Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above

Edge of Twilight is a multi-platform series set in the split world of day and night; your character immersed in the styling's of the steampunk genre. Control Lex, a man who can cross between the realms of day and night fighting off evil and collecting resources for survival. The series includes Edge of Twilight: Horizons, Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above, and the future console title carrying the name Edge of Twilight.

Multi-platform sounds appealing but, in the case of  Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above it is only available on mobile and tablet devices; currently only in the iTunes App Store. This means all of the remarkable features that come along with tablet and mobile gaming. In other words portability and touch screen technology.

Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above opens with an impressive intro video acquainting viewers to the somber world of Athyr and its characters. The video is full of shots of Athyr's beautiful scenery with surprisingly superb detail put into the characters features. The game's protagonist Lex is summoned by Athyr royalty to return day and night to normal and thus your journey begins. This introduction sets up the mood with expectations of a beautifully designed game and a strong story line.

As soon as you are thrown into the game you will quickly realize that the intro video was an illusion. The graphics are acceptable but unimpressive with minor glitches throughout the game. Running into a wall or structure at the wrong angle causes such, adding to the frustration of the game's controls. Complete the game in stages that progressively become more difficult as enemies multiply and become more powerful. Each stage may become more challenging but they feel all too familiar with little difference between each. 

Touch screen about sums up the controls of Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above. Touch the screen in the direction you want Lex to move and he runs in that direction. Hold down a finger on your enemy and swipe back and forth to take them down. Overall the games controls are easy to catch onto making it easy to control Lex on his journey, minus a few minor setbacks. Ladders, dodging, and jumping. Double tapping often goes undetected when avoiding an enemy attack, jumping becomes annoying when situated on smaller surfaces and climbing ladders is possible only when Lex is aligned perfectly at the base.

The accessibility, controls and  format make Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above available to any type of gamer. The casual gamer may enjoy the simplicity of the game and its touch screen controls. The moderate to hardcore gamer may enjoy the challenge of completing each stage with a no damage bonus and an endless combo bonus. However accessible and simple the controls of Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above are they quickly become exhausting.

Killing an enemy requires nearly continuous swiping of your finger(s) on your device's screen causing a rawness on your finger tips and cramping in your hands. An easy solution would be to use the games Perfect Attack function. The directions seem simple enough; "By removing your finger from the screen at the moment Lex strikes the enemy and then quickly re-holding, Lex will perform a Perfect Attack." However simple the Perfect Attack may seem in writing it is far more difficult to master. So much so that relying on the basic attack is more than necessary. If there were buttons on an iPad, Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above would be a button mashing game and quite less tiring.  

If Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above is a sign of what is to come for the Edge of Twilight series then the future looks bleak. You will quickly wonder why you are spending time playing the game questioning any excitement for the future Edge of Twilight.

For more information on Edge of Twilight: Athyr Above visit the series official website.
 

Megan Bethke, NoobFeed (@XboxBetty).