Astral Chain is a stylish, dense action game from PlatinumGames, the studio behind Bayonetta and Nier: Automata. It drops you into a near-future police force and pairs you with a living weapon called a Legion. The result is a game that demands your full attention, and rewards it with some of the most inventive combat in recent memory.
Trailer, via Nintendo of America.
Patrol Duty in Ark
The game takes place in Ark, a sprawling city built on a flooded Earth. The Astral Plane has opened onto the world, and hostile creatures called Chimeras are spilling through. You play as a rookie officer in Neuron, a special task force equipped with Legions—sentient weapons that fight alongside you.
The story is classic anime sci-fi. It is earnest, a little overwrought, and occasionally silly. But it commits fully to its premise. The world-building is detailed, and the central mystery of the Astral Plane keeps the campaign moving. It is not profound, but it is rarely dull.
Learning the Twin Sticks
The core of Astral Chain is its combat. You control your officer with one stick and your Legion with the other. This is a two-character system that feels overwhelming at first. You will fumble. You will get hit. Then it clicks.
Your Legion can attack independently, or you can chain it to enemies to bind them. You can use it to deflect projectiles, solve puzzles, or ride it like a bike. The game calls this the Sync Attack, and it is the heart of the whole thing. You and your Legion hit the same target from two angles, and the screen fills with light and numbers.
The depth is real. Each of the five Legion types—Sword, Axe, Arms, Beast, and Arrow—has a distinct moveset and a role in combat. Swapping between them mid-fight is fast, and the game encourages you to use the right tool for the right enemy. The difficulty curve is steep, but fair. When you clear a room without taking a hit, it feels earned.
Slow Hours at the Precinct
Between fights, you investigate crimes. Astral Chain is structured like a police procedural. You walk through districts, scan for clues, and interview witnesses. These sections are slower, and they are the game’s weakest moments.
The investigation is shallow. You are often just scanning a room until the game tells you that you have found everything. There is little deduction involved. The game also leans heavily on fetch quests and backtracking. Some of these missions drag, especially when the combat is so clearly the reason you are here.
That said, the pacing is better than most action games. The campaign runs about twenty hours, and it mixes combat, exploration, and occasional stealth. The stealth sections are simple, but they break up the action. The side quests are mostly forgettable, but a few offer decent rewards and small lore drops.
Legion Design and the Switch’s Limits
The presentation is strong. Astral Chain uses a cel-shaded art style that fits the sci-fi setting. The character designs are loud, and the color palette is bold. The game runs at a solid 30 frames per second on Switch, with some drops in the busiest fights. It holds up, though. The soundtrack is a mix of synth and rock, and it knows when to push the tempo.
The Legions themselves are the stars. Each one has a distinct personality, and their idle animations are full of small details. The game also lets you customize your officer’s appearance, though the options are limited. It is a small touch, but it adds a sense of ownership.
The game’s director is Takahisa Taura, and it shows. The action is tight, and the systems are layered. The game does not hold your hand. It throws you into the deep end and expects you to learn. That is a compliment.
Closing the Case File
Astral Chain is not for everyone. The investigation segments will bore some players, and the story will not win over anyone looking for subtlety. But the combat is a genuine achievement. It is a game that rewards practice and experimentation. The Legion system is a fresh take on the action genre, and it is executed with confidence.
The game also has a strong post-game. There are new difficulty modes, extra missions, and a ranking system that encourages replay. If you want to master the combat, there is plenty to dig into. The main campaign is a solid ride, but the real depth is in the optional content.
The Switch is not known for heavy action games, but Astral Chain is a standout. It is a technical feat and a creative one. It is a game that respects your time, even when it asks for a lot of it.
| Legion Type | Primary Role | Best Used Against |
|---|---|---|
| Sword | Balanced melee | General combat |
| Axe | Heavy damage | Armored enemies |
| Arms | Ranged grabs | Flying foes |
| Beast | Speed and agility | Ground swarms |
| Arrow | Precision strikes | Long-range targets |
| Aspect | Astral Chain | Typical Action Game |
|---|---|---|
| Combat focus | Dual-character sync | Single-character combo |
| Pacing | Mixed investigation and action | Action-only |
| Difficulty | Steep and punishing | Moderate |
| Replay value | High, with ranking systems | Low to moderate |
The game is a long haul, but it never stops teaching you. Just when you think you have mastered one Legion, a new enemy type forces you to switch. The game’s best moments come when you are juggling two Legions, a crowd of enemies, and a boss pattern all at once. It is chaos, but it is controlled chaos.
Astral Chain is a must-play for action fans. It is not perfect, but it is ambitious. It takes risks, and most of them pay off. If you own a Switch and want a game that makes you feel like a genius, this is it.
