AWAKEN – Astral Blade, developed by Dark Pigeon Games and published by ESDigital Games, is the latest entry in to the Metroidvania genre.
What is a Metroidvania Game?
Before Awaken, I had not heard of this genre before, so for everyone else out there who might also be in the dark, a Metroidvania game is part of the action-adventure platformer family. There is a heavy focus on exploration, with players sticking to one large map they will have to back track in several times (rather than visit multiple maps). As players level up, they will gain new abilities that will allow them to access previously inaccessible traysure. Such as the glowing branch at the beginning of Awaken that can’t be reached until players are gifted the ever-coveted double jump.
AWAKEN – Astral Blade Story
The story of Awaken Astral Blade follows Tania, a bionic girl created by her inventor, Dr. Herveus, who she calls “Father.” At the beginning of the game tania is dispatched to investigate the Horace Islands, where a mysterious energy signal has corrupted the local wildlife, turning them into aggressive mutants. Tania’s job is to find out what happened to a missing research team, but while she is there, Tania starts to learn secrets about the mysterious energy that will change how Tania understands her world and her place in it.
This story sounds familiar to anyone even sort of into sci-fi movies (the comparisons to Alita Battle Angel are too large to ignore). I always think it is interesting to see what writers will do when walking such a well-trodden plot path, how they will play with the formula, or undermine expectations, but in the case of Awaken the plot is just the plot. Anything you might be expecting to happen, does. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’re a fan of the genre, just don’t go into the game expecting to be swept away by the story.
Gameplay
Awaken Astral Blade’s gameplay blend platforming, combat, and includes the Metroidvania style exploration. Tania’s fight style is a combination of ground and aerial attacks, with a decent set of combos that can be chained together a la Devil May Cry. As players progress they can unlock different styles of weapons, but the attacks stay pretty much the same, and many of the unlocks happen pretty late in the game.
Combat is as familiar as the plot, which is not a bad thing. It is nice to be able to pick up a game, hit x and immediately start slaying enemies. Tania can do all of the basics, dodge, block, jump, sprint…I don’t know, I guess I just expected a bionic girl to be a little bit more advanced than Lara Croft.
Exploration is where I would expect a Metroidvania style game to shine. While the elements are there, the exploration is surprisingly linear. In the sections I played, I felt that the opportunities for discovery were limited (but I did absolutely love that players can received bonuses for petting a cat, that’s a 10/10 always). Platforming is pretty straight forward, which for me was a bit of a positive because I’m notoriously trash at jumping in games.
Overall
Story: 6/10 – it was pretty basic, with the “twist” as obvious as the newest M. Night movie.
Gameplay: 7/10 – also basic in the “there’s nothing wrong with this but there’s nothing mind blowing about this” kind of way.
Overall, I’m not mad at it, I’m just a little meh about it. And I want to acknowledge that this opinion could also be because 2024 has been chocked full of some amazing games that I haven’t been able to put down. Manor Lords, Breachway, Black Myth Wukong, The Planet Crafter, Food Truck Simulator: I’ve been having a peak gaming year. So maybe Awaken Astral Blade is better than I’m giving it credit for, and it is just in comparison of all of the other amazing titles that I’ve tried this year that it fades a little into the background. Try it our for yourself and let me know what you think.
AWAKEN – Astral Blade is now available for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and PlayStation 5.
Related: Reviews by Michelle Jones
I'm a completionist gamer who just needs to find that one last object and clear that final dungeon. I love all video games, from open world sandboxes on a console to a mindless match three on my phone. In addition to gaming and writing, I am a graduate student working on a thesis about the ancient Icelandic Sagas. Feel free to ask me anything about Vikings.
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