From an “elevator pitch” angle there’s something great about being able to cite popular and successful titles as a shorthand to describe other ones succinctly. In the case of Aspire, whether it was intentional or not, the easy choice is the gorgeous and smart adventure GRIS. Right off the bat the game’s great aesthetic style is on display, and the action has an old-school cinematic feel in line with classics like Prince of Persia. All of this works pretty well, and it makes an impression, but there are also some cracks in the facade that hold it back from the next level in spots. The first is that I think the game takes it a little too much for granted early on that people will experiment to understand both the nuances of the controls and how best to contend with your enemies. The second is that exacerbating that issue are hiccups with the at-times finicky controls when trying to interact with objects under duress. Granted, with a little repetition you’ll work things out and progress, but they are rough edges in an otherwise compelling adventure that could discourage gamers in the early going.