players a large amount of time to make their move, almost as if the game was set on easy mode. Just doing the normal mode, you can complete the game’s 13 levels in under two hours (not including the minigame).

Once you’ve gotten the groove of the game’s mechanics, increasing the speed becomes addicting. Hard mode removes about half the slowdown timing but still has warning notifications that shoot from the side of the screen. Insane mode removes the slowdowns entirely and adds more obstacles. While most of the warnings are removed in this mode, there are subtle notifications that pop up when moving and when automobiles are hurling toward you. Insane mode becomes aggravating at times, but you’ll become a glutton for punishment.

After playing insane mode, the game offers a minigame stage, earned by collecting a digital coin hiding in a level, which is more insane. In the minigame, there is no color coding and no warnings for incoming obstacles. On top of that, the screen will flip and mess around with your sense of direction. It’s an interesting and fun idea, but having to collect a coin and perishing within ten seconds doesn’t feel rewarding. Your best bet to prepare for the minigame is work on your insane mode skills, especially in the last two levels. Even then, it might not be enough.

The game displays the best timed records per level (except the minigame), based on any mode you play. Outside of that, there are no other scoreboards, leaderboards, or achievements. It feels a bit empty, and there’s plenty of room for growth to enhance replayability. For example, Donkey Kong Country and fellow indie game Kaze and the Wild Masks use item collecting to showcase achievements. Granted, you do collect outfits when completing levels, but that’s it. An additional reward to indicate completing a difficulty mode or a “No Deaths” stamp would be nice to see. Also, online leaderboards to compare timed records would add more competition. Such things would help players lose themselves more in the game. It will be interesting to see if the game receives such updates in the future.

The Final Run

Overall, Aerial_Knight’s Never Yield is an entertaining game with a solid combination of running, art, and music. While its replayability can be improved upon, it’s a solid indie title to run with.

A PlayStation 5 code provided by Headup Games for this review and gameplay footage.