Exploring the Stunning Alien World of Aphelion: A PS5 Must-Play?
Aphelion hits the ground running with an awesome opener, immediately throwing you into a world of massive explosions and high-stakes set pieces that show off just how beautiful this alien planet really is. You play as Thomas and Ariana, two survivors stranded and desperately searching for one another across vastly different biomes that look absolutely world-class. It is a proper, atmospheric Sci-Fi experience that grabs you from the very first frame and keeps you guessing about what’s waiting in the shadows of this strange new world.
Specs & HUD | Gameplay Review | Performance & Fidelity | Settings & Control
Aphelion PlayStation 5 Review: Specs & HUD
- Adventure gameplay is the focus here, putting you in a third-person view with full 360-degree camera control to soak in the views.
- Tutorial pop-ups keep you on track as you play, with clear button prompts that show up during interactions so you’re never lost.
- Find terminals and voice logs tucked away in the environment to get those juicy story and lore drops.
- You play as two characters, Thomas and Ariana, each bringing a unique experience and perspective to the alien world.
- The “Rollback” save feature is a fancy way of saying there is a solid load save menu that lets you hop back to a previous state whenever you need.
- Use a specialised tracker to see electromagnetic frequency strands and even communicate with strange Anomalies.
- Repair corrupted lines by following the EMF strands, adding a cool technical layer to the exploration.
Gameplay Review & Mechanics Breakdown
When playing as Thomas, you start off being able to do different things, so he’s injured and can’t use climbing ledges, and his oxygen tank is broken, so you have to hook up to air canisters as you move, which adds a great layer of survival tension. The story is a slow build after the opening chapter, but it does start to come good, evolving into a very Sci-Fi story that has a bit of everything. You have puzzle elements throughout, some are like platforming puzzles, whilst some are a bit more in-depth. Stealth is in the game, as you are not always alone, and this is needed to sneak by. Turning on highlighted ledges does make it a lot easier to spot them. Yellow is good for you, people with good eyes, but we who do not have good eyesight need the extra highlighted ledges. While there is a lot of climbing that can get a bit predictable, the dual-character biomes keep the momentum going.
Aphelion PlayStation 5 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Awesome graphics are a massive standout; the game is a beautiful experience from start to finish.
- Framing of shots and clever camera angles are very well done and definitely elevate the moment during big story beats.
- In-game cutscenes look fantastic and feature great voice work that makes the character interactions feel real.
- Small download size makes it an easy install, which is impressive given the level of visual detail on display.
- Platinum trophy support is included, giving you plenty of reason to explore every inch of this alien planet.
- Animation hiccups do pop up, like random rag doll or legs not quite matching the ledges, but the world’s beauty usually distracts from it.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Full Audio and Video sliders let you tweak Gamma, SFX, dialogue, music, and master volume to your heart’s content.
- Headphone toggles allow for mono sound and dynamic range adjustments for a more immersive audio experience.
- Controller customisation includes invert axis, sensitivity sliders, and a vibration toggle for the DualSense.
- Accessibility is a priority with camera shake reduction, closed captioning, and interface text size options.
- Subtitles are highly adjustable, including size, speaker names, and high contrast backgrounds for better readability.
- Gameplay assists like automatic ledge catch and “no game over” toggles for oxygen and balance crossing let you focus on the story.
Related Gert Lush Gaming Reviews
- THE ALTERS Review – A Game of Choices and Second Chances!
- Space Adventure Cobra Shoots First, Charms Fast – Gert Lush Gaming
- Cassette Boy PS5 Review: A 3D Pixel Perspective Adventure – Gert Lush Gaming
Aphelion Review
Summary
GOOD STUFF
The first chapter is an awesome opener, from the explosions and set pieces to the story and the visuals, it is a beautiful game with awesome graphics that truly shine on the PS5. You play as two characters, Thomas and Ariana, who both have different biomes and experiences, which keeps the adventure fresh as they look for each other. I must say the framing of shots and camera angles are very well done and definitely elevate the moment, backed up by great voice work in the character interactions. The accessibility options are top-notch, too, with things like highlighted ledges and toggles for no “game over” on oxygen or balance crossing, making sure everyone can enjoy the slow build of this very cool Sci-Fi story.
BAD STUFF
The animations do go a bit all over the place at times, with random rag doll and legs not moving right when going up ledges. Sign posting is not good at all, and it can be something as small as a ledge you missed or a small crack in a wall that you can somehow fit between, which leads to some head-scratching. More times than I would like, I got into situations I couldn’t get out of, usually involving climbing ledge recognition failure, where it would skip a ledge, and I would die. While the game is great, these niggles combined with far-apart checkpoints and a slow restart after death can be a bit of a test of patience when you just want to get back to the action.
FINAL VERDICT
Aphelion is a fantastic Sci-Fi adventure that really delivers on atmosphere and visual scale. While the climbing mechanics and some wonky animations act as minor speed bumps, the dual-hero narrative and the stunning world-building kept me hooked. It’s a beautiful, slow-burning experience that feels like a proper journey across an alien world. If you’re a fan of atmospheric adventures, this is a trek worth taking despite the occasional technical hiccup.
