LifeisXbox’s Aspire: Ina’s Tale review | Welcome to Aspire: Ina’s Tale review. You awaken from a deep and repeating slumber. You feel as if you’ve already seen this before, but cannot put your finger to it. But something’s different. Something has… changed. Was it your surroundings? Was it the sky? No… it was… it was you. You have that nagging feeling deep inside that keeps growing stronger, that… you have to leave. You have to go, and let loose of all the fear and doubts that you have had and just… Take that leap of faith. Yes, welcome, everyone! To our review of a tiny gem called Aspire: Ina’s Tale. Brought to us by Wondernaut Studios. You are Ina, locked inside of a living tower and with a need to escape and find out what the world really needs. But something is not right, for the tower has been attacked by… unknown assailants. Will you survive and escape? Only time will tell. Want to find out what it has to offer? Then read all about it in this review of… Aspire: Ina’s Tale!
Most Memorable Moment
The final moments of the game. It actually didn’t really, how would I put this without spoiling anything? End… The way I thought it would end. Because a certain element of ending is told throughout the entirety of the game…
ℹ️ Reviewed on Xbox Series X | Review code provided by PR/publisher, this review is the personal opinion from the writer.
What we Liked!
- Music | Deary me. Did my ears just die and go to heaven? Sheesh! Whoever did the audio design for Aspire deserves a raise my brotha! Not only is it soothing and relaxing when it needs to be, but it also ups the adrenaline when sh*t is going down. And it doesn’t even skip a beat! Everything is minutely done and custom-tailored with so much love… I just… Wow. I could honestly listen to this score for days on end.
- Graphics | Visually, Aspire is wonderfully crafted as well. Not only do I like how the animation is done, it also captures the vibe of being in a crumbling tower that has been lain to waste by some unknown force. The overall ambiance is there, protruding from every level that you traverse through, and every puzzle that you finish. You can really feel the warmth and love that the developer put into it, and it shines through the very fabric of Aspire!
- Simplicity | Aspire’s simple graphical style, music and gameplay is further told by how easy the game actually plays. The puzzles, though sometimes challenging, are just basic physics puzzles. Make the block either float, expand or emanate and voila. Drag, drop or ride it to the next goal and proceed with your enjoyment. The story is told through simple conversation as well. Either you find some NPC to have a quick chat with, find an object (missing memories) and deliver them to the right person to get some more exposition. And, sometimes you don’t need more than that, you know? Games these days have to have deep meaningful nothings that often are more bothersome than what its worth. But not here. And I commend Wondernaut Studios for this bold move! Kudos guys!
Mixed Feelings
- Short | Though if you would check the official gametime, it says that the time you need to beat the game is around 4-5 hours. I don’t know if I glitched some aspects and therefor bugged through parts of the game? But my finishing timer says 3hours and a few minutes. That is not 4 to 5 hours! And it really is a shame! Because I really did enjoy what it has to offer. The story is somewhat nice…ish. But the music is what really drives it forward, as well as some of the visuals. So why did you cut it so short? Ugh…
What we Disliked
- Controls | Oh… my God… How can you ruin controls that should be so easy? How do you map multiple functions on the same friggin’ button, and still manage to bug those out from time to time? I mean … Why. How even? And on top of that? Put a tiny layer of floating? And voila. The recipe for disaster! No. Just… no! Stop it! Get some help! Yes, I just inserted a meme.
How long to beat the story | 3 hours.
How long to achieve 1000G | Most likely 4-ish?
