Aeterna Noctis Cheats and Tips
Explore Absolutely Everywhere
Aeterna Noctis is a massive game, full stop. The game offers between 50 and 100 hours depending on how much time you invest in exploring, gaining new perks, and finding secrets. The game pretty much just throws you right into the thick of things after a brief opening cutscene. From the get-go, you are free to explore in any direction, for the most part.
Much of the enjoyment in Aeterna Noctis comes from choosing a direction and simply exploring. However, given the punishing nature of the platforming and the less-than-stellar combat, you will often find yourself. Sometimes this happens because you need a certain key or item in order to progress. Simply put, make sure you explore every nook and cranny in this game.
Do Not Skip Out On Battles
One of the biggest flaws of Aeterna Noctis is the combat. Combat in this game feels button-mashy, repetitive, and cumbersome. While you do gain new abilities and weapons along the way, there just isn’t a robust combat system at play here. Most of the time you are trying to dodge backwards, jump constantly, and run away from large enemy attacks.
Due to the less enjoyable combat, you might think it smart to just avoid combat altogether. This would be a bad idea since you need to defeat as many enemies as possible in order to gain shadow orbs which in turn net you a coveted perk point. Perk points are used on an expansive skill tree to help make you stronger and more efficient overall.
Keep Track Of Thrones
Thrones are brief moments of respite within the world of Aeterna Noctis. Finding a throne means that you can heal, equip certain gems, and most importantly, fast travel around the gargantuan map. However, it’s not very easy to keep track of thrones given that the map in this game generally has a fog of war effect that can only be dispersed via the purchasing of a map from a vendor.
You can buy colored icons from a merchant which could make it easier to stick them on the overall map at throne save points. Like many other Metroidvanias, Aeterna Noctis requires your to retread much of the same ground but is more apparent in this game since you must return to certain locations or characters to complete quests.
Trial Doors Lead To New Abilities
Most Metroidvanias require you to traverse different stages or zones in order to find new abilities that then let you get to new areas in the game world. Aeterna Noctis eschews this standard genre mechanic and instead requires you to return to an ethereal room full of trials doors. This isn’t a location you can easily fast travel to at any time, instead, needing to find a throne to then teleport to the library which holds these doors.
In order to get a new ability for the King of Darkness, you must first find a key in the game world at which point you can unlock a trials door. To get the new ability or skill you then need to complete the punishing platforming trial and make it back out of the trials. It’s certainly a unique take on the genre trope of getting new abilities, however, it often becomes very frustrating.
