Rivals of Aether 2 is Super Smash Bros. Melee without the baggage

There’s no way around it — you cannot talk about indie fighting game Rivals of Aether 2 without mentioning how inseparably intertwined it is with Super Smash Bros. Melee for Nintendo GameCube.

The founder and director of Aether Studios, Dan Fornace, is a fan of Melee along with other developers who were involved in the sequel, including Jigglypuff main turned streamer and YouTuber Ludwig Ahgren. The publishing company Ahgren co-founded, Offbrand Games, partnered with Aether Studios after the very successful Kickstarter campaign for Rivals of Aether 2 concluded in 2023.

Although it’s not a backyard brawl of Nintendo mascots, Rivals of Aether 2 has its own colorful cast of critters of all shapes and sizes. There are 10 in total at launch, such as return fighters Zetterburn the lion and Ranno the frog, along with newcomers Loxodont the elephant and Fleet the fox. The stages are bright and simple, some having platforms that move about throughout the match (similar to some stages in Super Smash Bros., although not nearly as chaotic). While I enjoyed the pixel art of the first game, this game looks (and sounds) phenomenal, and I think it is more visually appealing to the average player while also allowing them to follow the action more easily. My favorite touch is the mood change that happens when both players are on their last life. One stage will have the sky darken and lightning flash; another will turn the sky red and even make the leaves change color. It really amplifies the tension in a way I did not expect.

With the addition of shields and ledge grabbing, the sequel now shares even more in common with Melee than the original Rivals of Aether. This may turn off some of the fans of the first game, but when it comes to fans of the platform fighter genre as a whole, it makes the game more familiar, even if it slows down the game ever so slightly. Make no mistake, though; it is fast and exhilarating, allowing for creativity only rivaled (heh) by Melee itself.

Rivals 2 has something that Melee does not, though, and that’s accessibility. The complexity and precision of Melee is a huge part of why people love it, but it’s also why people destroy their hands playing it if they’re not careful. This is where Rivals 2 shines. There is no controller lottery — in other words, no relying on the mere hope that your controller, even when it’s brand-new, can reliably hit certain coordinates with the left stick — nor is there mashing like you are playing Mario Party to get out of grabs or to gain height on a special move. In fact, you can use nearly any controller that can plug into a PC, including a keyboard, which emulates a box-style leverless controller. Many of these necessary evils found in Melee are gone in Rivals 2, and the game is better for it. I adore Melee, but for new players it can feel like trying to become a race car driver without first even having a license, or a car, or gas. Part of the fun is in the journey and challenge, which is why learning to play Melee can end up being so incredibly fulfilling, but most people are here for the racing, not the hours upon hours of driver’s education. Rivals 2 removes a lot of those barriers, allowing you to cruise around at whatever speed you are comfortable with from the get-go.

Unfortunately, Rivals 2 lacks the comprehensive training mode that the first game had, and that would be my single largest critique. There is a training area where you can lab out situations, but that is designed for people who take the game more seriously. Rivals 2 is easy to jump into but hard to master, and it has more than enough mechanics to warrant a thorough training mode — especially since every character has their own unique abilities that aren’t really explained elsewhere. The development team has a training mode in the works, but until it’s been added, I suggest reading over the new-player guide you can find on the main menu of the game and looking up the many beginner’s guides and tutorials out there. This video from Wisely is particularly good at introducing the game to those without a lot of experience with platform fighters. Along with that is the friendly Rivals of Aether Discord server, which helped me figure out how to use my B0XX controller to play the game. The platform fighter community wants this game to be successful and will go out of their way to help a new player.

What if you don’t want to approach the game in a competitive way? I have good news. Much like Super Smash Bros., Rivals 2 is still fun even if you have no idea what a wavedash or hitfalling is. The controls are simple, and when I played with someone unfamiliar with fighting games, it was pretty easy for them to pull off something that looked cool. The character designs are fun, each offering very different play styles, and the action is easy to follow for how fast the game can be. Based on my time watching someone new to these types of games, a casual player can absolutely pick up the game and have a good time, especially since it’s so easy to customize controls.

Rivals of Aether 2 is also a breath of fresh air when it comes to monetization. The game is only $29.99 at launch, and all future characters and game modes will be free (which is certainly not always the case in fighting games these days). The only additional purchases on offer are cosmetics, like character skins and emotes. The game features two in-game currencies, both of which you can earn in-game or pay for with real money. It has become increasingly rare to find such a straightforward monetization strategy, and I applaud the developer for committing to this path. The roadmap for Rivals 2 also looks very promising; it includes a console release that will make the game even more accessible to more people.

Overall, Rivals of Aether 2 is not just good, it’s great. Comparing it to Melee isn’t just a frame of reference, it’s an honor. Never before has the platform fighter community rallied behind a game like it has for this one, and for good reason. It has the depth and skill ceiling that give Melee its unmatched staying power. Rivals 2 couples that with accessibility and broad appeal for players of all skill levels and interest in the genre. Not just that, the developer isn’t constantly looming in the shadows, ready to backstab the very people who love their game the most. That counts for something, and the community as a whole is counting on the developers at Aether Studios to bring them together to celebrate the genre they love. I think they just might pull it off.

Rivals of Aether 2 was released Oct. 23 on Windows PC. The game was reviewed on PC using a copy of the game purchased by the author. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.