Platinum Games, the developers behind the critically-acclaimed Nier: Automata, just released a brand new game called Astral Chain, which features similar art and gameplay as their Nier: Automata title. But Platinum has also promised that the new game will be more than just a draw for fans of its earlier title.
Astral Chain, in contrast to Nier: Automata, is an action game targeted at gamers who are not very good at playing action games. And unlike Nier, Astral Chain has been the only game the studio has been working on over the last few months, which means they are dedicating all of their time and effort into what will surely be a gem of a game that focuses on tactics and gameplay other than mere button-mashing.
Much of the success of Platinum’s meteoric rise came when Microsoft canceled the much-anticipated game Scalebound in February of 2017. Platinum Games, as well as their game Nier: Automata, ended up being in the right spot at just the right moment and scooped up many of the fans who had been long waiting for Scalebound’s release.
With the addition of their latest game, Platinum hopes to be able to use its own game designs and publish them on their own. (Previously, the development team had only been working in conjunction with other companies.)
This week, one reporter got a chance to play Astral Chain. They were absolutely floored about how amazing the game played. The action is on par with some of the best action games of all time.
The reporter, Chris Plante, said “Astral chain is an action game for beginners. The default difficulty mode favors story over challenge.” So essentially, the game will be about the lived experiences of its characters instead of branching pathways and skill trees. But this means developers can focus on creating a truly immersive experience.
There is also a more difficult story called “Pt Standard,” which will give the players more of a challenge. And the good news is that it’s available from the very beginning of the game. But Pt Standard, despite having the boosted difficulty during its action sequences, also provides gamers with a hefty amount of items and health upgrades, so the difficulty is only found in the actual gameplay and not in resource management.
Astral Chain officially launches today, August 30th. If you enjoyed Nier: Automata, you can pick up a copy of Platinum Games’ latest on the Nintendo Switch.
