PAX South Spotlight: Aeolis Tournament
Aeolis Tournament is a party game, supporting up to eight players simultaneously. Fortunately I was able to play a demo of the game with seven other PAX attendees, allowing me to take in the full experience.
Controls are simple to learn, featuring a "one button" mechanic. Each character carries an air cannon that can vacuum in air, and release a blast of air. The resulting blast of air can push objects and other players. Controlling the cannon is as easy as holding a button to vacuum in, and releasing release the same button to expel the air.
If your cannon sucks up an object, you can carry the object around. Releasing the button will fire the object, providing a more direct way of aiming and launching objects, instead of pushing them with the air blast. All of the game modes involved this suction and launching mechanic in some way. While running around you'll find power ups that cause the character to move faster or launch things with more force.
There were a handful of game modes available. Sportsball (literally called that) was basically American soccer/football, with different balls randomly selected (footballs, volleyballs, etc). There was a dodge ball variant with cannon balls, where points were scored by knocking players off the court. Lastly I saw a Snowball fight where points were earned by hitting opponents with the snowballs.
Points are tallied at the end of each mode. Each mode uses a different scoring system. The snowball fight is scored based on the number of players hit each character hits. Larger balls are worth more points. Dodgeball however kept track of friendly fire, noting when you knocked a team member off the court. Traitors!
The game was short but sweet. Each mode lasted only a couple of minutes, but the action was fast and frantic. The title certainly stands out as a "party" game, best enjoyed with seven of your closest friends. Look forward to a 2020 release of Aeolis Tournament, on both Steam and Nintendo Switch.