Aero Porter

Aero Porter is a 2012 puzzle game developed by Level-5 and directed by Yoot Saito, released for the Nintendo 3DS as part of the Guild02 collection of downloadable titles. The player runs an airport's baggage-handling system, sorting incoming suitcases onto a series of vertically stacked conveyor belts by colour so that each plane departs loaded with luggage matching its airline. Bags arrive continuously and must be shuffled up and down between belts using the shoulder buttons, with the difficulty rising as more colours, heavier traffic and special items are introduced. Complicating matters are resource-management wrinkles such as limited fuel that depletes as belts run, occasional bombs that must be isolated, and VIP or priority luggage. The game adopts a quietly satirical, business-sim framing, tracking the airport's finances and growth over an in-game day-night cycle. Critics found Aero Porter an unusual, demanding and oddly compelling design typical of Saito's offbeat sensibilities (he is also known for Seaman and SimTower), though some considered its presentation austere and its core loop stressful rather than relaxing. As one of the Guild02 trio alongside The Starship Damrey and Crimson Shroud, it formed part of Level-5's effort to spotlight experimental work from veteran Japanese designers on digital storefronts.