if you’re into HacknSlash, this is a Nintendo switch must-play. Besides the few hiccups, it’s on the path to something great. The combat was fresh, and I enjoyed exploring the world. This is a game that gets both better and worse over time. As you play, things will improve like the combat while some get worse, like the story for instance.
World: 5/5
Astral chain's world is one of the game's stronger points. The devs nailed the sci-fi setting they were going for. The police slash futuristic aesthetic is fleshed out and works really well. Overall I loved the atmosphere this game gave.
Characters: 2/5
The characters in Astral chain are good because they are memorable, they have personalities and nuances that make them easily stand on their own. But it stops there. Once you get past the early chapters all the cast gets thrown to the side and forgotten. All the characters in Astral chain have a good base but they’re just never fleshed out.
Combat: 4/5
The combat consists of controlling your character, a legion (Think Brothers gameplay) and utilizing the chain. It takes a while to get used to the combat as there are a lot of controls and it feels quite overwhelming, but once you get it down, controlling and switching between the legions becomes super fun. With that said, the entire time I was playing, I did feel the combat was missing something to smooth it out. Maybe it was due to the clunky camera and legion movement with the stick. But it does get better when you unlock sync attacks and perfect dodge.
Boss fights: 4/5
Most of the story-related boss fights were amazing, good challenges, soundtrack, and camera angles, they felt "epic" like a boss fight should. That being said, unfortunately, the story-related fights are a few, the majority of boss fights that weren't related to the story consisted of spamming the one right legion until they die – pretty boring.
Detective segments: 3/5
Most of the police/detective segments were also boring. There are some that are interesting at first, like using your legions to eavesdrop on civilian conversations, but by the fifth time you’re told to do it, it starts to lose its charm and you'll want a skip button. Too repetitive and tedious.
Story: 2/5
The story was poorly written. It had a good build up and I was intrigued but then it kills one of the main villains who the game had been hyping up and never exactly explains what their point was (if they even had one to begin with) . By the end of the game when “all is revealed”, it still doesn’t make sense and is underwhelming. The story wasn’t even mediocre, it was just downright bad.
World: 5/5
Astral chain's world is one of the game's stronger points. The devs nailed the sci-fi setting they were going for. The police slash futuristic aesthetic is fleshed out and works really well. Overall I loved the atmosphere this game gave.
Characters: 2/5
The characters in Astral chain are good because they are memorable, they have personalities and nuances that make them easily stand on their own. But it stops there. Once you get past the early chapters all the cast gets thrown to the side and forgotten. All the characters in Astral chain have a good base but they’re just never fleshed out.
Combat: 4/5
The combat consists of controlling your character, a legion (Think Brothers gameplay) and utilizing the chain. It takes a while to get used to the combat as there are a lot of controls and it feels quite overwhelming, but once you get it down, controlling and switching between the legions becomes super fun. With that said, the entire time I was playing, I did feel the combat was missing something to smooth it out. Maybe it was due to the clunky camera and legion movement with the stick. But it does get better when you unlock sync attacks and perfect dodge.
Boss fights: 4/5
Most of the story-related boss fights were amazing, good challenges, soundtrack, and camera angles, they felt "epic" like a boss fight should. That being said, unfortunately, the story-related fights are a few, the majority of boss fights that weren't related to the story consisted of spamming the one right legion until they die – pretty boring.
Detective segments: 3/5
Most of the police/detective segments were also boring. There are some that are interesting at first, like using your legions to eavesdrop on civilian conversations, but by the fifth time you’re told to do it, it starts to lose its charm and you'll want a skip button. Too repetitive and tedious.
Story: 2/5
The story was poorly written. It had a good build up and I was intrigued but then it kills one of the main villains who the game had been hyping up and never exactly explains what their point was (if they even had one to begin with) . By the end of the game when “all is revealed”, it still doesn’t make sense and is underwhelming. The story wasn’t even mediocre, it was just downright bad.