Astral Chain

(Save file clocked at 20 hours, 38 minutes and 11 seconds after the end credits rolled. In handheld mode with Japanese voice and text. Played as a lad.)

Playing Astral Chain made me think about why Hideki Kamiya left Platinum Games. My current conclusion, which has no basis other than how much I dislike this AC game, is that the more experiment-encouraging co-founder was let go by investors for several failed experiments he encouraged. As much as I despise corporate greed, I do know the feeling of not liking what I paid for, so I really cannot blame the money people too much on this one.

Astral Chain has so many baffling design choices that I could not help but constantly utter very foul things under my breath while playing it, whether it’s on the lo, during commuting or in the privacy of lying down. Now I stop playing, it’s time to pick up the thoughts.

Akira or Legion

Welcome to the year 2078 common era and, you guessed it, the planet Earth has been fouled up beyond any recognition for at least a couple of decades by then. Destroyers of the world this time around are known as Chimera from Astral Plane. The remaining humans can only live in a city state called Ark. However, seventy-eight is going to be good year for the citizens there, as a new type of weapon called Legion is developed and deployed. Enjoys rookie cops the Howard twins, the one of them not named Akira will put those Legions to good use.

Look at the story Astral of Chain, one would think Platinum Games was doubling down on everything they did in NieR Automata, including being an EVA copycat. It’s almost beat for beat: a commanding officer that cannot be trusted; a hot lady with long hair being second in command plus her “girlfriend” with short hair in a lab coat is in charge of medic; clones; “making” monsters to fight monsters…The list just goes on and on. All they need is a bad father figure, but the Howard twin seemed to be raised by a pretty cool dude cop here. Guess the design of Legions was a dead giveaway.

While Platinum Games never broke new ground on the narrative front, their Bayonetta games usually put a humorous spine on their homages so those can be seen as parodies. Astral Chain is a broadline photo copy, and it’s the least offensive aspect of the game. I mean I don’t like the “player character’s boss having a heel turn” trope, but at least there is some “how else do they go ‘Game over, man. Game over’?” aspect of forgiving. The gender choice of either playable or vocal is bit weird, but then the rabbit hole just goes deeper…

The 21 or so hours I spent on this game felt rather padded out. The 11 chapters called Case Files are usually divided into 2 parts: one about being a beat cop in some hub areas and the other about chasing before clubbing some fools. The hub areas contain side cases ranging from helping out fellow police officers in the line of duty to, you guessed it again, saving the bloody cats. Platinum Games’ talent in making the mandate interesting is low when compared to Bandai Namco, Atlus and the likes, Astral Chain just showed their shortcomings completely.

Jump button and more camera control, please

Astral Chain is also the most mechanically baffling game yours truly have the displeasure to play since 2009’s Resident Evil 5. The game released 15 years ago was a run and gun game that does not let its players run and gun at the same time (Yes, I am fine with shooting black “zombies” in the continent of Africa. And no, the way they allowed me to do so just did not entertain me at all.), while 2019’s AC is a 3D platformer without a dedicated jump button. The lack of the ability to jump is extra jarring after NieR Automata, the open world of which would have been unbearable without simple way to jump and air dash.

The addition of controlling Legion directly should have been more freeing but Platinum’s crew on this game managed to make it feeling more restrained instead. For one thing, after letting Legion out with left trigger and controlling them by holding the same trigger would take away right stick’s camera control. As soon as Legion becomes off-screen, it all becomes a guessing game, which can be a big problem in the heat of battle. Rest assured, this game does have platforming: one has to let out a Legion, move the damned thing over a gap to another place with right stick, make sure it has a footing with an on-screen indicator, then squeeze the right trigger to move there. Oh, some obstacle might prevent you from jumping over there, so have fun.

If you see some unreachable places in the game and think those Legion can reach it, well, you are right as long as there is no elevation or obstacles. Those cannot jump nor move through wall. I am not talking about chest or overhead height wall here, just curbs on the ground the player character cannot walk over. Turns out, those curbs can stop Legion dead as well. There are side cases like getting ballons for kids where the Legion “suddenly” can reach higher places, making the elaborate to a fault design in other places all the more jarring.

So, Legions cannot jump, cannot go through the smallest obstacles, can only flow in an extremely limited capacity. Oh, how controlling extradimensional monastery becomes a chore in this game. Bayonetta Origin Cereza and the Lost Demon is a much better game because of its simplicity, so I guess at least they did see problems in AC as well.

On default setting, Astral Chain’s combat depends almost solely on right trigger for attacking. Up and down on D-pad are switching among a short baton, a longer baton and a pistol. The down face button is for dodge and like other Platinum whacking games, well-timed dodges usually provide more powerful counterattacks. Then there are the over-the-shoulder Legion attacks by left bumper. There are 5 er, Styles of Legion, all unlocked before the game’s third act: Sword for slashing certain items and all round; Arrow obvious for aim-and-shoot; Arm for heavy lifting; Beast for sniff out things and occasionally fast movement; Axe with its shield. All in all combat ain’t nothing to write home about, Platinum Games’ name of great action game maker is in the mud here. Forcing to turn on IRIS with the plus key, this game’s “detective mode” so to speak, just to see life bars of bosses does not help.

Given out Control

By the time I got my hands on a physical copy of Astral Chain in early September, 2019, the game’s lunch was eaten completely by CONTROL. Now I finally played through it, I say it can give its breakfast and dinner to Remedy’s 2019 shooter as well. CONTROL has some same ingredients: sibling saving sibling story, Astral Plane and transforming weapon. However it does not meddle with the fundamental before its intentionally weird stuff comes out. AC, on the other hand, simply appeared as not put together too well. Guess it’s time to put the copy back on my shelf, preferably in a corner so it won’t be missed.