PlatinumGames built Astral Chain around a simple idea: two characters, one chain, no room to stand still. The Switch exclusive launched in 2019 and still stands as one of the console’s sharpest action games.
Trailer, via Nintendo of America.
Takahisa Taura and the Nier: Automata Pedigree
Takahisa Taura directed Astral Chain after serving as lead game designer on Nier: Automata. Hideki Kamiya, the creator of Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, supervised. Manga artist Masakazu Katsura designed the characters.
That lineup explains a lot. The combat has Platinum’s usual bite, but the structure borrows from investigation games and open-world adventures. The result is a hack and slash that asks you to slow down and investigate between fights.
The Ark, Neuron, and the Year 2078
Astral Chain is set in 2078. Humanity is nearly extinct and has retreated to the Ark, a megacity built as an artificial island. Chimeras, normally invisible creatures from the Astral Plane, attack through wormholes called gates and spread “red matter” that corrupts living things into aberrations.
The Neuron task force, a division of the Ark’s police, fights back with Legions — chimeras tethered to an officer by a psychic chain. You play one of two twin recruits. Your opposite-gender twin is Akira Howard. The cast includes captain Maximilian Howard, commander Yoseph Calvert, and officers Alicia Lopez and Jin Wong.
Five Legions, One Chain
Combat revolves around controlling your character and their Legion at the same time. Five Legions appear across the game, each with a distinct job:
- Sword Legion — swift blade attacks that sever circuitry and interrupt enemies
- Archer Legion — targets weak points and distant switches
- Arm Legion — powerful punches that move large objects
- Axe Legion — generates a shield and breaks enemy shields
- K9 Legion — tracks scents, unearths hidden objects, and can be ridden
You start with the Sword Legion and capture the other four. Legions swap mid-battle, level up through experience points, and carry their own health meter that drains while summoned.
A Running Order Worth Planning Around
| Phase | What you are doing |
|---|---|
| Case work | Questioning characters, examining evidence, solving logic puzzles |
| Astral Plane | Traversing hazardous terrain, puzzles, dungeon-style battles |
| Combat | Swapping Legions, chaining attacks, restraining chimeras |
The Astral Plane sections play like traditional dungeons. They break up the pacing, though the investigation stretches can drag against the combat’s momentum.
Where Astral Chain Stumbles
The dual-character control is the whole game, and it takes time to feel natural. Early fights punish sloppy Legion positioning. The health drain on summoned Legions adds pressure, but it also forces constant swapping that can interrupt the flow Platinum built.
The story moves through familiar beats. Twins, a dead mother, an adoption by the captain, a berserk Legion. It works, but it rarely surprises.
The Verdict on Astral Chain
Astral Chain earns its place among the Switch’s best action games. The Legion system is a genuine mechanical invention, not a gimmick, and the five forms give combat real range. The investigation half is weaker, and the plot settles for competence over ambition.
What matters is that Platinum shipped something only Platinum would make. Astral Chain is worth the chain.
Get the Notebook.
The day's best stories and every fresh verdict, in plain English, in your inbox by seven. One email a day, no more.
