Rivals of AEther (For future reference, i shall call it simply "Rivals") is a new Smash-inspired game available on steam as early access. Some people may think "Isn't it just Smash?" and not buy it. But they'd be wrong. I already talked about how each individual smash game is different. So now, I'm going to compare Smash and Rivals. (Smash 4 vs. Rivals early access version 0.0.8, to be exact.)
/*DISCLAIMER: I haven't played Rivals as of now, however I have seen lots of gameplay and I intend to purchase it soon. Just hear me out.*/
In Smash, there are very concrete rules as to what can be in a moveset. The most different kind of moveset we have would be Ryu, and his "Do a different input for weaker or stronger attacks" gimmick pales in comparison to the ridiculous kinds of movesets found in Rivals. In Rivals, anything goes. Moves can terraform, they can instantly warp to players, they can extend smashes, clone themselves, and even release smoke to block view of the screen. In Rivals, characters have some pretty ridiculous moves that would break the game, accept everyone has them. So all is still good.
In Smash, some characters have gimmicks. Pac-Man has some ridiculous projectiles, Villager has his own different kind of projectiles, Ganon and Bowser are heavy, and so on. But in Rivals, everyone has a gimmick. And unlike in Smash, a characters gimmick all but DEFINES THEM. Orcane has puddles which need to be placed properly to secure kills and a safe recovery. Malpul needs to seed her opponents in order to recover and kill-combo. Wraster can use smash attacks IN THE AIR. All of these can be used to give yourself a distinct advantage.
Many of Smashes old and retired features have been implemented into Rivals. Wave-dashing, the old way to air-dodge, and more are in Rivals, but not Smash. Along with that, Rivals has no grabable edges and allows you to wall-jump once your in free-fall. Because of all of this, Rivals plays very different to Smash, specifically Smash 4. In this sense, Rivals relates more to Melee than Smash 4.
It may seem like I'm saying Rivals is better than Smash, but that's not true at all. They're both different games that play very differently. Rivals has a smaller roster, but larger diversity of movesets. In the end, it's a matter of preference, which I can't answer now. But I'll get Rivals soon. Then, I'll be able to.
Also, can you guys tell me if Logitech controllers work with Rivals? I really need to know.
Fall back Dwarves! Fall back now!!
-GIR