Although Platinum Games have had several flops, they were the result of a combination of several circumstances - they were licensed products for someone else who was working on the other team, and they also chased them over time with licenses. Korra and Ninja turtles certainly deserve better games, but that is the past. In addition, the authors have set their standard, which is still high from the time of Capcom, where a large part of these people actually originate. So far, the elements of the games that we still remember from Devil May Cry are encoded in the DNA of their games, but at the same time they bring news and move on, while not afraid of experiments.
Bayonetta, Vanquish, and Nier: Slots have already ranks among the classic action genres of the land of the rising sun, and now Platinum Games seems to have brought another. Astral Chain may suffer a bit of lack of attention due to the fact that it is based exclusively on Nintendo Switch, but it is a game with the same ambition as their other titles. And in fact, in a way, it's also a mix between them, which is a consequence of who everyone works on it. The development is led by Takahis Taur, who was the chief designer of Nier: Automata. Hideki Kamiya, creator of DMC and Bayonetta, is also working on it. The character design was done by the well-known manga artist Masakazu Katsura. And the music was composed by Satoshi Igarashi, composer for the second Bayonetta.
You could say that the all-stars team is behind the game and it is from the very first moments. If you played Nier: Automata, you're sure to remember the introduction that had bigger balls than the amount of games at their end. One dynamic scene alternated the other, perspectives changed and the game almost did not let you breathe. Here's something similar. At the beginning you create your character (nothing detailed, just basic features) and get straight to her skin. He's a cop (or cop) called into action, but riding a motorcycle to the crime scene won't get into trouble. You are fighting at high speed, the perspective is changing and there is just another action awaiting you, but this time by hand with a futuristic baton in your hands.
I really like the game at the very beginning to set such a pace and do not relieve it. However, there are story scenes where you can breathe out, but when there is an action, let it go to full speed from the beginning. And in Astral Chain, this is exactly what it is. Along the action, you slowly learn more about your character. You are one of the twins (the other is always the opposite sex) and your father is a recognized police commander. So you have a hard exit, but from the very first moments you feel the fate of this game and your character in it.
The world around you is under attack by monsters to which ordinary people are not enough. However, it seems that you are not ordinary police and therefore an invitation is coming that is not refused. As you will learn in the game, these monsters are the result of an ancient catastrophe when a meteor hit Earth and threatened all of humanity. Moreover, its impact opened the gates between the dimensions through which chimeras began to penetrate us. Mankind thus resorted to an artificially created island called the Ark, where it tries to survive, but the gates began to appear here, too, and the chimeras carry people to the astral plane. The situation is crisis, and even if there is some scraping, you have to arm yourself and fight for the future of humanity.
Well, unfortunately it will come. A game in which you enjoyed every one second of her adrenaline action suddenly slowed down and wants to train you. In the fight against chimeras, humanity deployed Legion. They are actually tame chimeras tied to a cop. They fight with you, protect you, but you must not forget that you have a really dangerous being on the chain. So, you are embarking on a series of tutorials that will teach you how to move (even though you already know it, but you have a few monsters chopped into tiny pieces), fight and finally use your Legion, which is not so easy, as it would seem.
Astral Chain is basically based on Devil May Cry and you will see the individual features right away. You will also get to know Bayonetta and Nier: Automata. It's all about fights that act like an incredibly tempting action ballet, giving out the right timed punches, tying them into combo attacks, defending yourself and attacking again. Just instead of a sword, there is an upgradable baton that changes form. Alternatively, you can reach for enemies that are out of normal reach. In this respect, this is something you may know very well, even though the Platinum Games slightly mixed the rules and modified the control scheme.
And then there is your Legion, who is still on your chain. He basically fights alone, which is true in the sense that you do not directly control him in the fight. He searches for targets, gives them punches, and even saves you if you fall off the platform to meet death. But it will cost you part of your life. All this does not mean that you do not have to be interested in your Legion. At the beginning he can do interesting things and it has not even begun to show his potential. It is attached to you by a chain and you can use it to catch enemies in this chain. This can prevent some attacks. But it is even better to lock the enemies into a chain. You simply circle them, then they are powerless for a while and you can attack. This way you can catch up to several enemies at once, but later in the game it becomes more and more difficult due to the increasingly strong enemies.
Gradually, you will unlock the potential of your Legion, with which you can do combos at the right moment. It can also have up to two other attacks that you can summon. And since it does not jump in the game, when exploring more complex environments and platform arcades you will also use it to move between platforms. You can level the Legion, unlock new slots, equip it with passive skills, improve its statistics and so on. The trees are not somewhat subdivided, after all, the Astral Chain doesn't even have an ambition to be an RPG game, but the finely built RPG mechanics are clearly in favor of gameplay.
Now the spoiler comes, so if you want to avoid it, skip to the next paragraph. Read on? In that case, I will tell you that in the game you will gradually get the opportunity to tie other Legions with you. Everyone is different, everyone in the game can be used for different activities and each has a different special ability. One can heal the infected, the other allows you to accurately aim and shoot at long distances, the other will carry you through some of the pitfalls in the environment. Depending on how far you are in the game and what options you have thanks to your Legion offer, the game also gets complicated and grows in the dangers and puzzles it faces. At the same time, the game promotes replayability, as you will soon have some side passages through which you can get with the later Legion.
You can also edit your Legion visually and take care of it if you like such Tamagotchi nipples, but the game doesn't force you to. The same is true of your character, whose appearance you can change, or even dress otherwise. Again, this is completely voluntary. You will not be leveling it directly, as its statistics improve automatically as its level increases. Maybe even in this area, the authors could incorporate some simpler tree of abilities, in my opinion the game would not be too much combined. However, you can gradually upgrade your weapons here to keep up with stronger enemies.
Astral Chain is divided into 11 chapters, after which you can still get back to the game and solve new cases, although of course beyond the main story. Surprisingly, each chapter contains a lot, and besides the main line, you also have side tasks. Some are just simple tasks in the style of hento and that, but there are others that will take you to the second dimension, for example, if you are looking for a kidnapped boy and the like. You can even collect cans on the streets (which can be used to lure guards in stealth passages, for example) or perform tasks for a toilet nymph.
Many of these activities require a detective mode that is similar to what you know from the Batman: Arkham series. Press the button, a graphic will pop up on the screen, displaying information about the active objects and characters. You can search for clues, hack and so on. In addition, the investigation consists of several parts. First you have to find all available clues and then comes the deduction. The game will show the collected tracks on the side of the screen and you must select the right options from within the dialog to reach the conclusion. The wrong answer does not penalize you so much, but the game still scores you and you get a score at the end of each passage. Just like in other PG games.
Tasks vary from classical to more complex and interesting to really obscure. The game does not force you, not even grindom, although, of course, you can help. Whether in abilities or in useful items in your inventory. There you can add secondary weapons (mines, grenades, drones ...), temporary upgrades and especially many, really many first-aid kits. You will need enough of them here. You assign them to individual slots and you can choose between active items anytime before. When using them, however, you must remember that it takes a while, so you cannot try to heal while a group of enemies kick your butt. You have to jump to safety at least for a while and maybe lose a chance to counter-attack after a perfect dodge. Interestingly, the dichotomy of objects is solved. There are classic permanent ones that you have until you miss them. But even temporary ones that go to the trash after the mission ends, so you need to prioritize your inventory.
The Platinum Games in Astral Chain score the most by how incredibly they managed to progress the game, both in terms of story and gameplay. The drama is on the screen almost constantly, some characters certainly do not have the same, and even in the air you feel that some are pursuing their own agenda, you can no longer predict how some situations will develop. A few moments await you. And the same in gameplay, where the game can still spew new things to the end. Although he recycles one boss twice more in stronger form, but he likes to show off other enemies at the very end, even if you see them only once, and they are not bosses. So you still face something new, you still have new possibilities in your hands, and something new is always happening. Maybe a pity to conclude where the Platinum Games put it on the film Return of the King, which had three successive ends to say goodbye to each character. Here too, there are more 'ends' for authors to close every line.
Graphically, this game is one of the wonders of the Nintendo Switch as it looks great, offers a semi-open environment and moves very well. The graphics of the environment is, of course, simpler, but at the same time very nicely stylized to cover technical shortcomings. Manga character design is perfect and great for the game. The music is perfect, combining orchestra, rock and electronics, and always accurately striking the atmosphere or emotion of the scene. It is very reminiscent of Nier: Automata and it will land very much in the game. English dubbing is so average, some voices do not really sit here, but Japanese dubbing can very well make up. Just a shame that he is the protagonist in the vast majority of the game dumb and even questions from others just nods his head. The talking main character would benefit the game more, especially in some tense scenes.
It is a pity that the game comes out in such a busy period, and +/- 3 days around it comes out other big games that must be beaten for attention. Maybe she's the best of all. Maybe he will even rank among the best games of the year. He has all the prerequisites. The story can catch, the action is again stylish, catchy and brilliantly converted, audiovisual perfectly complements everything and there is a lot of content. It took me over 17 hours to go through the game, and I only did some side tasks here and there. At the same time, it is quite accessible, perhaps the simplest of PG action games. Maybe it will also reach someone next to you and play it in asymmetric cooperation, where the other player takes over Legion, even though it is seen that this mode is just a complement. Even so, you will hardly resist the temptations of the game and when you win it will rank among the greatest classics Platinum Games, which is not to be ashamed of.
