- Pronouns
- She/Her
As we're coming up on the 4-year anniversary of this most magical and somewhat underappreciated Switch game, let's take a trip and remember why it's one of the greats.
So I've decided to give Astral Chain a new spin. Firing it up, I was wondering how I would feel about it this time around, as you normally do when you're replaying something you remember loving, and it has indeed been years since I last played it. I remember falling head over heels for it when it released - The gameplay was not only flashy and fun in the most Platinum-esque way possible, but also incredibly varied and flavoured, as it branched out into a lot of unexpected areas. Not to mention the engrossing story, the wacky humor, the sublime artstyle and of course Harmony Square.
So after being through 3 files (aka chapters) so far, I can with utmost sincerity confirm that Astral Chain has retained every single piece of its magic. From the very beginning, you're thrust into a frantic motorbike section, before you're taught the ropes of combat in the midst of burning cars, and before you catch your breath, you're introduced to the core cast, thrust through cutscenes that brim with the usual Platinum-branded frenzy, and before the chapter ends, there is a brief section where you have to avoid burning cars thrown your way. I look at the watch, and not even 25 minutes has passed since I pressed the icon on the Switch home menu.
Astral Chain has you picking between male or female Akira - whoever you pick becomes your own silent protagonist, while the other then becomes sort of the main character in the story. You're both employees of a special unit of the police force made out of people that can use Legions - super-powerful fighting companions that are bound to you by a blue chain. The primary threat in the game is the Chimeras, monsters that hail from an alternative dimension, the astral plane. The game begins basic enough, but over the course of 20-ish hours, it just keeps on thrusting the gas pedal to the floor, seemingly just to see what happens.
Combat is of course the center stage here, and phew, what combat! It's a tad overwhelming to control both yourself and your Legions at the same time. Keeping control of your own attack, weapon swap and dodge, while also switching Legions as well as keeping track of their movements and attacks. It could've been a complete mess, but is being held up by all the cool stuff you and your Legion can pull off. For example, holding a button gives you simultaneous, free control of the Legion (usually, it auto-attacks) so that you can circle around your enemies and bind them, or just send them flying away in a counterattack - incredibly satisfying stuff. For me, it all makes for the kind of experience that has me somehow go "Yes!!" inside whenever I see yet another combat arena with a bunch of grunts.
But other than combat, you spend your time investigating areas and crime scenes, or chill out in the police HQ. The former should be dull as bricks, but is being made quite interesting with a couple of elements added to it, you have to gather recounts of events and then puzzle them together to sort of figure out what happened, and use Legion powers to scout out the next astral plane entrance. One of the areas in the game is Harmony Square, hands down one of my personal favourite game areas in recent memory, where the ice cream balance minigame is a highlight. The game also sports a top-tier collectible in the form of toilets, where you get paper you have to donate to a stall. Lastly, the police HQ is where you spend time in between missions to execute maximal chill, and it is a sublime place, with great vibes, colleagues to talk to and the occasional scene with the hilarious police mascot Lappy.
Thing is, this is a game that just never lets up. I think its key characteristic and perhaps the one thing that draws me to it is its refusal to just stop at one point. Instead, it just sprinkles and seasons its elements with more and more, more idiosyncracies, more quirks, more mechanics. The Legion abilities allows you to platform, race and solve puzzles, the investigation scenes are packed with spectacular sidequests, the story is not afraid to throw in one mad element and idea after another, and the bosses in a Platinum game are pretty self-explanatory. Heck, even the chapter names has small descriptors attached to them, such a small detail that I somehow really appreciate.
Playing Astral Chain reminds me of a special kind of energy drink that I drank a lot during my first time playing it: The Pro Brands Raspberry one. It has the very same brisk, eager energy to it that encapsulates the entire experience and makes every one of its quirky intricacies feel refreshing. And that's not mentioning the bangin' music, the sleek and sharp-looking artstyle, all the way to one of the most satisfying finish-off moves in gaming. (Seriously, it rules!)
All in all, Astral Chain is the raspberry energy drink of the Switch library. To me, it was one of the very best games of 2019, and the wait for the next installment in the franchise has been way, way too long.
So I've decided to give Astral Chain a new spin. Firing it up, I was wondering how I would feel about it this time around, as you normally do when you're replaying something you remember loving, and it has indeed been years since I last played it. I remember falling head over heels for it when it released - The gameplay was not only flashy and fun in the most Platinum-esque way possible, but also incredibly varied and flavoured, as it branched out into a lot of unexpected areas. Not to mention the engrossing story, the wacky humor, the sublime artstyle and of course Harmony Square.
So after being through 3 files (aka chapters) so far, I can with utmost sincerity confirm that Astral Chain has retained every single piece of its magic. From the very beginning, you're thrust into a frantic motorbike section, before you're taught the ropes of combat in the midst of burning cars, and before you catch your breath, you're introduced to the core cast, thrust through cutscenes that brim with the usual Platinum-branded frenzy, and before the chapter ends, there is a brief section where you have to avoid burning cars thrown your way. I look at the watch, and not even 25 minutes has passed since I pressed the icon on the Switch home menu.
Astral Chain has you picking between male or female Akira - whoever you pick becomes your own silent protagonist, while the other then becomes sort of the main character in the story. You're both employees of a special unit of the police force made out of people that can use Legions - super-powerful fighting companions that are bound to you by a blue chain. The primary threat in the game is the Chimeras, monsters that hail from an alternative dimension, the astral plane. The game begins basic enough, but over the course of 20-ish hours, it just keeps on thrusting the gas pedal to the floor, seemingly just to see what happens.
Combat is of course the center stage here, and phew, what combat! It's a tad overwhelming to control both yourself and your Legions at the same time. Keeping control of your own attack, weapon swap and dodge, while also switching Legions as well as keeping track of their movements and attacks. It could've been a complete mess, but is being held up by all the cool stuff you and your Legion can pull off. For example, holding a button gives you simultaneous, free control of the Legion (usually, it auto-attacks) so that you can circle around your enemies and bind them, or just send them flying away in a counterattack - incredibly satisfying stuff. For me, it all makes for the kind of experience that has me somehow go "Yes!!" inside whenever I see yet another combat arena with a bunch of grunts.
But other than combat, you spend your time investigating areas and crime scenes, or chill out in the police HQ. The former should be dull as bricks, but is being made quite interesting with a couple of elements added to it, you have to gather recounts of events and then puzzle them together to sort of figure out what happened, and use Legion powers to scout out the next astral plane entrance. One of the areas in the game is Harmony Square, hands down one of my personal favourite game areas in recent memory, where the ice cream balance minigame is a highlight. The game also sports a top-tier collectible in the form of toilets, where you get paper you have to donate to a stall. Lastly, the police HQ is where you spend time in between missions to execute maximal chill, and it is a sublime place, with great vibes, colleagues to talk to and the occasional scene with the hilarious police mascot Lappy.
Thing is, this is a game that just never lets up. I think its key characteristic and perhaps the one thing that draws me to it is its refusal to just stop at one point. Instead, it just sprinkles and seasons its elements with more and more, more idiosyncracies, more quirks, more mechanics. The Legion abilities allows you to platform, race and solve puzzles, the investigation scenes are packed with spectacular sidequests, the story is not afraid to throw in one mad element and idea after another, and the bosses in a Platinum game are pretty self-explanatory. Heck, even the chapter names has small descriptors attached to them, such a small detail that I somehow really appreciate.
Playing Astral Chain reminds me of a special kind of energy drink that I drank a lot during my first time playing it: The Pro Brands Raspberry one. It has the very same brisk, eager energy to it that encapsulates the entire experience and makes every one of its quirky intricacies feel refreshing. And that's not mentioning the bangin' music, the sleek and sharp-looking artstyle, all the way to one of the most satisfying finish-off moves in gaming. (Seriously, it rules!)
All in all, Astral Chain is the raspberry energy drink of the Switch library. To me, it was one of the very best games of 2019, and the wait for the next installment in the franchise has been way, way too long.
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