The icon-based menu is somewhat clunky, and the pixilated font employed is too light. Unlike Zelda games, however, Airoheart’s controls and interface leave something to be desired. Rushing in wildly swinging your sword is the quickest way to reach a Game Over, especially during boss fights (which are often battles of attrition). I learned the hard way that Airoheart necessitates a more patiently thoughtful approach than proverbial twitch-oriented ARPGs. Airoheart is an old-school game that requires you to figure things out for yourself with as few tutorials and as little handholding as possible.

The gameplay resembles a 2D Zelda game where you explore an overworld, trawl dungeons, swing your weapon at enemies, wield magic, use various tools to solve puzzles, discover secrets, and try to save the day. As a result, I spent as much time aimlessly wandering the world as I did earnestly pursuing the MacGuffin and uncovered many secrets as a result.

This is because Airoheart is centered more on exploration and discoveries than rigidly following a tightly focused narrative. Plot direction is often vague, and the quest journal doesn’t offer much information. Major events happen suddenly with no proper buildup or exposition, making the narrative relatively shallow. On the other hand, the overall story telling is weak. I also like that NPCs don’t just spout single lines repeatedly talking to them yields witty dialogue.

The story is more sinister than a typically heroic “save the princess” tale and has some decent plot beats. After a neighborhood watch conscripts Airo to help them intercept enemy scouts seeking a Draoidh shard, we find out that Xanatos is Airo’s brother. Enter our unlikely hero Airoheart (Airo for short). Unfortunately, a similar fate befalls Airoheart.Īiroheart’s basic premise is that a power-hungry rabble-rouser named Xanatos is fomenting the seeds of war between two conflicting races in his search for pieces of the almighty Draoidh stone. Looking at Airoheart and A Link to the Past reminds me of 2008’s Black Sigil: Blade of the Exiled - a game that looked eerily similar to SNES classics like Chrono Trigger, but suffered from a cavalcade of poor design choices. Airoheart is an action RPG by Pixel Heart Studio that unabashedly wears its The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past influence on its sleeve.

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