Fallen Aces preview — Aces down

My first run in with Fallen Aces was back during PAX East when the New Blood Interactive booth caught my eye with its Art Deco aesthetic and pulled me in. There I saw a few men walking around in nice suits wielding baseball bats, one of whom was Trey Powell, one the game’s two developers. I got to sit down and play a little, and I rapidly became engrossed by the open level design, brutal street fights, and intriguing plot, but I was torn away by other obligations before I could get more than a few notes down. Still, that little bit I played left a lasting impression on me, so I wanted to play through the rest of the early access game to see what’s up.

Let’s set the scene. It’s the 1930s, and Switchblade City is riddled with crime as its superhero guardians, the Aces, are disappearing one by one. You play as Michael Thane, an investigator who’s woken up by the ringing of a phone. Judging by the bottles next to the bed and the not so graceful fall to your face, the ringing headache of a hangover is present as well. We answer the phone to learn that our protagonist is in mortal danger, and we have to escape our apartment and take action… or avoid it. You see, one of the best parts of Fallen Aces is its open level design and abundance of player choice. An immersive sim to its core.

The tutorial is mostly in-world. Keeping things immersive, there’s a magazine you can read in your apartment that teaches you the basics of combat. Soon after, I came across an apartment with a goon holding a pipe. The guy was preoccupied by a TV commercial for an action figure with “chopping action” practically instructing me to chop the guy in the back of the neck to knock him out. After he was down I proceeded to explore the apartment where I found the husband stuffed into the freezer and the wife clubbed to death just behind the TV. On the wall, a framed portrait of what appears to be the couple looked over the scene. I proceeded to bash the goon with his own pipe until it broke, then I chucked him out the window. The introduction immediately sets the tone as dark, yet the writing is consistently witty to keep things from becoming gratuitous.

Fighting with the legions of goons who dominate the streets is one of Fallen Aces strongest aspects. Brawls are absolutely brutal, with pipes, shaving razors, and anything else you can find on the street, or pry from your enemy’s cold dead hands, becoming your weapon. Speaking of hands, Michael is a retired boxer, so his fists make potent weapons meaning you’re never truly unarmed. If enemies get too worn down in combat, they might get dazed, providing an opening to use a finishing move like a sucker punch or a spinning kick. Regardless, if you beat enemies unconscious, you can either leave them be or stomp them to death, digging your heels into their faces in a gnarly animation to run salt in the wound. The latter option might seem a tad extreme, but if a gangster comes across a sleeping ally, they’ll wake them up. Although, ally might be a loose term when friendly fire puts those thugs at each other’s throats, but hey, never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake as the Sun Tzu quote goes.

If you really don’t want to fight, either out of cowardice, pacifism, or whatever other excuse you can think of to not paint the town red with some goon brains, then you can always sneak around. The open ended level design really helps with stealth. Is an alleyway blocked off by some ruffians? Try another street, or go through a building, or pickpocket a key off a straggler and go through the gated fence. If you take the time to explore, then chances are, you’ll wander into a secret area by accident, getting rewarded for your exploration with items, money, and weapons.

Switchblade City truly is a masterful example of a sandbox. Taking the time to appreciate the world around you can afford you opportunities to to take enemies in creative ways, and on your own terms. For example, at one point I was on low health and fresh out of weapons, with only a few broken pipes around me. Once a weapon breaks, it can only be thrown, which is more useful for slowing an enemy down than dealing serious damage. I thought I was out of luck, but I saw a giant crate suspended from a crane looming above two enemies. Out of sheer curiosity, I chucked the pipe at the connecting rope, snapping it, causing the crate to smite down both enemies.

The art of Fallen Aces is all hand-drawn, and boy oh boy is it exquisite. Every texture is dripping with personality in its thick-lined, cartoony style. Watching the raindrops fall down around the streetlights in the dead of night really enhances the atmosphere. If I had to fire a criticism, it’s that the 2D sprites always orienting themselves to face the player is a little jarring. What’s not jarring, though, are the designs of the special characters. Don’t get me wrong, the average street-thugs are well done, but the heroes and villains steal the show, especially in the comic book style cutscenes. When a gang leader with metal augmentations that start at his jaw and run up his face to connect to his shades walks on screen and does something flashy, you’re going to pay attention. Same goes for the hero with goggles glowing bright yellow, contrasted by a dark blue trench coat and trilby. Simply great designs.

Moving on to the music and sound design. Both are strong, especially the former. Josh Barron, the composer for the game’s soundtrack did an excellent job at making tracks that immerse the player in the game’s noir plotline. The jazzy and bombastic music really does make the game a cinematic experience. Another aspect of the audio is the fantastic voice acting, and you can tell everyone was giving it their all. In sum, everything I heard from the game gets top marks, from the wet patter of the raindrops to the dying screams of ruffians.

If you’re interested in a game with excellent hand-crafted graphics, a strong narrative backed by fascinating characters, and fights as dirty as the streets they take place in, then look no further. Despite being early access, Fallen Aces’ quality shines bright, and I look forward to the next chapters.

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