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Rivals of Aether

Rivals of Aether

Aether Studios · released Mar 27, 2017

IndiePCXbox OneNintendo Switch

RIVALS OF AETHER is an indie fighting game where warring civilizations summon the power of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Play with up to four players either locally or online.

Steam page ↗Metacritic · users 8.4 ↗
89
VGC Score
■Stablehigh confidence

anchored at patch: “Rivals Update 2.1.8.0 - A Lot to Unpack” (2y ago)

84%
At launch
96%
Steam all-time
n/a
Press
69%
Player sentiment
96%
Recent sentiment

PC 89 · Xbox 58

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 302 sampled Steam reviews (295 positive / 7 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Story & writing14% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

Negative reviews don't converge on specific aspects.

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

96%

76 reviews

5-15h

98%

91 reviews

15-40h

100%

65 reviews

40-100h

96%

47 reviews

100h+

100%

23 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)––0
All-time Steam reviews96%911000
Metacritic user ratings–884
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)96%913000
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Acclaim gate: the raw blend lands at 90.8, but scores above 88 must be earned in front of a mass audience; this verdict rests on 38,196 player reviews, a largely self-selected fanbase. As more players weigh in, the ceiling rises (full scale unlocks at 100,000 reviews).

Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jul 15, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 5525 total reviews in window · weighted 210.5 up / 5.8 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (2)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 81
    IGNIGN
    trust 61Apr 8, 2017

    “Lacking in fighters and originality, Rivals of Aether is a fine re-implementation of Smash Bros aimed at hardcore players.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    DestructoidDestructoid
    trust 58Apr 7, 2017

    “Instead of dancing around the "is it a fighting game or not?" question plaguing Nintendo's major mascot title for years, Rivals of Aether goes full throttle into the genre and delivers an experience the platform fighting genre deserves. ”

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. Hotfix Patch 2.1.9.1
    May 13, 2025
  2. Patch 2.1.9.0 Notes: Hop Pop and Workshop
    Apr 23, 2025
  3. Rivals Update 2.1.8.0 - A Lot to Unpack
    Jul 15, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  4. Rivals of Aether Bugfix Patch 2.1.7.4
    Apr 24, 2024significant · resets scoring window
  5. Buddy Up with Mawson
    Mar 27, 2024
  6. Workshop Contest Update Stream Event
    Mar 26, 2024
  7. Workshop Character Contest Update
    Mar 25, 2024
  8. Rivals of Aether Balance Patch 2.1.2.0
    Mar 16, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  9. Rivals of Aether 2.1.1.1 Hot Fix Update
    Feb 24, 2022
  10. Balance Patch 2.1.1.0
    Feb 18, 2022significant · resets scoring window
  11. Rivals Patch Notes [2.0.8.0]: Summer Fine-Tuning and Creatures Steam Launch
    Aug 2, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  12. Workshop Character Pack Progress Update
    Jul 13, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  13. Rivals of Aether - 2.0.7.5 Patch Notes
    Jun 17, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  14. Patch 2.0.7.4 Notes
    May 11, 2021significant · resets scoring window
  15. Mini Patch 2.0.6.0
    Oct 13, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  16. Patch 1.4.25 Notes
    Jul 15, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  17. Patch 1.4.24 Notes
    Jun 1, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  18. Patch 1.4.22 Notes
    May 4, 2020
  19. Patch 1.4.20 Notes
    Jan 13, 2020significant · resets scoring window
  20. Workshop Beta Patch 1.5.7
    Nov 5, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  21. Patch 1.4.15
    Sep 26, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  22. Patch 1.4.14 Notes
    Aug 26, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  23. Hotfix 1.4.12
    May 17, 2019
  24. Patch 1.4.11 - Change of Scenery
    May 3, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  25. Make Love Not War - Patch 1.4.9 Notes
    Apr 1, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  26. Patch 1.4.7 - The Buddy System
    Jan 23, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  27. Patch 1.4.3 - Time to Rank Up
    Nov 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  28. Patch 1.4.2 - Cooling Down
    Oct 31, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  29. Patch 1.4.1 - Temperatures Rising
    Oct 9, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  30. Patch 1.4.0 - For Shovelry!
    Sep 14, 2018
  31. Patch 1.3.5 Notes: Don't Mine If I Do
    May 24, 2018
  32. 1.3.3 Patch Notes
    Apr 23, 2018
  33. Patch 1.3.2
    Apr 11, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  34. Patch 1.3.0 - Sylvanos and Elliana
    Apr 2, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  35. Patch 1.3.0 - Sylvanos and Elliana
    Apr 2, 2018significant · resets scoring window
  36. Hotfix 1.2.6
    Feb 26, 2018
  37. Hotfix 1.2.6
    Feb 26, 2018
  38. Patch 1.2.3 - Work Hard, Replay Harder
    Dec 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  39. Patch 1.2.3 - Work Hard, Replay Harder
    Dec 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  40. Patch 1.2.2 - Money Match Me, Bro
    Nov 8, 2017significant · resets scoring window

…and 3 earlier patch announcements.