Astral Chain

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JaySevenZero
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Astral Chain

Post by JaySevenZero »

Here's where you can contribute your thoughts and opinions for Astral Chain for potential inclusion in the forthcoming podcast.

A friendly reminder that where the feedback for the podcast is concerned, we love it - but keeping it brief is appreciated. We do want to include a breadth of opinions where appropriate, but no-one wants a discussion podcast that’s mostly reading out essays. Better to save yourself time and cut to the chase if you can.
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Buskalilly
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Re: 529: Astral Chain

Post by Buskalilly »

What an underrated game! Amazing dodge-and-repeat Platinum action with a unique monster companion twist. For the most part, the story was pretty ordinary anime stuff but I felt it was asking questions that Pokemon, Digimon and the like never would.

The only issue I had with the game was something that didn't really exist. I was getting stressed, working up a sweat like it was the most difficult game I'd ever played, but I was never actually failing levels. I was obsessed with getting the best rank, winning everything in the slickest, most stylish way and not getting hit. Once I realised I didn't actually need to play that way, the game became a much more comfortable experience!
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Kasuga-san
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Re: 529: Astral Chain

Post by Kasuga-san »

Astral Chain was a pleasant surprise in what turned out to be a solid year for the Switch. The story doesn't break any new ground in the anime tropes of corrupt authority figures and surface level existential questions. The free roaming "investigation" portions could have done with a little more work, but I never felt they were anything too egregious. The combat is where the real meat of the game is and flipping between Legions and weapons felt so good. It definitely takes a lot of getting used to while coming to grips with controlling two characters at once, but I felt like that wrinkle was refreshing. By the end of the game it felt like second nature (though, I seem to recall camera issues being a problem from time to time). In a genre where too many games are happy to just hand you your typical attack, jump, and dodge/block buttons, I'm glad we have PlatinumGames around to take risks most other companies would not. It doesn't always work, but this game truly stands out from the others.
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Kodama1987
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Re: 529: Astral Chain

Post by Kodama1987 »

By no means a difficult game and a little repetitive, I really enjoyed my playthrough of Astral Chain. The combat is classic Platinum with either hordes of enemies or a boss for you to overcome to test your skill level to progress.
Some customisation to both character and legions kept me entertained for longer than I'd like to admit. Pimping out each legion in their own colours as if I wouldn't be able to tell which one I was using. As with other platinum games button mashing is quite often likely to get you through a fight but changing up you legions and battle tactics is much more entertaining. Using the chain counter and chain bind was a great mechanic that was a little tricky to accomplish at first due to the dual character controlling mechanics but so much fun and absolutely integral in finishing some fights and getting anything close to a good ranking. The investigation phases of the game seemed not to be to everyone's liking but i appreciated the change in pace and use of legion skills.
Overall I would highly recommend this game for it's overall enjoyment, aesthetics and short gameplay time but I wouldn't go handing it any awards for story.

Three word review: pure platinum fun
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seansthomas
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Re: 529: Astral Chain

Post by seansthomas »

Astral chain is a glorious romp. A stylish, satisfying story laden with fresh ideas, interesting mechanics and deep combat.

It reminds me of gaming from the PS2 era or those weird Wii titles you don't get nowadays, in how it melds so many things together and amazingly pulls it off.

Being a Platinum game, you'd expect it to be stylish. And it truly is. It's unique art direction zings on that screen. Alongside Luigi's Mansion 3 it's one of the Switch's visual showpieces, though it'll arguably date better much like ARMS or Splatoon, for having a graphical style that defies time.

Being a Platinum game, you'd expect it to have great combat and huge bosses. And Astral Chain doesn't let us down here. The combat system is the most interesting that the developers have created yet, with the dual stick fighting initially feeling unfathomable but eventually becoming second nature.

Where Platinum games tend to fall down for me, is that I don't master their potential through repeat playthroughs, and so I always leave the experience feeling like it was great fun, but that I've only scratched the surface.

Astral Chain didn't do that at all. Due to introducing the Legions gradually, I felt like I had time to get pretty good with each of them, which culminates in getting to switch between them all at will by the finale. And having such variety within the gameplay and a story that, whilst generic at times, fully engaged me, I felt like satiated entirely.

That variety of gameplay is so rare these days, and why I compare it to games from the early 2000s. Leaning into your character being a cop is very smart; detective investigations, missing persons cases, tidying up litter, helping a lost kid, saving a kitten... it really mixes up the combat and you look forward to the respite sections of its core gameplay.

What with the brilliant soundtrack, the quirky humour, the lovable hub area and hidden secrets, I had a smile on my face throughout. There is a brilliant run of levels from about worlds 3 to 5, which felt like I was playing a game that combined Kojima's playfulness in those PS2 Metal Gear classics with Suda 51's desire to innovative with Killer 7 and No more heroes and Sega's experiments with Shenmue and Yakuza. All wrapped up in combat that only Platinum or Capcom ever get close to.

It could have maybe been a tad shorter or lost some of the astral realm enemy combat levels to speed up the final third. Those red oppressive zones lacked the joy of the main games setting after a while. But generally I was just thankful that a game like this could get made in the modern era.

For me, it's the most underrated Switch game and a complete, one off that throws the kitchen sink at everything it does. I dearly hope it's not the last of its kind.
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Scrustle
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Re: 529: Astral Chain

Post by Scrustle »

Astral Chain is a fantastic game that does a lot of very innovative things within its genre, but as a result can also be a bit obtuse and hard to get the hang of. I put this game on the more experimental side of Platinum’s catalogue, which I tend to be rather hit-and-miss with. At first I thought this was going to be one that I didn’t get on with, but after a while of playing it finally clicked and realised how great it is. It actually took me quite a long time, as I was halfway through my first playthrough before I finally got the hang of it.

The main thing that makes this game stand out, and what you really need to wrap your head around to fully enjoy it, is how it makes you change the way you think about your positioning. In this game you aren’t just playing as a single character who happens to have an AI helper. You are playing as both at the same time, and where each of you are in space relative to the other is a big factor in playing effectively. Manoeuvring around enemies and setting up situations to exploit to your advantage is really important, and all your best moves are ones you do together with your Legion. It really puts you in to a different mindset than other action games. It’s so exhilarating and rewarding when you get in that zone, feeling like a multitasking master, setting up a web of overlapping attacks and synchronised moves. There’s nothing else quite like it.

The other gameplay systems are a mixed bag, but some of them do work pretty effectively and give this game a unique character and a feeling that it is willing to take risks and try out new things. The RPG mechanics of upgrading your stats and unlocking moves are a bit unnecessarily complicated though. That was one thing that was holding me back from enjoying the game at first, as I didn’t realise I was actually missing a bunch of essential moves through forgetting to upgrade my weapons. The more open level design with sidequests work better, although are a bit inconsistent in quality. Being able to explore the world is fun, and gives this setting a sense of place and believability. Some of the sidequests are entertaining and flesh out the world and characters more, while others feel like box-ticking busywork.

Aesthetically this game is really impressive. Even though it only runs at 30fps, Platinum managed to get a lot out of the Switch with this game. The cyberpunk cityscapes look fantastic, with some great slick design and strong colour choices, and not forgetting the more dirty corners that give it a lived-in feel. The Astral Plane sections let them go wild with more abstract shapes too. The Legion designs are great, all with a stylish and sleek look, but each having a very distinctive silhouette. The soundtrack is also a big highlight, mixing a lot of different genres. The combat tracks in particular manage to mix a heavy, prog metal sound with a futuristic and etherial tone that works very well. It’s easily one of my favourite game soundtracks in recent years.

Overall it’s a brilliant game that shows Platinum still know how to make something unique and break new ground in the action genre, while still nailing the fundamentals. It is perhaps more niche than their usual output, which is already pretty niche to begin with. I can see why some people bounced off it, but I feel like it’s been somewhat overlooked for how great it is, as it’s more than worth it to get over that hump and experience what this game is offering. And Lappy is great too.

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P.S. Once again I tried to keep this as short as I could, but probably didn’t do very well. I don’t mind it being trimmed for pacing.
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