Exo One is an absolutely gorgeous looking game that puts players in command of a strange interplanetary vehicle, and lets them glide, zoom, roll and dive over a variety of strange alien worlds.
Controls for the craft are limited to direction, a ‘jump’ button which gives a small boost to altitude, the ability to activate the ‘gravity drive’ (which sends the craft plummeting towards the ground), and glide, which turns the ship (which looks for all the world like the Palantír from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films) into a high-speed discus (or flying saucer). Gliding is by far the fastest and most enjoyable way to fly, but uses up the craft’s batteries. These can be recharged by activating the gravity drive (dropping your ship like a rock), or by flying into clouds. You don’t even have to glide to cover vast distances, simply engage the drive while you’re on a downwards slope, and disengage it as you start to come up the other side – the craft will rocket into the air.
Beyond these, there’s also upgrades you can collect to boost your power reserves, thermals you can hitch lifts on, and rather fun boost gates which kick your craft supersonic and let you cover vast distances — which you’ll need as each planet is massive. Wherever you start, though, you’ll see a glowing beacon of light, the way-gate that will speed you onto the next planet, and the next part of Exo One’s enigmatic story.
Each new planet looks spectacular. One moment you’ll be flying over a barren desert, the next an ocean world in the middle of a meteorite storm. Clouds mist your view as you fly through them, contrails appear off the edge of your craft as you pick up speed, and going supersonic gives a visual as well as auditory thrill. And that pretty much sums up the game: figuring out the best way to fly over strange and beautiful landscapes.
While the camera did get confused a few times, and one of the levels, a strange forest world, was borderline frustrating to navigate, for the most part Exo One is an enjoyable experience, and all the more remarkable for it being the result of one man’s work. While it won’t appeal to everybody, there is a free prologue available to try, and it will definitly appeal to those who like brilliant graphics and the stress-free sensation of soaring over beautiful landscapes. ■