Aerial Knights Never Yield Review (Xbox Series S)

by Jim Smale · Published May 19, 2021 · Updated May 18, 2021

Imagine a runner with the visual styling of Into the Spiderverse or a game that has a setting like Jet Set Radio, add in a bomb-ass soundtrack, slick controls and you my friend have Aerial Knights Never Yield. It’s a runner game with accessibility at its core and so much style it should be illegal. Buckle up and sit back and welcome to our Aerial Knights Never Yield Review for the Xbox Series S.

Aerial Knights Never Yield Review Pros:

Decent graphics.
982.2MB download size.
1000 Gamerscore.
Three difficulties-normal, hard and insane.
The prologue will introduce you to the controls and how the game plays out.
Endless runner style gameplay.
Assists-you get notifications of oncoming obstacles, slow-mo to help time jumps. These are determined by which difficulty you chose.
Absolutely banging soundtrack.
Simple controls and you can play it with just the left stick.
Actions-slide, high jump, roll jump (normal jump), and sprint.
Plays on like a 2.5D perspective.
Think of Bit Trip Runner and it’s that sort of game.
Mini game-one shot pixel graphics take on the game. Collect coins to play it.
Outfits-earned from playing.
All runs are timed.
Constant checkpoints.
In-game cutscenes.
An end-of-level breakdown for run time, level time, and death count.
Boss encounters with faster interactions and obstacles.
Perspective can switch to a behind the character view.
All about learning the flow and makeup of the level, repetition is key.
Satisfying as you nail the jumps.
The D-pad icon stays on the screen and shows what you pressed.
Has branching paths.
The harder difficulties are a challenge but still fun to play.
A fun afternoon of gaming.
It has a good flow.

Cons:

Levels feel too long.
No online leaderboards.
Have to quit to the main menu to change outfits.
Checkpoints are far apart despite having many of them around.
The story is not as clear as it could be.
Little replay value.

Aerial Knights Never Yield:

Official website

Developer: Neil “Aerial_Knight” Jones

Publisher: Headup Games

Store Links-

9/10

Graphics - 9/10
9/10

Sound - 9/10
8/10

Accessibility - 8/10
7/10

Length - 7/10
8/10

Fun Factor - 8/10

8.2/10

Summary

Three words best describe Aerial Knights Never Yield, Stylish as fuck. The instant you turn this endless runner on the style hits you in the face like the first time you saw Into the Spiderverse, in fact, it has a lot of similarities with said film, and it’s all the better when you add in one of the best soundtracks in a game in 2021. The gameplay is simple, jump over or slide under obstacles and outrun the enemy. You have three difficulties to choose from which determine how many obstacles, if slowdown before an obstacle happens and if you get an ever so slight advance warning icon. Either way, you choose to play its a game that is immensely fun due in part to the controls, you can play using just the stick or just the face buttons, you are never tied into a choice of them and can mix and match as you play. I did the game in one sitting which was a couple of hours as I tried out all the difficulties and sucked at a few boss fights. It’s in no way a huge step forward in the genre as a whole but it is one of the most accessible stylish runners in the genre. The story has no voice but makes a powerful statement with its visuals and had me thinking about having the Dev do a Jet Set Radio spin-off in this style but that’s a whole other story. I finished the game and unlocked the majority of the skins and had fun doing it but with no online leaderboards or huge deviations. The difficulties make the replay value a big ask. Please don’t let that sway you away though the game is an absolute blast even as a one-time thing and you will come for the visuals but stay for the music. Aerial Knights Never Yield is fun as fuck endless runner worthy of your time.