Aphelion Review

DON’T NOD is a studio that I have a lot of love for. It’s a studio that is constantly putting out new IPs, trying new things, and has (mostly) some strong storytelling chops – it’s a studio that isn’t afraid of having a crack. And while not every release hits, they’ve had some excellent games. 2024’s Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden was one of my favourite games that year but failed to make enough commercial cut through, and I won’t hear a bad word for its OG game Remember Me. Sadly, its latest offering, Aphelion, fails to elicit the same response despite a strong premise.

Set in the distant future, Earth is running out of resources and its inhabitants are running out of time. Aphelion tells the story of two astronauts – Ariane and Thomas – who head to Persephone, the latest planet added to our solar system in the hope that it can become humanity’s new home. However, the pair crash land on the planet and become separated, with Thomas sustaining a serious injury, forcing the two to make their own way across this new alien terrain to find one another. But Persephone is hiding more secrets than its new visitors expected, adding a further challenge for answers and whether humanity could survive there.

Persephone is stunning

Much like Banishers, Aphelion’s lead duo are somewhat lovers (recently split for the benefit of the mission) as well as workmates, creating an extra layer of emotional weight and desperation to their search for salvation and each other. What made Banishers a compelling and oft poignant experience is that the story and writing made you feel the love the characters have for one another. Unfortunately, Aphelion’s lead characters don’t command the same attention, despite DON’T NOD trying its best to make the player feel invested in Ariane and Thomas’ journey. It’s not that the performances are bad – both characters feel genuine and have heart, but they’re just a bit boring and it’s hard to get behind the notion that they couldn’t live without each other when we’re never exposed to it.

I’ll admit there’s potential for an immersive story here – the premise itself is a strong starting point, but the narrative is just a bit hollow. The bulk of the story is told through cutscenes and Ariane and Thomas talking to themselves about what they’ve discovered or reminiscing about the past, while the rest of the narrative can be gleaned from files you inspect. Annoyingly, audio logs must be listened to in the menu, which resulted in me skipping the majority of them. The disappointing part is that it never gets interesting. There’s a lot of talk about “The Source” – the reason Persephone could save humanity, but when the curtain came down I still didn’t really understand how or why.

Aphelion’s main strengths are its stunning visuals and incredible soundscape. Walking across the frozen tundras of Persephone while a striking orchestral punctuates the silence of the planet’s engulfing loneliness helps sell our characters’ perilous journey. There were plenty of times I stopped to admire the beauty of the untouched alien planet, and with a built-in photo mode, players can take snaps that could be worthy of Persephone postcards. The same love is given to the character models and facial animations, which are equally impressive.

“Hey Spotify, play Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse”

While traversing Persephone’s landscape looks and sounds great, the actual act of doing so is far from a good time. Much of Ariane’s sequences plays like a sci-fi Uncharted, climbing her way around the planet and using her trusty grappling hook to access areas out of reach. The issue is that it becomes far too repetitive and it’s not particularly fun to do. Plus, there’s very little challenge, given that your path is clearly signposted. There’s also a QTE that triggers if you don’t time a jump correctly – getting Ariane to jump can be a fight at times – and if you do fall and perish, the checkpointing can feel like a stitch-up.

Due to Thomas’ injury, he isn’t able to climb his way across Persephone, instead he will trudge the terrain until a fall results in a broken oxygen tank. From there, players will need to move between oxygen refill points to ensure Thomas doesn’t suffocate. It’s perhaps one of the most annoying design choices I can remember in recent times. Refill stations are so frequent that you’re never in any real danger of death, so it just feels like it’s there for the sake of getting the player to do something.

But while Persephone’s landscapes are seemingly out for both Ariane and Thomas, they will also need to avoid a threat that responds to sound, known as the Nemesis. These stealth sections slow the game down to a crawl and generally feel poorly designed. Early in the game, Ariane will need to walk slowly to avoid instant death, while later on she can trigger anomalies that distract the Nemesis briefly. While they’re generally fairly easy to complete, the logic doesn’t make a ton of sense (I know it’s a video game) and death can feel cheap. For example, (slowly) walking in water longer than you should will alert your attacker, but landing with a thud on the ice after climbing down a ledge won’t, and neither will shooting your grappling hook into the ice.

At least Thomas gets some sun

Final Thoughts

By the time credits rolled after around seven to eight hours, I was glad to be done with Aphelion. It’s a shame because it’s such a strong setup, but the story never does enough with its characters to make you really care, and the gameplay experience is marred by clunky platforming, tedious stealth sequences and a terribly bad oxygen management mechanic. Hardcore sci-fi fans may find some enjoyment here, but for everyone else, a trip to Persephone may not be as fulfilling.

Reviewed on PS5 // Review code supplied by publisher

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