RIVALS OF AETHER is an indie fighting game set in a world where warring civilizations summon the power of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Play with up to four players locally or up to two players online.
User reviews:
Recent:
Very Positive (40 reviews) - 85% of the 40 user reviews in the last 30 days are positive.
Overall:
Very Positive (2,036 reviews) - 89% of the 2,036 user reviews for this game are positive.
Release Date: Sep 22, 2015

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Early Access Game

Get instant access and start playing; get involved with this game as it develops.

Note: This Early Access game is not complete and may or may not change further. If you are not excited to play this game in its current state, then you should wait to see if the game progresses further in development. Learn more

What the developers have to say:

Why Early Access?

“Rivals of Aether is a competitive fighting game. Therefore the balance is very important to us. We want to make sure that every character has enough tools to deal with every other character. We will be adjusting each character throughout Early Access as we work toward a balanced launch roster.

We have single player features that are not ready yet. We want to give players a chance to play without having them wait for the single player to be completed. We also have features that we want to develop with the community. Our online features are barebones at the moment, but we would like to build more features with feedback from players.”

Approximately how long will this game be in Early Access?

“This game will be in Early Access for about 6 months while we work out bugs, balancing issues and online functionality. After around 6 months, we will be releasing the full game and the balance will remain in-tact for an extended period.”

How is the full version planned to differ from the Early Access version?

“The Early Access version will have less features while we develop them behind the scenes. There are 6 characters in the Early Access build while the game will launch with 8 characters. Early Access will not feature our single player modes of Story Mode and Abyss Mode as they will arrive when the game launches. We will also have a simple progression system that launches with the single player modes. Early Access will also develop some features over time such as online and quality of life improvements.”

What is the current state of the Early Access version?

“Early Access is a very playable, but limited version of Rivals of Aether. It features 6 characters, 5 stages, Local Versus (with CPUs), Practice Mode, and 1v1 Netplay. By purchasing Early Access, you can play it early and you will get the final game but keep in mind that you may come across bugs, frame rate issues, online lag and balance issues. These will be addressed as quickly as possible but we are a very small team and we thank you in advance for your patience.”

Will the game be priced differently during and after Early Access?

“The price is likely to go up slightly from Early Access to the full release, so enjoy the discount by getting in early!”

How are you planning on involving the Community in your development process?

“We want fans to give us feedback in two places. We will post updates on both our Steam discussion pages and our thread on Smashboards.

We will be discussing feedback with fans and coming up with solutions to potential problems and bugs. We will also be informing players of updates through Patch Notes.”
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Recent updates View all (18)

October 4

Rivals Championship Series


The Rivals Championship Series continues with registration for week 2 available now! Players can compete in RCS events for glory, circuit points, and prizes including travel vouchers to our series finale at Genesis 4.

All first time registrants will also receive a Champion Zetterburn skin. If you'd prefer to watch instead of play we'll also be casting RCS events on our twitch channel at http://twitch.tv/rivalsofaether. We hope to see you either in the tournament or in twitch chat!

To learn more check out our RCS trailer and circuit page.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8u3LXLOfX8
RCS Signups: http://rivalsofaether.com/rcs




4 comments Read more

September 28

Update 0.15.2 is now LIVE!

Is that a twitch?

9/28/2016

Just in time for Twitch Con 2016, we are updating the Steam version of Rivals of Aether with a slew of balance changes. The biggest updates are improvements to Replays and Custom Colors as well as our brand new Button Checking system that allows players to perform hand-warmers without having to leave character select. We also have updated the save and load system so there might be some issues with your save files including tutorial progress and profiles. Let us know in this thread if you run into any issues!

Button Checking:
  • You can now perform button checks on the character select screen in local matches. This opens a small window in your player box where you can test out your custom controllers or perform hand-warmers. This uses the Y button right now so you will have to use your bumpers to change colors. You can also add CPUs to the test window while holding their player puck.
  • You can also play against a dummy opponent while waiting for online matches using a similar system but with a bigger view than in local versus.

General:
  • Projectiles that deal more than 8% can't be Crouch-Canceled.
  • Airdodge on R release requires the initial R press to be during tumble (buffer included). This is to prevent accidental late air dodges during the tumble state.
  • In Rivals, you can jump out of the normal land state for faster transitions back to the air. Landing lag from landing while attacking is never jump cancellable on whiff now. Landing lag that is less than or equal to your character's jump frames are jump cancellable on hit still. This is to make strategies like Nair spamming stronger when you are hitting than when you are whiffing.
  • File Saving and Loading has been changed and the save files have been moved to a new folder in Application Data called “saves”. This means the game won’t find your save files when going back to previous build branches, such as to view replays.
  • Because of the File Saving changes, you might experience some hiccups in converting over. If you lose your files, you can check the root folder and the saves folder to see if your data is in there. Although you may have to remake any lost profiles or custom colors. Sorry! This new system will be better moving forward.
  • You can now buffer Up Specials out of hitstun by holding up + special.
  • Added a clock to the menus so you can know how late it is even though you are still playing Rivals.

Replays:
  • You can now rename replays and add descriptions to make finding your favorite replays easier.
  • Online replays now display the Steam names of the players and the set counts.
  • Deleting replays must still be done manually but we will be bringing a fix soon for deleting your oldest unstarred replay when you are over 128.
  • Lots of small fixes for replays where the players are using custom controls

Custom Colors:
  • Custom Colors are now sent across Online Matches. You can turn off your opponents’ Custom Colors by going into Online Stats and choosing Mine (only use your own custom colors) or None (no custom colors online)
  • Custom Colors now have Color Codes that can be exported and imported easily using the Color Code button at the top of the screen.
  • Custom Color saving and loading has been updated to make sharing easier. They are now their own file in the App Data /saves folder.

Zetterburn:
  • Jab 1 startup increased from 4 to 5 frames.
  • Forward Special Projectile Damage reduced from 4 > 2 on hit. Head hit damage reduced from 4 > 3.
  • Parried fireballs now return at twice the speed.
  • Down Special ground friction reduced to make ledge cancelling a bit more lenient.

Orcane:
  • Jab 1 and Jab 3 hitbox and visuals increased to be closer in size to earlier builds.
  • The first 5 frames of Dash Attack roll off the ledge, buffering immediately into an aerial
  • Fair knockback scaling is now based on Orcane's horizontal speed. If the speed is below 5, scaling is 0.5. If the speed is above 10, scaling is 1. Between 5 and 10, the scaling increases linearly from 0.5 to 1. (For reference, the mimimum speed is around 3 and the max speed is around 13)
  • Nair base knockback now gradually decreases during its active frames. (7 > 4)
  • Uair belly hitbox base knockback now gradually decreases during its active frames. (5 > 3)
  • Back Air recovery increased from 6 to 10 frames. This attack is a bit too disjointed and fast for such a low recovery.

Wrastor:
  • Jab 1 startup increased from 3 to 4 frames.
  • Down Special restores Wrastor’s double jumps. This is to give Wrastor more reward for landing an aerial down special mid combo.
  • Down Special is now ledge cancellable.
  • Forward Tilt active window reduced from 18 to 12 frames.
  • New Sound Effect when landing Up Special sweet spot.
  • Nair base knockback now gradually decreases during its active frames. (5 > 2)

Kragg:
  • Forward Special max speed increased from 8 to 9.
  • Forward Special now has an initial movement speed (75% of the aerial initial speed).
  • Rockless Nspecial hitbox size increased and frame data improved. (9 startup, 1 active > 6 startup, 2 active)
  • Rockless Nspecial knockback angle changed from 90 > 60.
  • Fair base knockback now gradually decreases during its active frames. (8 > 5)
  • Fair landing lag increased from 6 to 8 frames.
  • Hit lockout time on Kragg strong attacks increased to 10 frames to prevent rock shards from stopping strong attack KOs.

Forsburn:
  • Jab 1 startup increased from 4 to 5 frames.
  • Up Special now consumes Forsburn’s smoke charges. The empowered Up Special does not put Forsburn in special fall and allows him to quickly up special again for an improved recovery. This also prevents Forsburn players from sitting on their smoke charges until they can land a combust.
  • Bug Fix: Up Strong 2 can now be triggered by just pressing the strong button.
  • Bug Fix: Clone is now invincible on the first frame he spawns, preventing the strange interaction of the clone taking knockback instead of being destroyed.
  • Max air speed reverted back from 5 to 4.
  • Dash attack can no longer hit backward.
  • Combust hitbox and hurtbox centered.
  • Uair frame data reverted (10 > 15 hitbox active frames, 11 > 16 active window frames, 8 > 6 recovery frames)
  • Uair base knockback now gradually decreases during its active frames. (8 > 4)

Maypul:
  • Maypul’s Down Air Root is back for now! The main reason to go back to the root is that we find her a bit less fun to play without the variety root gives. We have increased the aerial recovery from 12 > 18 to make it not as powerful when maypul is very high. Right now we are focused on making Maypul as fun to play as possible so more people get interested in picking her up.
  • Down Air Root projectile can now be destroyed by melee attacks. It is difficult to time but some hitboxes can protect players from the root before it strikes.
  • Jab 1 startup increased from 3 to 4 frames.
  • Maypul is no longer considered grounded while tethering through ground (prevents her from being frozen and pillar gimped mid-tether)

Absa:
  • Nspecial Lightning Bolt base knockback now gradually decreases during its active frames. (9 > 6)
  • Hitting Eid (the guy in the window on Tower of Heaven) with Absa Uspecial no longer makes her go through platform.
  • Dspecial only halts momentum if it's charging.
  • Doing an action during the window in between the segments of Absa's uspecial will buffer that action, preventing Absa from doing the 2nd segment even if another direction is held. (Only happens if the segment touched the ground).

Etalus:
  • Jab 1 startup increased from 5 to 6 frames.
  • Hitbox added to Etalus Dspecial when rising. All other Dspecial hitboxes moved 6px backward to be more centered.
  • For Etalus strong attacks, armor is now lost on the exact frame when the ice shards are created.
  • Fair Landing Lag decreased from 12 to 10.
  • Etalus dash attack base hitpause 7 > 5 to make jump cancelling it more consistent.

Thank you and report new issues to this thread!

15 comments Read more
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About This Game

Overview


RIVALS OF AETHER is an upcoming indie fighting game set in a world where warring civilizations summon the power of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Choose a Rival to bring into the battlefield and manipulate the powers of the classical elements and animal movement. Untangle the mysterious conflicts of the planet Aether in Story Mode or take your combat skills online and challenge your friends across the world.

Game Features


  • Choose VERSUS MODE to duke it out in competitive 1v1 or 2v2 fights, or jump into a free-for-all.
  • Play STORY MODE to learn the backstory behind each rival and begin to uncover the hidden mysteries of Aether.
  • Dive into ABYSS MODE to see how many waves of shadowy fighters you can defeat and reach the leaderboards alone or with a friend.
  • Take your skills online in ONLINE VERSUS! Play against your friends or test your skills by finding opponents through matchmaking.

Rivals


Zetterburn

Zetterburn, a son of the ruling family of the Firelands, is an experienced and hardened warrior. In battle, Zetterburn uses no weapons except for his razor-sharp claws and ability to control flame.
  • BURN DAMAGE - Zetterburn's special attacks can set opponents on fire, causing them additional damage over time.
  • WILD FIRE - Zetterburn's Down Special places flames on the stage. These flames stay for a period of time, burning any opponents who come in contact with them.
  • FIRE AMP - When an opponent is burning, Zetterburn's Strong Attacks can absorb the flames and launch the burned enemy twice as far, making for an effective killing blow.

Orcane

Orcane is a playful trickster, notorious for escaping even the most precarious of situations. He can transform into water and confuse enemies with a spray of bubbles.
  • PUDDLE TELEPORTATION - Orcane creates a puddle with his Neutral Special or Down Special. He can then teleport to his puddle using his Up Special as a powerful vertical blow or an effective recovery when launched off the stage.
  • BUBBLE EVAPORATION - Orcane can turn his puddle into a pillar of bubbles with his Down Special to trap enemies above the puddle.
  • WATER AMP - When standing on top of his puddle, Orcane can consume the water underneath him to perform powerful Strong Attacks with far greater range and knockback.

Wrastor

The youngest trainee in the history of the Air Academy, Wrastor has never lived by anyone's rules but his own. Currently an Aerial Ace for the Air Armada, Wrastor is wrecking havoc among the Armada's enemies and generals alike.
  • WINGED FLIGHT - Wrastor can jump 4 times, making him incredible at controlling the air and recovering from the toughest falls even when things look grim.
  • WIND CURRENT - Wrastor can create a Wind Current with his Forward Special, allowing him to move faster within it and chase his targets more effectively.
  • AERIAL ACE - Wrastor performs his charged Strong Attacks in the air instead of on the ground, a first for this genre.

Kragg

Kragg is a defender of the colossal Aetherian Forest. Deliberate and loyal, he is one of the infamous Wall Runners who patrol the Rock Wall. Unlike other Wall Runners, Kragg has the legendary ability to control the earth with his will.
  • ROCK HURL - Kragg can pull a rock out of the ground and hurl it at opponents. After it leaves his hands, the rock becomes a solid piece of stage that either Kragg or other players can break.
  • DEFENSE BALL - Kragg can curl into a ball and roll toward enemies. Although he can be damaged while in ball form, he cannot be knocked away.
  • EARTH PILLAR - Kragg can summon a pillar of earth to his feet regardless of where he is. If Kragg is about to fall to his death, this move can quickly turn his situation around.

Forsburn

Forsburn is the disgraced, eldest son of the Firelands' ruling family. After being condemned by the Fire Council and his own brother, Forsburn found refuge in a group of outsiders who had rejected the flame and mastered the way of smoke.
  • SMOKE SCREEN - Forsburn can use his Neutral Special to obscure the battlefield allowing Forsburn to remain hidden inside a cloud of smoke.
  • DECOY - Through his Forward Special, Forsburn can create a smoke facsimile of himself that can attack opponents. The illusory Forsburn breaks into smoke after being hit by a single attack.
  • CONSUME/COMBUST - By using his Down Special, Forsburn can consume his smoke clouds back into his body. After consuming three clouds, Forsburn is charged up and can use Down Special again to combust: knocking opponents away at high speed.

Maypul

Maypul is the self-appointed Guardian of the Aetherian Forest. She commands fearful respect throughout the forest for her unhesitating vigilantism. She uses her agility to trap any unknown intruders before they even realize she is there.
  • WATCHER'S MARK - Maypul can use her Seeds or her Watcher's Dash to mark opponents, making them susceptible to her following attacks.
  • WRAPPED UP - After marking her targets, Maypul can use her Strong Attacks or her trusty Plant to wrap marked opponents in place allowing her to follow up with another attack.
  • SLING SHOT - Maypul can use her vines to sling toward marked opponents, allowing her to elude attacks and quickly close distances.

System Requirements

    Minimum:
    • OS: Microsoft® Windows® Vista / 7 / 8
    • Processor: 1.2GHz processor
    • Memory: 512 MB RAM
    • Graphics: DirectX Compatible graphics card with at least 32MB of video memory
    • DirectX: Version 9.0c
    • Storage: 50 MB available space
    • Additional Notes: Requires Microsoft® DirectX Runtime: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8109
    Recommended:
    • OS: Microsoft® Windows® Vista / 7 / 8
    • Processor: 1.4GHz processor or faster
    • Memory: 1 GB RAM
    • Graphics: DirectX Compatible graphics card with at least 32MB of video memory
    • DirectX: Version 9.0c
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 50 MB available space
Customer reviews
Customer Review system updated Sept. 2016! Learn more
Recent:
Very Positive (40 reviews)
Overall:
Very Positive (2,036 reviews)
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1,884 reviews match the filters above ( Very Positive)
Most Helpful Reviews  In the past 30 days
11 of 11 people (100%) found this review helpful
3 people found this review funny
Recommended
93.2 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 17
SSBM Mechanics + Cool Music + Roster full of Furries = Awesomeness
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
7 of 7 people (100%) found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
Recommended
47.4 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 15
If you are a Super Smash Brothers fan (More specifically a melee fan) this is the game for you.
With tech such as "wavedashing, "wavelanding" and "DI", there are many options within the game.
There is a perfect amount of hitstun after moves which allows for high speed combos possibly leading to death.
With fun characters, great stages and amazing music, this game is a must have for anyone in the fighting game community.
100% worth my $15!

(P.S. if you own a gamecube controller and adaptor that can connect to PC you can use it)
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
8 of 10 people (80%) found this review helpful
4 people found this review funny
Recommended
392.1 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 19
>Has 340 hours in the game
>Still slightly above average
>????
>Kappaburn
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
5 of 5 people (100%) found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
Recommended
8.4 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 24
fits my criteria of being like melee, 10.10
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
5 of 5 people (100%) found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
Recommended
26.7 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 22
Wen't into the game expecting a pc equivalent of smash, then i started liking it even more. And besides the game Dan Fornace is an amazing developer, he gave me customer support over twitter when i had a problem. 10/10 both game and company <3
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
6 of 8 people (75%) found this review helpful
Recommended
11.3 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 25
Bias: I am a dinosaur. I like melee things. Bite and Tail Whip are two great attacks.

This is a melee battle based game. Similar to Super Smash Bros. It has a lot of promise. Currently 8 characters and 7 maps, with wide variety of move sets. Move sets are based on elemental based powers - lion (fire), weasel (grass), orca (water). It is very enjoyable. Three different sets of move sets - X, A, B and directional combos. In addition, charged moves are also available. It took a bit of getting used to change from use to playing with a gamecube controller to the new controller set. In addition, there increased ways to avoid / rebound from attacks, such as wall jumps / bounces.

Current downfalls: playing against random and being obliterated since I am new. Lack of friends who currently do not own the game, if more had the game, more I can play with people I know. The maps are very simple, just flat areas, but can improve with multiple layers and styles.

Aspects looking forward to: new characters, new maps, solo player story mode.
The game has a lot that can be added to being a melee game. Tournaments and fun team competitions.

Currently as is, I would give the game 8/10. If it continues to be tweaked, and improved upon I would easily give this game a higher score.
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
3 of 4 people (75%) found this review helpful
Recommended
33.8 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 30
Street Kombat clone 10/10 - Gamespot
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
1 of 1 people (100%) found this review helpful
Recommended
22.8 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 25
Love this guy so much for making this game.
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
1 of 1 people (100%) found this review helpful
Recommended
5.9 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: September 22
reminds me of my time with the Gamecube. Pretty well designed game, it has so much potential. I think adding more characters would be a good decision as long as they keep it under 20. Also, I believe the game is a bit too pricey for a 32-bit fighting game. maybe lower the price to like $7.

7/10 not enough water
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
1 of 1 people (100%) found this review helpful
Recommended
20.7 hrs on record
Early Access Review
Posted: October 3
Better than I thought it was, feels super natural coming from other smash games. Even if the character roster is low, they are crafted very well so you can have any playstyle and find someone that jives with you. Online is pretty good as well.
Was this review helpful? Yes No Funny
Recently Posted
JewTube
0.1 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 10
filthy franku
Helpful? Yes No Funny
Andrew
0.2 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 8
i hate this it keeps freezing
Helpful? Yes No Funny
ドラゴ
29.2 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 7
20XX BABY
Helpful? Yes No Funny
grimshady (bumbruh)
4.4 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 6
Pros
+ Smash Brothers style fighter
+ Balanced Characters (for the most part)
+ Fun stages, along with Tournament play styles of each stage.
+ Competitive Community (If your a casual player, I'd avoid the online mode entirely, until you think your ready. It's nothing like For Glory in Smash 4.)
+Interesting, and unique characters (I especially like Forsburn, and Wrastor)
Cons
- Somewhat confusing controls (At least with the controller I was using. Takes a lot of getting used to them, especially if you still play Smash with a Gamecube controller.)
- Not much content (Still Ealry Access though.)
VERDICT
A great game overrall. I'd even go as far as to say it could be better than Smash Melee competitive wise. A lot of 'mechanics' Melee players use appear in this game, except instead of being glitches, they're actual mechanics built into the game. Because of this, skills like wavedashing are much easier to pull off. The combat is a lot more fast pased than Melee, due to the stages being somewhat small. Definitely worth $15.
Helpful? Yes No Funny
Egnaroedrazil
0.7 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 6
bit boring m7
Helpful? Yes No Funny
parkournation
32.7 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 4
some one help me pls
Helpful? Yes No Funny
daddy
12.3 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 2
this ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ company needs to fix god damn kragg or else i will unistall this damn game and hang myself from the ceiling of the white house's damn dining table and another thing is y not make wrastor faster he is a god damn bird unlike kragg who is like the ♥♥♥♥ing speed of light which i do not understand so if the owners of the game see this fix kragg or take him out the game or i will ♥♥♥♥ing take to rivals of aether severs out for like 3 years ok. im out
Helpful? Yes No Funny
[TRASH]ALEXWASHERE2
7.6 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 2
It's like super smash bros.
Helpful? Yes No Funny
Zailm
4.8 hrs
Early Access Review
Posted: October 2
the gameplay itsself is a blast

BUT

you pay 15 bucks for a game that doesnt have friendlist, chat, server or any feel for an active community

ppl told me to use the steam overlay and see the players there when im playing someone, but that doesnt seem to work in my region (europe).
i could search for them in steam but if they dont have a unqiue nickname its going to be a hassle or impossible to find that person.
you cant say anythign to him in game because there is absolutely no option to chat.

the game offers 1v1 battles using a peer to peer connection because there are no servers for the game.

after researching i came to know that this game was made by using a program called "gamemaker"

im not refunding the game because i have fun playing it, but im heavily disapointed by its online features

gameplay 8/10
features 0/10
Helpful? Yes No Funny