Aether & Iron (2026)

The car tuning UI here is a little unwieldy and has a couple minor bugs, but somehow I think that friction works perfectly for the noir vibe the game is going for. Our heroine Gia has been dealt a losing hand, but is eternally eking advantage out of whatever scraps she can cling to. It only seems right that the garage should work the same way; if you want to get the most out of your rusting junkers you're gonna have to put in some elbow grease! Feels rad to gain an unpolished new party member, invest half an hour into kitting out her car just right, and then watch in delight as her machine cuts through mooks like hot butter.

(Also, it simply rules that the first three party members you get are all women, each a compelling character in their own right)

Having fun with this so far, the protagonist is constantly spouting campy noir nonsense and it kinda rules. Shards of light are tracing arcs across the floor, the ingenue's smile hits the room like a flashbulb filament, and windows are coated in enough grease to fry a pig. It's all very indulgent, but the excellent character art and voice acting are working overtime to keep things grounded.

Really loving the pacing as well, with combat used as a rare treat to punctuate the story, instead of a constant interruption.

I fell so in love with Giovanna 'eight shots' Randazzo and the "decopunk" world she inhabits that I can easily overlook the problems it has with its narrative and technical aspects. It's a great narrative RPG, and I'd love to see its universe expanded in future games.

The 'lore' was great, the turn-based vehicle combat was challenging and exciting. The visual art and musc are perfect. I wish it had better plot points and didn't run like crap in my PC (well, my PC is crap), but I really didn't care that much.

Here's my full review in spanish.

Also, what the hell is "decopunk"? For me, it doesn't make sense to name its genre after such an artstyle. It should have been an "etherpunk".

But we just put "punk" after any word these days so what the hell I know