Astral Chain is a superb original release on the Switch, a sophisticated action-adventure worthy of the PlatinumGames brand and absent of compromise, primed to become a new successful franchise.
The Nintendo Switch is working its way through an outstanding array of releases this year, but one of their most distinguished third-party brand partners has been completely absent thus far. PlatinumGames debuted on the platform with their 2018 port of the resplendent Bayonetta 2, a Nintendo exclusive previously locked in for the Wii U system. Now with, Astral Chain, the fan-favorite studio returns with its first original IP on the Switch, and it’s a knockout exclusive that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with some of the best games in their roster. While it trades in the complex combo arrangements of other so-called “character action” games, its unique approach centers on tethered familiars known as legions, with a strong emphasis on wild visual design and anime-influenced storytelling.
Players choose either a male or female twin sibling, with some minor initial customization available for things like skin color and hairstyle. Afterward, the other sibling takes part in the narrative alongside you and appears regularly throughout the story (your selected player character serves as your standard-issue silent protagonist), which kicks off with their acceptance into their Neuron police force under their gruff father, Max. The year is 2078 and humans have been reduced to living on a densely-populated artificial island in a city known as The Ark, now beset by monstrous tech horrors called chimeras, twisted beings regularly invading the area, kidnapping and preying on the people within.
The focus on narrative in Astral Chain cannot be overstated — there’s a whole lot of story to tell, and the first File of the game (each chapter is called a “File” and represents a discreet series of cases for Neuron) is almost burdensome, with keywords and game mechanics piled on hard and fast. Even so, by the end of File 03 you’ll only just be getting a solid foundation of the game’s main qualities, with combat complexity opening up to incorporate different swappable legions and a good mix of enemy types. All of this carries a hyperactive quality reminiscent of certain anime series, so anyone familiar with that material will feel right at home, and probably call out the big plot turns well ahead of time.
To combat the interdimensional menace and protect the remaining humans, special Neuron officers are equipped with a Legatus, a device which tethers them to a particular legion, who are techno-demon familiars tugged around on a glowing chain. Legions can partially function on their own but they’re made most effective by directly guiding their actions and abilities, which requires holding down the ZL trigger to input different orders on the fly. Pushing the analog stick when holding it allows you direct movement control, and equippable powers can be activated with sufficient energy reserves and button prompts. You can even utilize the titular chain itself alongside your legion to tie up an enemy or clothes-line them mid-dash.
At first, there’s something of a head-patting tummy-rubbing quality to this unique mechanical system, slightly reminiscent of wrapping your head around the control scheme of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Your player character can also attack enemies directly with a transforming baton, which opens them up to special combo opportunities when your legion is on the field, leading to flashy moves and better rewards from defeated foes. Legions also have a constantly draining energy gauge, and will need to be periodically plucked from combat to recharge as you fight enemies on your own, albeit briefly.
While there are several difficulty settings to choose from — including an easy cakewalk story mode and a relatively forgiving limited-continues standard mode — when Astral Chain’s combat opens up it compares favorably to the expectant challenge of most other PlatinumGames titles, especially when pursuing the rewards offered for good grades. Each combat scenario provides a letter grade (similar to Bayonetta or Devil May Cry), and while you can stumble clumsily through a tough fight and possibly make it through, most players will want to master the different mechanics for better scores.
Outside of the excellent combat, Astral Chain’s investigative portions turn out to be equally engrossing. You’re usually given a section of the city to wander around in, and while you can plow on through to the mission-critical checkpoints, there are side cases, hidden items, and numerous NPCs to interact with on the way. Much like Yakuza, the game mixes exploration, distraction, and action in absorbing fashion, with well-written dialogue and diversions that always feel like worthy uses of your time. Maybe a group of children playing soccer in an alley have a logic puzzle for you to solve, or a distant ledge can be reached by having your legion yank you over a pit, to find some redshift crystals to shatter, or a new healing item or article of clothing.
That’s right, the different legions aren’t only restricted to fighting chimeras. Other NPCs actually can't see a legion dashing around, so you can use them to eavesdrop on NPC conversations or tie up a criminal caught in the act. There's also a special camera called "IRIS" which functions as a kind of “detective vision,” highlighting interactive parts of the environment or showing the ghosts of previous actions to help solve a crime. The application of the legion through these exploration sections always feels dynamic and satisfying to experiment with, and although Astral Chain’s combat is arguably the main attraction here, nosing around each area never feels like a frustrating interruption.
If a friend’s nearby, Astral Chain includes a drop-in couch co-op mode, though it might be the most half-baked feature in the game and feels somewhat like a late-minute add-in. Once engaged, each player can use a JoyCon to control the player and the selected legion, respectively, but the lack of a full range of buttons means the balance feels compromised. In fact, player two ends up having full control of the camera for some reason, and it’s impossible to enter the minus button pause menu when two people are playing at once. It’s certainly an interesting inclusion, but anyone intending to play through the entirety of the game this way might feel hard-pressed to complete it.
There’s plenty of excellent voice acting throughout the game and, combined with the the upbeat soundtrack and slick UI, there’s an energetic aesthetic that is strongly reminiscent of the modern Persona entries (which is very high praise indeed). With eye-popping legion and character designs and stutter-free animation, Astral Chain is an absolutely beautiful Switch game, and looks virtually identical whether docked or on the go. Later Files feature intricate and busy cyberpunk-flavored locales, and the Astral Plane’s dream-like geometric hellscape provides a great contrast to the lights and neon billboards of the city. As a sidenote, the game also features wonderful cats, which seems like a minor detail that is still worth mentioning.
All in all, the main demerits to Astral Chain are its co-op mode and occasionally unwieldy camera during combat, which blocks out defensive call-outs and can get in the way of a top score. Regardless, the diversity of things to do and the solid narrative foundation makes this a lively Nintendo Switch exclusive that should capture your attention through to the end of the year.
Replayability is quite high as well, with unlockable difficulty modes pulling you back into each File for more combat attempts, re-equipping and upgrading different legion types as you claw your way up to S+ rankings. PlatinumGames can finally claim a superb original release on the Switch, a sophisticated action-adventure worthy of their brand and absent of compromise, primed to become a new successful franchise.
Astral Chain releases on the Nintendo Switch on August 30. A digital copy of the game was provided to Screen Rant, for purposes of review.