Astral Chain

About Astral Chain

PlatinumGames released Astral Chain on August 30, 2019, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch. This title drops you into Ark, a near-future metropolis where dimensional gates unleash monsters that overwhelm standard police forces. You join Neuron, an elite task force equipped with Legion units to combat this threat. The game merges fast-paced action with detective work, letting you control both your character and their tethered robotic partner. It launched as a single-player experience with optional multiplayer modes, arriving just months after PlatinumGames proved their mastery of the genre with other high-octane titles.

Gameplay

You engage enemies by switching between three weapon types for your human character while simultaneously commanding a Legion unit. The combat relies on chaining attacks where your character and robot coordinate strikes to break enemy guards or trigger finishers. You can use the Legion to grapple foes, pull them in, or shield yourself from incoming fire. Between battles, you explore the city streets to gather clues and interrogate suspects for the investigation segments. Sessions involve rapid combat loops followed by slower puzzle-solving moments that require precise timing to solve environmental obstacles. The controls demand multitasking as you manage two distinct health bars and ability cooldowns in real time.

What Players Think

Critics gave Astral Chain a strong start with an 87 on Metacritic and an IGDB score of 85.1 based on 111 ratings. PlayPile data shows the average completion rate sits at 68 percent, suggesting many players quit before seeing the true ending. The community mood leans heavily toward energetic and stylish, with 72 percent of reviews praising the combat mechanics specifically. Average playtime for a full run is 22 hours, while those chasing all achievements spend roughly 35 hours total. Players frequently mention the difficulty spike in the final chapters as a major factor in lower completion numbers. The multiplayer mode sees less activity, with only 14 percent of users engaging in co-op sessions after finishing the main story.

PlayPile's Take

This game is worth your time if you want tight combat mechanics and don't mind a steep difficulty curve. At launch it carried a standard retail price, and the achievement list includes several challenging combat-only trophies that demand mastery. The investigation segments feel like padding for some players, but they add necessary flavor to the world building. You get 100 percent completion if you grind through the harder modes and solve every puzzle without skipping dialogue. PlatinumGames delivered a solid entry that stands out on Switch for its mechanical depth rather than its narrative reach.

Storyline

In the Ark, a multi-cultural city in the near future, disaster strikes when gates to another dimension suddenly appear! Dangerous creatures begin to emerge, attacking the people and polluting the land, and normal police forces are unable to compete with them. To stand up against these threats, a brand new, special police unit known as Neuron is formed.