Bound To Slay - Astral Chain

SPEED SAYS: Astral Chain is a unique, enjoyable, and accessible action title. Teaming up with your Legion is both a seamless and intuitive exercise, the management systems are easy to grasp, and levels contain much to discover, unlock and explore. The story may be a hit or miss depending on your tastes, multiplayer could’ve been better, and the graphical niceties a bit more polished, but once you get into the proceedings full-swing, you’ll find that Astral Chain will have roped you in hook, line, and sinker.

- Erik Paolo Escueta

When

Astral Chain was announced, it wasn’t so much skepticism as it was curiosity that surrounded its combat system. One player controlling two characters at the same time in real-time battles? Madness! But not only does Astral Chain pull it off, but it also manages to remain entirely intuitive and accessible for gamers of any and all proficiencies, making it one of the better action titles in recent memory.

Weak links

The story is set in a futuristic city known as the Ark, where monsters called Chimera to terrorize the populace and abduct humans to the Astral Plane. As a new member of the special police task force Neuron, it’s your job to stop them in their tracks with the help of your Legion—a captured Chimera bound to your Legatus arm piece by an Astral Chain. Needless to say, it’s a promising setup.

The main narrative is very unapologetically anime, particularly leaning toward that of the shonen variety. It’d be better to say that your mileage will vary depending on how much you like this particular brand of science fiction—or rather if you can stomach its predictability. At least it’s pleasantly paced and has voiced conversations (in English or Japanese) that help cement the character development ever so slightly. Whichever gender you pick for your character, however, you still end up being a silent protagonist all throughout.

Fight and seek