Hi everybody and Whiterabbit-UK. :-)

Preamble: I'm using Win10 home x64, DEP always on, UAC enabled with max level, custom scaling 150%, resolution 1920x1080, color depth 32bit, refresh rate 60Hz, Win10 Defender, Win10 firewall.

No problems detected after doing pre-scans and post-scans with Defender, SAS, MBAM2, EEK, GSAM.
No problems detected after I sent the package to virustotal and metadefender; file too big to be sent to jotti and virscan. Those webservices show the same false positives for GAOTD setup.exe found in last years: I won't repeat them.
No problems during game download, during its installation, at its startup and changing its options.

Thanks to the GAOTD team, in particular to Whiterabbit-UK!
Follow the white rabbit, guys!
Thanks for the game to World-LooM, Intenium, BigFishGames, MyPlayCity!

...........................................Moderator comment...................................

Thanks as always for your valuable feedback Xilolee, much appreciated. :)

Please only post comments about today's game giveaway; other comments either inappropriate, or not about today's game will be deleted at the moderator or administrators discretion; however a little light banter among community members and with the moderator to keep this a friendly place to visit is acceptable and welcomed. All comments not specifically about today's game giveaway will be judged by the moderator and if deemed not appropriate, will be deleted with no explanation. Please see the end of this review for further details about posting comments and links to the teams contact, moderation policy and the FAQ's thread, thank you.

Aerie: Spirit of the Forest

In Brief

Aerie: Spirit of the Forest is a tactical strategy game with gorgeous graphics.

Suggestions:

Whether you like or dislike Aerie: Spirit of the Forest please give some feedback about your opinion of todays game giveaway, for example, what you liked or disliked, and how it could be improved from your point of view. If you don't like this genre at all, please explain why. What improvements would change your opinion? There are thousands of subscribers to the game giveaway of the day every weekend which makes this an ideal forum for giving developers ideas as to what their consumers (i.e you) would like to see in a game. For example, you could suggest extra content such as better or more original mini games, or a level editor that you would like to see that would make it more appealing to you. Maybe you think the graphics are a little dated and are in need of re skinning, or maybe you've just had enough of the genre and want to see something different or something with more originality? Giving such feedback instead of saying nothing or just saying this game is rubbish or good may bring more developers to the site, which could mean more and better games. Would you give away thousands of copies of a game (or extra content for a game) away to a community that complains all the time instead of giving useful feedback? It only takes a few moments of your time. This site could be transformed if only the community would be more forthcoming in their opinions of the games they are getting for free instead of complaining about the way this site has changed or that they don't like Steam games. If something isn't for you then move on to the next giveaway, or check out the extra's section at the end of this review; you never know, you may find something that interests you..

If you miss today's giveaway you can always get the game via MyPlayCity 24/7 HERE. If you prefer to purchase the game you can get it via Big Fish Games HERE. It costs £2.99/$2.99 if you are a new subscriber otherwise it's £7.70

Installation:

Aerie: Spirit of the Forest downloads to an 88.6 MB zip file that unzips to three files, (a setup.gcd security wrapper, the set up file and a read me). Those with multiple hard drives are able to save games on any drive they wish. The newly installed game is 96.4 MB in size. The game installs to the following path by default, but can be changed by the user if you prefer:

C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPlayCity.com\Aerie - Spirit of the Forest

Four shortcuts are installed to the desktop, three of which can be safely deleted (Play Online Games, MyPlayCity Games and a shortcut to a free online game which vary each week). Also, if you don't like icons installed to the quick launch task bar, make sure you uncheck the box when the additional tasks window appears (after the Select Start Menu Folder window)

Introduction:

Take on the mantle of a protective spirit in Aerie: Spirit of the Forest, a new and fun tactical strategy game. Ravaged by disaster, the land of Shangri-La has become a desolate and dead place. You must guide Aerie, a nature spirit, and her band of will-o-wisps as they seek to restore the natural wonders of her homeworld. Trek through forests and swamps and over the distant snow-capped mountain peaks of Shangri-La as you use your magic to restore the world. In Aerie: Spirit of the Forest, you must carefully manage your resources as you work to restore balance to the ecosystem. Waken gophers, heal the ancient oaks, ford raging rivers and more as you try to find the resources you need to heal the wounds of nature. Shangri-La is depending on you to make the right choices! Only then can the idyllic beauty of the land be restored. The critters need your help and guidance to know what needs to be done as you race against the clock. Play through all thirty five levels again and again as you attempt to figure out the perfect balance that will restore the land in least amount of time possible. The environmentally friendly storyline of Aerie: Spirit of the Forest is perfect for young children!

Reference accessed HERE. 18th March 2017

If you have a problem installing or activating or getting Aerie: Spirit of the Forest to work please visit the problems section, which you can find HERE

The Game:

One day the peaceful land of Shangri-La gets destroyed by burning meteors and ash falling from the sky. In Aerie: Spirit of the Forest by Intenium, you’ll help Aerie, a friendly fairy supported by will-‘o-wisps, to restore this country by curing the damaged nature and the three fallen shrines. Players can expect a solid resource management title with a fairly innovative and whimsical presentation.

The basic features and obstacles the player faces with Aerie: Spirit of the Forest are quite similar to the My Kingdom for the Princess series, in that you are collecting resources such as seeds, water, and life force, though rather healing structures and organisms in contrast to destroying things that block your way.

Resources can be earned in three different ways. Sometimes they simply lie on the ground and can be collected, while you are also able to earn seeds or life force by restoring structures like ponds, bushes, or birch trees. Apart from that there are also plants or structures that serve as “natural” buildings, in contrast to ordinary houses in similar titles. Rivers will provide you with water on a regular basis, deer and gophers support Aerie by creating life force, while oaks produce seeds.

Beside providing life force, animals also serve various other purposes in Aerie: Spirit of the Forest. Bears will remove obstacles, eagles will collect resources that Aerie would not be able to reach otherwise, and beavers will build dams if needed. The inclusion of animals in such a sweet and charming way, not to mention their smooth animation and cute drawing, really boosts the already stellar atmosphere of the game and is probably one of its strongest features. Apart from animals and will-‘o-wisps there are also monoliths that can help Aerie to cure the land quicker.

Those monoliths can be compared to the bonuses in My Kingdom of the Princess, although they lack the variety and are not really crucial to finish a level within the moon phase. By activating them, Aerie can get a second will-‘o-wisp, freeze the timer, or speed up her pace. Apart from those monoliths there is also a toad in some levels at which you can exchange one resource for another at a certain rate. However, this feature seems rather arbitrary, since sometimes the resource you need the most can’t be exchanged at all, and at other times you won’t be able to trade due to lack of resources until the very end of a level.

By finishing within the moon phase you will get moon crystals, which can be used to restore the three shrines located around the whole country, whose reconstruction is mandatory to cure the land. Still, Aerie: Spirit of the Forest is rather forgiving if finishing a level takes a bit longer, so you will never really get stuck. Most of the levels are on the easy side, so experienced players will be undoubtedly disappointed in both the low level of difficulty and the comparably short length of the game.

What’s absolutely stunning about Aerie: Spirit of the Forest are the graphics and effects, which really display the progress you are making. The player can definitely see the consequences of Aerie’s healing rather quickly, and it feels extremely rewarding and satisfying. Green Meadows, wonderful trees, and cosy homes for animals are simply nicer to look at than grey and brown mud.

Unfortunately, there are also some negative points worth pointing out, besides the already mentioned lack of challenge and only featuring one mode and 35 levels. For one thing there are some flaws with controlling Aerie. In the last stage of the game she should be able to fly, but it took us some trial-and-error as well as repeated clicking to do so successfully. A similar annoyance is connected to the eagle, which should actually collect resources instead of Aerie. However, when you click resources this order will be registered by both the eagle and Aerie, which redundantly complicates the game. We also missed some more variety in level design – in the end you are doing nearly the same tasks over and over again – while the advanced complexity of My Kingdom for the Princess is missing.

All in all Aerie: Spirit of the Forest is a pleasant, above average resource simulation with a highly innovative presentation, but game mechanics that lack diversity and challenge to exploit the game’s full potential. Players who appreciate wonderful graphics, a sweet story with a message, or fans of My Kingdom for the Princess who would not mind a less difficult task will surely enjoy this charming game nevertheless. And the end of the story definitely does not rule out a sequel, so let’s hope that we’ll see Aerie again in the future.

Edited reference accessed HERE. Original review written by David Becker on Sep 22, 2010 Edited by Whiterabbit-uk 18th March 2017

Other Reviews and Videos of Aerie: Spirit of the Forest:

You can see community reviews of Aerie: Spirit of the Forest HERE and more information in the Big Fish forums HERE.

You can also see some videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE (French).

Conclusion:

This is an excellent de stresser as the challeng isn't that great despite the levels being timed. You can finish all levels even if you run out of time, but you won't be awarded moonstones if you do run out of time.

If you are looking for a callenge, Aerie: Spirit of the Forest is not your game. The graphic is absolutely gorgeous but the game does lack variety and the challenge is minimal. Because of this the game makes for a great de stresser and is ideal for the whole family. I'd love to have given this a higher score as I absolutely adored the look of the game, but to be fair and un biased, I could only award it a 7 out of 10 at the most.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank MyPlayCity for giving away Aerie: Spirit of the Forest minus the usual MPC additions and also to the game giveaway team, as always, for securing other ways to get free games, in this case Steam keys.

Useful Information not related to today's game giveaway:

If you have a problem running today's game you can find help in the FAQ's thread HERE.

I've updated the games section that used to be posted with the review. The thread is now called 'Weekly round up of game deals', formerly the games section of the weekly reviews. You can find the new thread (which I've posted in the sticky section of the game discussion forums to make it easier to find if you are perusing the game discussion forums) HERE.

If today's game giveaway 'Aerie - Spirit of the Forest' didn't appeal, you may find other games either free or for less than the price of a cup of coffee via the 'Weekly Roundup of Game Deals' thread which I've posted a link to above, or HERE. Tomorrow we will have two steam games up for grabs, one is a global giveaway, with 10 000 key, the other one is a li mited competition, but we still get 5000 keys, so a good chance to win a key for most who bother to apply Fridays VR game Heaven Forest is also still available. It can be played without a VR headset.

The free game over on Origin is now Siberia II. It is a third-person puzzle-solving game. Stylistically identical to the first Syberia, Syberia II improves upon the first game by introducing more realistic character animation. The game includes a recap of the first chapter, so does not require the player to have experienced the first game.. You can get it HERE. Please note that you do require the Origin game platform to be able to download and install the game.

You will also find lots of deals over on Green Man Gaming and Big Fish Games usually have 70% off the first game you buy from them, plus they also have other deals occasionally. Desura was purchased from Bad Ju Ju games last year by One Play. If you already have a Desura account you can read details of what is happening HERE. As yet you can't access games you previously purchased via Desura (I have around 1400), but One Play are working to recover everyone's accounts and hope to do so by the end of March 2017. Indie Royale will also resume on a weekly basis, though at this time I don't know if previous Indie Royale Greenlight bundles will be honoured? Alawar, Gamehouse and Playrix entertainment have free games available (usually online versions) and other game houses such as the AAA distributors Ubisoft and Origin always have some games on sale. I've updated the Weekly roundup of game deals HERE to include a large list of other sites where you can find games on sale ( e.g. Origin, uPlay, GreenManGaming etc, as well as links to free online games and other game houses such as Alawar, Playrix and Gamehouse plus gaming news sites such as Rock Paper Shotgun and Game Seek, and included a list of free to play Massive Multiplayer games such as World of Tanks, World of Warships, Liberators and Allegiance to name a few. For more details please go to the Weekly roundup of game deals over in the game discussion sticky section HERE.

There are 1068 games on sale over on Steam at the moment, with up to 91% off. Game prices range from as little as £0.15p (most of these cheap games are actually cheaper in the UK than the US, so if you are a US citizen and have a UK friend, get them to buy the game for you). There are over 200 games and dlc less than $1 and almost 300 for less than £1. You can find all of the deals HERE.

If you spend more than $2 in the Indie Gala store you'll also get a free copy of The Last Tinker: City of Colors worth £16.99/$19.99, plus there are loads more deals with excellent discounts that you'll find HERE, for example 75% off Ryse: Son of Rome, 75% off The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, 75% off Saints Row IV: Game of the Century Edition, 66% off God Eater 2: Rage Burst, 50% off Dragons Dogma: Dark Arisen, 75% off The Star Wars Collection, 60% off Resident Evil Gold Edition, up to 90% off Majesco Games (A Boy and His Blob, Advent Rising, BloodRayne 1, 2 and Betrayal, Costume Quest, Grapple, Double Dragon: Neon, Slender, Slender: The Arrival and Krautscape), plus loads of other deals up to 92% off.

The Humble Bundle site has an excellent bundle called The Humble Jumbo bundle 8 (ends tomorrow evening UK time) that includes Valhalla Hills, Legend of Eisenwald and The Journey Down Chapters 1 and 2 for $1, plus if you pay the average of $7.22/£5.84 you'll get Warhammer: End Times - Vermintide , Jotun, Turmoil, Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan, Void Destroyer, and The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy; finally if you pay $10/£8.09 you'll get the excellent WWI multiplayer game Verdun worth £18.99/$24.99, plus their monthly package that is excellent value for money. A new monthly bundle has just gone live a couple of weeks ago. If you subscribe to the Humble Monthly, which costs $12 a month (or less if you choose various monthly plans) you not only get a large collection of decent Steam games you will also get for the first month of the subscription The Witness (worth £29.99), which was released last year (Jan 21016). The great thing is, you can cancel at any time, so only need to receive the first bundle of games. I personally haven't bothered, but only because I usually have already purchased most of the games included in the monthly bundle. The usual savings on the games you get are around 90%, not counting the introductory offer. There's also lots of games on sale over on the Bundle Stars and Indie Game Stand (IGS).

Giveaway Team Contact and Moderation policy:

Continued from the first paragraph at the beginning of this review ........... I am posting this in light of the massive increase in negative comments not related to the game being given away, inappropriate comments and spam (Almost 700 spam comments were posted over a 24 hour period back in January) that have occurred over the past several months since the site was updated and in particular since the site started using Facebook, Twitter and Steam. Thankfully the giveaway team have reverted back to comments only being visible to the community once they have been moderated and a VPN blocker has been added. If you use a VPN server your comment may be automatically blacklisted, but once I've seen them I usually remove them from the black list unless they are spam or comments from trolls. This is a site that gives free games away, so it was quite shocking to see the number of negative and sometimes inappropriate comments being posted here, especially when they awere not even related to the actual game that we receive. Since the changes this has thankfully reduced significantly. I always though getting something for free was a privilege/perk/treat/ and deserves at least some thanks or gratitude and cannot understand why we got and still get to a much smaller degree negative comments that have nothing to do with the game and could quite possibly turn away potential developers who would otherwise have given the project their games. Of course we have freedom of speech, but as mentioned in my review above, there are rules to posting in this comments section; even a free society requires rules and regulations to run properly, so please bear this in mind when posting a comment.

I believe if we get lots of decent feedback about the games we get here, more developers would be happy to give away their games. Seeing lots of complaints (and spam) instead of feedback about the giveaways will not persuade other developers to give their creations away for free, especially when they may have spent thousands of hours working on the creation. So please bear this in mind when posting your comments. Any comment not about the game for example complaints, or if deemed unfriendly or inappropriate, will be deleted (usually with no explanation) or added to the spam folder, which automatically black lists the IP address you used. Although I have enjoyed responding to many of those comments in the past, I will no longer waste my time answering comments from community members who should have read the moderation policy.

Negative feedback about the games given away will always be welcomed because such comments can also be very constructive for developers; however, complaining about the way the site is operating or problems about downloading or installing the games or about Steam keys not received should be directed to the giveawayoftheday team via the contact form (with evidence of completed tasks, the name and email you used to enter the competition, or giveaway etc). These problems are usually associated with the way you have your computer configured, or programs you have running that conflict with the game. all games downloaded from this site have been thoroughly tested. unless you see hundrted sof comments reporting similar problems it's almost certainly a problem at your end. Of all the games ever given away here since the project started, I can only ever recall one game that a large percentage of the community had problems running. I had the original release of that game and it wouldn't play on any operating system after Win 98. Back when that game was given away in early 2007, there were still quite a sizable percentage of the community still using Win 98; they were the lucky ones that could play that particular game (forgot the name of the game but it was a very unusual breakout with a moving platform). Every other game has always played on most of my computers. I've linked to the contact form HERE; alternatively, if the problem is game related and it is late in the day (I can't moderate 24 hours a day), please also post your issue in the forums where you may get a response from the community. All games given away here have been thoroughly checked using several anti malware suites to ensure a safe download and in the 10 plus years this site has been operating, there has never been a game infected with malware. If your security software flags an issue, it's probably the Themida code that is used to protect the game from hackers or sometimes the non invasive adware that MPC games use. Themida code can also be used to hide malware, so some security software's will automatically block anything with Themida code, even if it's absolutely safe to install. also other computer configurations (i.e. the way you have your computer set up) may have blocked the install. Often, such problems are related to your computers set up. i.e. your security may block the installation (for example quite a few game giveaways I've installed have been blocked by my copy of Zemana Anti-malware suite) Also please read the moderation policy which can be found HERE and if you do have a problem please check the FAQ's thread HERE. Thank you for reading.

FREE game offer from the moderator in exchange for quality feedback:

There are several winners of Steam keys. I've posted yet more games in the thread so if you've already made a choice but wish to change it for one of the new games you are welcome to do so. I meant to email some keys out today, but was hoping for more response, so have decided to wait until the end of this weekend before posting your keys. I am also going to add even more keys later on Saturday, or early Sunday (as time permits), so make sure you check them out to see if you'd rather change, otherwise you'll get what you've already asked for. all games already requested will be honoured as no one as made the same choice for their first choice. The following are winners.

⦁ tinyearl for Turtix 2: Rescue Adventures
⦁ Torque for Turtix 2: Rescue Adventures
⦁ Torque for Sea Legends
⦁ Mavadelo for Exterios plus other comments
⦁ JBurt for Exterios plus other comments
⦁ JoeJ for Exterios
⦁ JBurt for Exterios plus other comments 2 keys as i owe from last year.
⦁ neme for consistently posting comments weekly
⦁ tinyearl for Secret of six seas
⦁ Thomas Zwilling for Secret of six Seas
⦁ Lee C. for consistently posting feedback
⦁ delenn13 for consistently posting feedback
⦁ idluckyone for Whispering willows
⦁ Mavadelo for Old Clockmaker's Riddle

I've posted a list of approaching 300 Steam games in the forums HERE and will be adding more as time permits over the coming weeks. It is quite an extensive list of games taken from the 10 000+ Steam keys I've collected over the last several years; all were either purchased by me, with some )only a few) received free for pre-ordering games on Steam, plus a few from entering competitions and other offers). There will be a limited number of other keys available, such as Origin, uPlay and Desura keys (Desura has recently been purchased following the original owners demise and should apparently be up and running by the end of March). I will announce the winner's from the giveaway the following week. If no announcement is made, it means no one posted feedback that qualified for a free game that week. If you have won a game, I will usually leave a reply to your comment and post details in the thread I've created specifically for that purpose HERE. Once I've given a key away, the game and any comments by the winner will be removed from the list the following week. I will assume if you don't reply within a few weeks you aren't bothered about a key. Please post your preferences (list at least 3 games in order of preference over in the forums HERE. Thank you. Happy gaming.)

Depending on the quality of the feedback, I may choose to award games to more community members for each game given away, 'at my discretion'. The feedback must be about the game, and it must include a couple of paragraphs of feedback following the guidelines I've posted in the suggestions section of my review. i.e. your opinion of the game, what you liked and/or disliked plus suggestions for improvement. If you choose a game that is very cheap I may give you a second game; so, when choosing from the list I provide, please list more than one choice. If a game is chosen by more than one community member and only one key is available the key will go to the one I deem the most useful. I do have multiple keys for quite a lot of the games I've listed, so, don't be put off if you see someone else has chosen the game you want. I haven't indicated any of the games I have multiple keys for

I do own at least three community members a game from the previous giveaways that I posted several months ago. I'd totally forgotten about those. I do have a document with their names on, so they will get a game from the original list when I find the document (I'm extremely disorganized); or they can peruse the new list and choose something different. Just post a comment over in the forums in the appropriate thread. If you do post feedback with a view to getting one of the games and think you have covered the requirements, you don't have to do anything until I announce the winners the following week.

Please remember, this comments section is mainly for feedback about today's game giveaway. If you're not sure, read the moderation policy, which you can see HERE