Aura: Fate of the Ages

Glide Underground ( )

As a diversion, and a change of pace for normal fast-paced gamers, it's great. If you are in the mood for a puzzle, and you haven't played it, it's a must-have.

Mystery Manor (8.5 out of 10)

Then again, perhaps my disappointment with the unexpected end of the game was partly due to the sheer enjoyment I was having. Aura was a revitalizing breath of fresh air from a publisher whose name has become practically synonymous with drab, cookie-cutter titles. The designers at Streko Graphics should be proud of this, their first game to be released in North America . They have created a gorgeous, lush, interesting and fun puzzle-based adventure game, breathing life back into a sub-genre that many people wrote off as dead long ago. The end of Aura certainly suggests the possibility of a sequel. Should Streko survive, look for me at the head of the line when Aura II: Worlds Beyond is released.

GameBoomers (B+)

Regardless of how much you can discuss the graphics, the plot, the ambiance and more. The bottom line on any game is – will the gamer enjoy themselves and is the game a good value? Regarding Aura, the answer to both is… yes! Did I long for a bit more of that story, hinted at so well at the game site, to materialize? Well… yes, I did. Did I wince at some of the appearances of our alter ego and wish I got a better look into a few of the other game characters? Yes, on this as well. But, it hardly matters, when you consider the overall game. In the end, Aura proved itself to be a well crafted game, free from glitches or overt flaws, containing some grand puzzles, lovely graphics and charm to spare.

Game Chronicles (8.3 out of 10)

Aura is a stunning journey, more so in its visual splendor and complex gameplay than its weak narrative, but a journey that every self-proclaimed adventure gamer should experience. If you’ve conquered the rest, try the best.

Just Adventure (B+)

So where do we go from here now, dear reader? I can tell you that if you invest in Aura, you will not be disappointed in its content. Streko Graphics put great care into developing this little graphical gem and I feel that even with the frustrations I had with a few of its puzzles and the occasional cursor issue, I found Aura to be a thoroughly entertaining escape from the day to day humdrum of work and classes. Adventure fans, prepare for an out of this world journey that will delight the imagination. With its superb graphical quality and diabolical puzzles, Aura is one for all the Ages.

UHS (Universal Hint System) ( )

Based on previews, demos, and pre-release screenshots I had seen, my expectations for Aura were very high. Nor was I disappointed.

JeuxVideoPC.com (16 out of 20)

Jeu du même genre qu'Evany, Aura n'est pas du même acabit! En effet, si Evany est raté, Aura est très réussi, et possède de nombreux points forts comme nous allons le voir.

Adrenaline Vault, The (AVault) ( )

In the end, I love Aura, as it’s the kind of visually and intellectually stimulating challenge that I crave and that’s so rare these days. Although it clearly stands on the shoulders of its virtual adventure predecessors, Streko’s design decisions and puzzles are so well conceived and diverse that the whole gameplay experience seems fresh and highly original. If you think of adventure on the personal computer only in terms of character-based interaction, then skip this one; but if you understand what adventure-puzzle titles are supposed to be and love mechanical puzzles, then Aura will be your fantasy fulfilled.

Quandary ( )

Aura: Fate of the Ages is an adventure game that has a lot going for it; impressive graphics with seamlessly integrated cut scenes, interesting worlds to explore, varied and challenging puzzles, and some rather nice music for the most part. What it does right it does well. However there are some elements such as story development and character definition that could have been improved to provide a more satisfying experience.

Puntaeclicca.it (8 out of 10)

In conclusione, un gioco uscito in sordina, senza il battage pubblicitario di alcuni "pezzi grossi" dell'avventura grafica, ma che merita tutta l'attenzione degli appassionati di questo genere. Da fare.

Games Finder (8 out of 10)

Aura: Fate of Ages is a nice addition to the increasing number of new first person puzzle adventures and strikes a nice balance between pleasing fans of the old games and newcomers to the genre with its best asset being the presentation of the four unique worlds.

FOK!games (79 out of 100)

Aura is inderdaad een Myst-achtig spel, maar ik vond het wel leuk om te spelen. Aura heeft helaas een wat summier verhaal en een weinig sympathieke hoofdpersoon, maar de werelden zien er goed uit en de puzzels zijn onderhoudend. Doordat je na het oplossen van een puzzel duidelijk te zien krijgt wat je precies hebt bewerkstelligd, weet je altijd precies wat je aan het doen bent. Door de moeilijkheidsgraad van de puzzels ben je er wel een tijdje zoet mee. Het spel is niet echt lineair omdat er meestal meerdere puzzels op te lossen zijn. Je moet wel alle puzzels in één wereld oplossen om naar de volgende wereld te gaan.

Game Over Online (75 out of 100)

Still, Aura is well made, it looks nice, and some work went into its puzzles. It’s a much better game than, say, Jack the Ripper, and it seems like a worthwhile option at its $20 price tag.

Adventure-Treff (74 out of 100)

Eine liebevolle und detailgetreue Grafik hat mich von Beginn an bei Aura gefesselt. Leider währte dieser Genuss aber nicht sehr lange, da er schnell von sehr schwer zu lösenden und teilweise auch nicht logischen Rätseln überdeckt wurde. Auch wenn sich Aura gerne in die Myst Reihe gesellen möchte, diesen Ansprüchen wird das Adventure nicht gerecht.

FileFactory Games / Gameworld Network (73 out of 100)

In the end, Aura: Fate of the Ages is like a detective novel with no plot. Players will bust their brains getting through the game, but only for the sake of overcoming the villian’s challenges, not the villain himself. But that’s perfectly fine for the distinct audience Aura aims for.

IGN (7.3 out of 10)

While lacking the narrative drive seen in classics of the genre, Aura: Fate of Ages nonetheless stands out as a solid entry. Is it a Myst clone? Yes. Does it feature pre-rendered stills and sparse music? Yes. Do some of the puzzles warrant detonation of the mind? Definitely yes. Still, what little Aura does to advance the genre it does remarkably well. In an age when encountering logical puzzles is as rare as pooping out gold nuggets, Aura shines as a game that attempts to bring a little reason into the mix.

GameZone (7.3 out of 10)

Many hours of puzzle fun await puzzle enthusiasts of the Jewel of the Oracle type of game. What this games does, it does well. However, game crashes, a weak story and frequent player stopping points do hurt the game's overall experience.

Game Captain (71 out of 100)

Kenner von Myst, Uru und Schizm werden keine großen Probleme haben die enorme Rätselmasse zu entwirren. Gelegenheitsspieler sollten dagegen viel Zeit und Geduld aufbringen. Dazu kommt eine schwache Story...

Adventure Gamers ( )

I have recently caused a bit of controversy by prodding adventure game purists with the question: are all adventure games really adventure games? What I mean is, are all those games we classify in the adventure genre really similar enough to be classified together and evaluated on the same kind of “adventure game” criteria? Aura: Fate of the Ages has proven, beyond a doubt, that not all adventure games are about what we typically consider to be adventure. Sure, the game parades around as an adventure, but, believe me, the adventure is hollow at best, a shell intended to hold together the very meat of the game: sometimes sweet, sometimes sour puzzles. If I were to compare this “adventure game” to the best of the bunch, it would fail miserably. Why? Because there is no real adventure. But if I evaluated it by the same criteria as one would evaluate Pandora’s Box, or Jewels of the Oracle, I must say that Aura holds its ground.

Imperium Gier (7 out of 10)

I jak już wspomniałem na początku - Aura to jest głównie gra logiczna, w której przygoda jako taka stoi na dalekim, nawet nie drugim planie. Gdyby porównać ją z Syberią chociażby, to poległaby sromotnie, ale już w kontekście serii Myst, czy też Schizm, wypada o wiele lepiej. Nadal nie jest to produkcja pełna, doskonała pod każdym względem, bo cierpi na poważne ubytki w fabule, ale jeżeli chodzi o grafikę i łamigłówki, to bezsprzecznie należy do światowej czołówki w swoim niszowym gatunku. A o tym, czy coś takiego Wam się podoba, czy też nie, musicie już zdecydować sami...

Deaf Gamers (6.8 out of 10)

Billed as an adventure Aura: Fate of the Ages lacks an interesting and engaging story. If you just want to solve a whole load of puzzles though and don't really care about the script then it's actually quite good and the puzzles will certainly make you think. Make sure you install the patch first though.

ActionTrip (67 out of 100)

With its $20 price tag, Aura is a fairly cheap adventure game. Some more difficult puzzles are likely to turn less experienced players away, but the game was not really meant for them anyway. The players who are ready to invest a lot of time into this title will be rewarded by discovering a beautiful world. The game is supposed to be the first of a trilogy, so we will hopefully soon return to Umang and the Rings...

Adventure Corner (66 out of 100)

So oder so: 'Aura' ist garantiert nichts für Gelegenheitspieler, sicherlich aber für solche, die mit den kleinen Macken klarkommen und gerne stundenlang neue Welten erforschen.

2404.org PC Gaming (6.5 out of 10)

Puzzle-solving games have never been popular amongst gamers, and I’m certainly a member of the “I’ve never touched one before” club. I was actually, because I finally parted with my hard-earned money after an exhausting deliberation of whether or not to pick up Aura, a Myst-style game from The Adventure Company featuring pre-rendered environments. Though I was hesitant, being only $19.99 I thought why not.

4Players.de (65 out of 100)

Allein die Ankündigung von Aura hat unter den Abenteuerhungrigen für Vorfreude gesorgt: Ein Fantasy-Adventure mit toller Geschichte und lebendiger Welt sollte es werden, bei dem ihr zum ständigen Weiterspielen animiert werdet. Beim ersten Spielen macht sich aber rasch die altbekannte Ernüchterung breit, denn nach der kurzen Einführung reiht sich ein zu entschlüsselnder Mechanismus an eine in Stand zu setzende Maschine und umgekehrt. Quasi als Handbuch erhaltet ihr einen Stapel vergilbter Skizzen, die oft wenig Aufschluss bieten. Habt ihr euch durch den öden Rätselwust gekämpft, folgt ein winziges filmisches Storyhäppchen, das man genauso gut hätte weglassen können. Nur ganz sporadisch trefft ihr Insassen, mit denen ihr fade Gespräche führen könnt, die automatisch ablaufen. Aura ist also lediglich rätsellastige Dutzendware der Marke Schizm & Co., die außer ihrer fantastischen Umgebungsgrafik wenig zu bieten hat.

Computer Bild Spiele (2.87 out of 6)

„Aura – Tor zur Ewigkeit“ bietet Abenteuerspielfans mit seinen vier Welten und den zahlreichen „schrägen“ Maschinen viel zum Entdecken und Ausprobieren. Der Rätselspaß ist meist gut durchdacht, wenngleich Anfänger mit den knallharten Knobelaufgaben manchmal überfordert sein könnten. Leider kann das Spiel seinem großen Vorbild Myst bei weitem nicht das Wasser reichen. Weder Umfang noch Technik erfüllen heutige Ansprüche. Dennoch ist es für Knobelfreunde ein nettes Spiel ohne gravierende Schwächen und Stärken, ein „befriedigender“ Zeitvertreib – genau richtig fürs Sommerloch

IC-Games (62 out of 100)

All in all Aura fate of the ages is one of those games for hardened puzzle fans who like to take their time solving quite intricate problems, and it’s certainly rewarding when you do.

PC Games (Germany) (62 out of 100)

So ergibt sich trotz langweiliger Geschichte mit passabler Optik und fairen Puzzles ein besseres Spiel, als bei vielen Rundumsicht-Konkurrenten.

Adventure Classic Gaming ( )

In sum, Aura: Fate of the Ages is not a game for novice gamers. As a puzzle freak myself, I relish this game like a pig in a quagmire. This is a game that I can recommend to adventure game fans who seek exceptionally challenging puzzle play who will not be easily frustrated. For the rest, however, I can only offer a reserved recommendation.

DreamStation.cc (6 out of 10)

The presentation, UI, graphics and sound were all decent enough in Aura. I just wish that the story, and environment MADE me want to solve the puzzles, and come back for more. I think that if you enjoy a good puzzle game, I mean REALLY enjoy a puzzle game; you could do worse than to check out Aura. For the casual gamer, or people who occasionally don’t mind thinking, this probably isn’t the game for you. It will frustrate you, and belittle you, and the whole time you won’t even remember what the long-term goal is, or why you are trying to accomplish it.

Computer Gaming World (CGW) ( )

A couple of desktop crashes, a weak plot, and those two potentially aggravating conundrums do mar what otherwise could have been a stronger game. Still, Aura: Fate of the Ages exudes a respectable glow with its plethora of thought-provoking puzzles and elegant graphics.

Yiya (C+)

Erstaunlicherweise lässt die Rätseldichte während des Spielverlaufes nach bzw. es kommen sehr viele einfache Laufaufgaben hinzu und in der Spiegelwelt irrt man doch sehr umher, weil man einfach keinen Plan hat, was eigentlich das Ziel ist. Die Grafik gefällt ansonsten, man wird nur ab und zu von leicht pixeligen Videos gestört. Sonst ist die Umgebung grafisch schön gestaltet, leider aber zu leblos und man fühlt sich einsam und verlassen. Wer mal wieder auf der Suche nach ordentlich Kopfnüssen ist, der ist beim Spiel genau richtig. Aber insgesamt eine Ecke besser und runder wird ein ähnlicher Knobelspaß auch mit Schizm 2 geboten.

PC Action (Germany) (57 out of 100)

Wem Myst gefallen hat, der findet auch an Aura Freude. Voraussetzung, um die Rätsel lösen zu können, ist etwas technisches Verständnis und eine logische Denke. Immer nur allein umherzuziehen und mit kaum jemandem zu quatschen, ist mir auf Dauer zu eintönig.

RPGFan (53 out of 100)

Aura: Fate of the Ages promises many things, yet fails to deliver on almost all of them. The epic plot hinted at on the box? Not there. The wonderful ambient music hinted at on the game's official site? Nada. Immersive, varied, and interesting environments to explore? Well, the environments are varied, but I found them neither immersive nor interesting. There are a plethora of puzzles present (try saying that three times fast), but I ultimately found the game monotonous, frustrating, and repetitive. Perhaps puzzle crawl fans who adore Myst may appreciate this game more than I did, but to me, this game fails. Aura: Fate of the Ages was one of the absolute most painful experiences in all my years of gaming and I am glad to be done with it.

Joystick (French) (5 out of 10)

Petite réalisation tout à fait mignonne pour Aura, qui ne satisfera pas l'amateur de belles histoires, mais plutôt le membre de club d'échecs moyen. En attendant Myst IV...

GameDaily (5 out of 10)

The title of the latest adventure game from The Adventure Company and Steko-Graphics is a bit of a misnomer. It should be titled - Aura: Puzzles for the Ages, because in all honesty this is a vaguely shrouded adventure game layered in a multitude of dizzying puzzles, wrapped in an enigma of conundrums. Confused? Get used to the feeling, because a great many of the synapses melting riddles found in Aura produce exactly that same feeling. This is a puzzle game that redefines the genre. There's lots of knob turning and lever pulling, a bunch of memory recall, and even a few musical Simon Says-type games. All situated in a visually gorgeous game world. Sound familiar?

GameSpy ( )

Even without the bugs, Aura: Fate of Ages is just one of many ultimately forgettable puzzle adventure games. As it is, the few good puzzles contained within aren't worth the time and risk that you might not even be able to complete it. Look elsewhere for an adventure title more worth your time and you'll find any number of them.

Gameinatrix (D)

It happens to every game reviewer sooner or later; you get asked to review a game from a genre you don't particularly care for. The bullet can only be dodged for so long before, in the end, it flies up to you and screams "bite me, bitch!" Aura: Fate of the Ages is my bullet and let me tell you; it bites hard!

GameStar (Germany) (21 out of 100)

Umang, Held des Render-Adventures Aura, muss mit seltsamen Gegenständen noch seltsamere Maschinen aktivieren, um hinter das Geheimnis von vier Ringen zu gelangen. Per Maus lenken Sie ihn durch schöne, aber schrecklich leblose Schauplätze und ärgern sich über Umwege sowie fehlende Logik in den Rätseln.