Rivals of Aether

Rivals of Aether, often referred to as Rivals and RoA, is an indie platform fighting game by Dan Fornace, and as of 2021, Aether Studios, for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It was released on Steam Early Access on September 22nd, 2015, and was fully released on March 28th, 2017. On Xbox One, it was released on Xbox One Game Preview on July 13th, 2016, and fully released on August 23rd, 2017. On September 24th, 2020, Rivals of Aether: Definitive Edition released for Microsoft Windows and Nintendo Switch, containing all of the previously released DLC characters and content, new modes, and Steam Workshop support, as well as transitioning to the GameMaker 2 engine.

Characters
As of Definitive Edition's release in 2020, which included all DLC and post-launch update characters, there are a cast of 14 playable characters. On April 1st, 2021, it was announced that four characters from Steam Workshop are being introduced into Definitive Edition on Steam and Nintendo Switch, being Mollo, Hodan, Pomme, and Olympia. They are currently scheduled to release later in 2021.

In the original Early Access release of the game, there were only 6 characters (Zetterburn, Orcane, Wrastor, Kragg, Forsburn, and Maypul), although Absa and Etalus were added in the original final build of the game. However, the game received several paid DLC characters as post-launch content: Ranno and Clairen were added as DLC on November 17th, 2017, Sylvanos and Elliana were introduced on April 2nd, 2018, Ori and Sein were released on August 23rd, 2017, and Shovel Knight arrived on September 14th, 2018. Of these characters, Ori and Sein and Shovel Knight are currently the only two guest fighters, hailing from Ori and the Blind Forest and Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope, respectively.

With the exception of the guest characters, each character in the game falls under one of four elements, them being Fire, Water, Air, and Earth.

Characters    Fire   Air   Earth   Water   Guest

Stages
As of Definitive Edition, there are 15 stages, 21 if every stage skins and the Training Mode-exclusive stage are counted. Each stage has two variants, a Basic form intended for competitive play, and an Aether form with stage hazards and other elements that are better suited for casual or friendly play.

Modes
There are several modes in Rivals of Aether. The main menu screen is sorted by six categories: Local, Online, Extras, Milestones, Options, and Title Screen.

Local

 * Versus
 * Story
 * Abyss
 * Endless
 * Versus
 * Tutorial
 * Tether
 * Practice

Online

 * Ranked
 * Casual
 * Friendly Match / Lobbies
 * Stats and Options

Extras

 * Replays
 * Custom Colors
 * My Stats
 * Aether Tales
 * Credits
 * Sound Test

Options

 * Controllers and Profiles
 * Display
 * Sound

Other

 * Developer Mode