Trying new games outside of my preferred series is always fun. Never really knowing what I’m about to get into until I turn it on. I mean I like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Pokemon, but every now and then I want to try something new. So, I got a game I saw a trailer to once and bought it on a whim. That game was Astral Chain, developed by PlatinumGaming.
With the human species on the brink of extinction and the earth dead, the last of the human race lives in an artificial city called ‘The Ark’. Earth is being invaded by a dimension called the Astral Plain. Doorways to the Astral Plain are called ‘gates’ which leaves Red Matter in its wake that infects humans. While infected with red matter, humans start a process called red shifting. If left untreated humans will turn into Aberrations, which attacks everything insight.
But earth has one more enemy from the Astral Plane. Chimeras, monsters that are invisible to the human eye. Stronger than aberrations, they come through gates and spread red matter, and capture humans and bring them into the Astral Plane. However, Chimeras are kept as a secret from the public and it is up to the Neuron Task Force, a special police force, to combat the Chimeras and anything regarding the Astral Plane.
Legions are special weapons, Chimeras that have been captured and turned into weapons that work with humans. A chain connects the legion and its’ human partner that forms a mental link. However, only certain individuals are able to synchronize properly with legions.
The playable character is a twin, [EnterName] Howard, who is customizable. They, and their fraternal twin, Akira, are rookie police officers who join Neuron. Now I won’t spoil the whole story as it’s pretty interesting so let’s get into gameplay.
It’s a fast-paced fighting game that at first glance doesn’t have much in the way of strategy. But there’s more than just spamming the attack and dodge button. As you’re fighting you control the legion. You can move it to an enemy and it’ll attack it automatically. And the chain that connects the legion to the player is used for several things. From wrapping it around enemies to being pulled toward a flying enemy. There are also multiple types of legions that join you over time. From an offensive type to defensive, up close and personal or ranged, there is a legion for different scenarios in a fight.
The game is separated into different sections called Files (or missions). They are parts of the story that you can go back to after completing them. At the start of each file (with a few exceptions) you start at Neuron with a few things to do. But the player is stuck in the building until you leave for the mission. My biggest complaint is that you can’t explore the Ark as you please. The only time you leave Neuron is during a File and you only go to the places where the mission takes place.
So what do the legions do when it comes to exploration? Are they of any use? Well the answer to that is yes AND no. Legions can track down chimeras that need to be found. Scattered around the Ark is red matter and Legions are able to clean it up with no issue. The game keeps track of how much red matter is cleaned up in each file. The very first legion the player gets, the Sword Legion, is able to blue shift (or cure) red shifting individuals who are on their way becoming aberrations. Later on players get the Beast Legion, which is able to locate and dig up piles that can have items in them. It can also be ridden to get around faster. So legions are useful for exploring the areas but only if you go out of your way to explore.
The game has a TON of achievements to obtain and with every achievement there is a type of reward. If players don’t go after achievements the ability to customize legions colors’ or further customize the character is limited. If you are a fan of completing large games to 100% then this game will prove a challenge to do just that.
That’s about all I have to say about Astral Chain without giving away spoilers about the story. It’s different, but a good kind of different. A game with an interesting story and unique gimmick. If you want something different then give it a try.
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