The first announcement trailer for Astral Chain instantly sold me. I'm easily swayed by cyberpunk and hyper futuristic settings. Developed by Platinum Games, Astral Chain puts you in the shoes of one of two twins as they've been selected to join the Neuron Police Force. Specifically, you have a unique ability to control what's called a Legion. Basically the area you're in is seeing a spike in appearances from beings known as Chimeras. Then there's more talk of an alternate dimension known as the Astral Plane where they hail from. Your Legion is basically a converted Chimera and is hooked to you via a chain (and now we have a game title folks!). That's pretty much the gist of the plot. There are some story beats that can be seen a mile away in terms of twists but it's full of high octane action. I guess though that's pretty standard for Platinum right?
As I mentioned before, you control both yourself and your equipped Legion at the same time. Your main attacks are mapped to the shoulder triggers and you can swap between three types of weapons. The Baton can transform into a gun for long range enemies and even a broadsword for heavier attacks. Throughout the game, you'll recapture certain special chimeras and add them to your arsenal. Each of these Legions have special fighting styles. From swords, to fists, and even a beast with tracking abilities. Getting way more into the system includes a variety skill trees that each of your weapons can progress through, along with ability slots with effects like auto healing and increasing critical hits!
While fighting, you can initiate what are called sync attacks to deliver crazy combo hits with your Legion. You're also able to send them out and control them to do things like entrap enemies with your Astral Chain, open large doors, and dig up items. The art design is absolutely stellar with full blown neon lights decorating night time scenes and highly technological elements. The voice acting was what I sort of expected, kinda hit on some classic anime tropes (there were even opening and ending theme songs) but I didn't really connect with any of the characters. It also seems like there are certain plot elements left wide open that I fully didn't understand. These misunderstandings appeared to be placed within memos and notes you earn/collect in the game.
Truly, it's the action that make this game extremely fun and addicting. While your Legion is out, you have to be wary of their own life bar before they become unusable. Not to worry though! Simply dismissing them can cause it to recharge fully. There are two varieties of quests you can complete while playing. The Blue cases hover around the side quest spectrum, while Red cases supplement the main story.
Some of these can be simple lost and found fetch quests and some turn into little mini games! I found myself using the Sword and Arm Legions the most but there's certainly some replay value at the end of the game. Mainly in developing each Legion fully along with your weapon and what's called the Legatus (where your Legion is stored). After each chapter, you turn in your score which helps increase your Police rank. That's pretty much tied to your health and overall stats. The music really was a delight to listen to. It made the action that much more exciting. The bosses were pretty spectacular, and some of the set pieces kept me on the edge of my seat!
Several things to note: I played on the Casual difficulty which DEFINITELY felt easy as all hell. I probably would have done fine going with the Platinum Standard as I'm actually seeing a challenge as I tackle some bonus endgame content. I also have been trying to use my own screenshots while playing the game however I transferred over to a brand new Switch of my own so I couldn't bring over the many images I took. It took me about 20 hours to clear the main story, and certainly see myself playing it again sometime on a harder difficulty. Especially if there's a New Game + option!
Astral Chain is an exciting breath of fresh air for Switch owners and if you're a fan of high action games or Platinum as a developer, then you'll feel right at home! The start of the game can feel like a lot as you get introduced to the controls but it becomes easier over time as you play more! The voice acting is ok and while the story can seem a bit predictable, it doesn't take away from the overall experience!
Should you Play this Game?
Yes! Astral Chain is an exciting entry for the Nintendo Switch's vast library of games. With sequences that can make you addicted to playing more and gorgeous visuals! Predictable story as I said doesn't really take you out of it too much and there's so much variety in customizing your Legion to fit your own play style!
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