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Rivals of Aether
RIVALS OF AETHER is an indie fighting game where warring civilizations summon the power of Fire, Water, Air, and Earth. Play with up to four players either locally or online.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Data as of 2026-05-20.
What reviewers agree on
39 of the 101 reviews raise this.
“Still the best platform fighter on Steam, with a somewhat active online playerbase even after almost a decade of it's release and a sequel that became the main game of the series. Every characters looks and plays…”
“The only fighting game I actually find fun. Great modding scene too, a level that's just my face got thousands of downloads.”
“When it comes to platform fighters, this one knocks it out the park with the workshop support alone. I like the default cast don't get me wrong. But there's something hilarious about seeing two completely out of place…”
34 of the 101 reviews raise this.
“Still the best platform fighter on Steam, with a somewhat active online playerbase even after almost a decade of it's release and a sequel that became the main game of the series. Every characters looks and plays…”
“The only fighting game I actually find fun. Great modding scene too, a level that's just my face got thousands of downloads.”
“When it comes to platform fighters, this one knocks it out the park with the workshop support alone. I like the default cast don't get me wrong. But there's something hilarious about seeing two completely out of place…”
8 of the 101 reviews raise this.
“this game is very fun with friends and light on my computer, with the vast amount of workshop characters and maps, its genuinely peak !!”
“Game is enjoyable as long as you play with friends, don't take it too seriously, and don't try to 100% it. Hopefully they fix the many flaws this game has in the 2nd one”
“A pretty solid fighting game with a solid amount of content to enjoy, whether it be solo or co-op. When it comes to platform fighters, I already had some experience with a few well-known games in the genre, prior to…”
6 of the 101 reviews raise this.
“I'm shock that this game community still active making new workshop characters and maps”
“Still the best platform fighter on Steam, with a somewhat active online playerbase even after almost a decade of it's release and a sequel that became the main game of the series. Every characters looks and plays…”
“The only fighting game I actually find fun. Great modding scene too, a level that's just my face got thousands of downloads.”
3 of the 101 reviews raise this.
“this game is very fun with friends and light on my computer, with the vast amount of workshop characters and maps, its genuinely peak !!”
“A pretty solid fighting game with a solid amount of content to enjoy, whether it be solo or co-op. When it comes to platform fighters, I already had some experience with a few well-known games in the genre, prior to…”
“the best thing about this game is the steam workshop, no buts also ngl RoA II is highly unstable on laptops LMAO, glad this game is stable”
Counted across 101 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 95.9% positive rating · as of 2026-05-20
“the only game where ronald mcdonald can fight obama and sans with a gun”
— a player, Steam review · 92 hrs played“I loved super smash brothers growing up. I spent a lot of time in Melee. I'm horrible at video games, I'm bad at this game too. I'm glad friends can have a good time fighting each other. My positivity for this review comes from the Workshop and the love put into it. Playing as…”
— a player, Steam review · 8 hrs played“Rivals of Aether is clearly designed to compete with Smash Brothers in every way except the casual experience. There is a strong emphasis on competitive integrity and efficiency. The online ranked mode, while not flawless, is a seamless illustration of how to battle online. The…”
— a player, Steam review · 284 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live count fetched 2026-07-11 12:24 UTC · history via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-07-25.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-07-24). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Hotfix Patch 2.1.9.1
We have a small hotfix with fix and updates to workshop for players and creators. We also have couple of projectile behavior fixes for Mollo and Hodan. Fixed workshop characters prioritizing incorrect
Patch 2.1.9.0 Notes: Hop Pop and Workshop
Hey there! It’s been a while since our last Rivals of Aether update, hasn’t it? We’re overall pretty happy with where the game is at, with 18 characters meticulously adjusted over the course of 10 yea
Rivals Update 2.1.8.0 - A Lot to Unpack
We're here in 2024, a full 10 years after Dan's first trailer for Rivals of Aether. I don't think anyone ever thought this game would carry on as long as it has. We're excited to present a new balance
Live Now: Chatting Workshop Contest + More Character Highlights
There were so many incredible entries in the Workshop contest that we can't resist gushing about it some more. Join developers Giik, SBS, and Etalus for a casual dev stream right here on Steam (or you
Rivals Workshop Character Contest: Winner Revealed!
Last year we announced a one-of-a-kind contest where Rivals Workshop creators had the chance for their own character to be officially added to Rivals 2. Creators had six and a half months to design, a
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-20.
| Genres | Indie |
| Player tags | Fighting · 2D Fighter · Multiplayer · Pixel Graphics · Indie · Local Multiplayer · Competitive · Platformer · Games Workshop · Moddable · 2D · Great Soundtrack (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Multi-player · PvP · Online PvP · Shared/Split Screen PvP · Co-op · Shared/Split Screen Co-op · Shared/Split Screen |
| Languages | English, Japanese |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 36 |
| Estimated owners | 1,000,000 – 2,000,000 (SteamSpy) |
| Official site | http://rivalsofaether.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Microsoft® Windows® 7 / 8 / 10 Processor: 1.2GHz processor Memory: 512 MB RAM Graphics: DirectX Compatible graphics card with at least 32MB of video memory DirectX: Version 9.0c Storage: 300 MB available space