The struggle to create any piece of art is that of taking one’s inspirations and creating something distinctly unique out of them. This applies to any and all mediums, including that of video games. I open my review of Acme Gamestudios’ Asterigos: Curse of the Stars with this because, in a way, my final opinion of this game hinges on this struggle between influence and originality. While Asterigos is by all accounts a fine game, I fear that it missed the mark in becoming something truly remarkable.
Asterigos is a fine-looking game. While some enemies will stutter when too far away from the player, that was the only graphical mishap I encountered during my time with the game. Everything else is functional, if a bit dull. The art style is reminiscent of many 3D animated films made by major studios such as Disney or Pixar, giving it a rather generic look. This isn’t helped by the game’s environments that, while well rendered, fail to establish their own identity beyond “Greek aesthetic mixed with light science fiction elements (if those elements are present to begin with)”. The game’s music is definitely the high point of its presentation as the game’s tracks do a brilliant job in establishing atmosphere, whether that be in an epic boss battle or in a moment of awe-inspiring beauty.
As for the gameplay, that is a similar mixed bag. The game’s world is built in a similar way to FromSofware’s Soulsborne series, with multiple intricate levels that interconnect into a larger game world complete with secret chests, checkpoints that act as fast travel points and revive enemies upon respawning, and unlockable shortcuts to make backtracking more tolerable. Unfortunately, the lack of distinct features in levels frequently made exploring them a frustrating exercise in trying to find out where to go only to get lost and require looking up a guide to progress (the worst of which was in a mine level where climbable walls frequently looked almost identical to every other wall in the setting). This led many of the game’s levels to land in one of two categories: forgettable or frustrating. Coupled with the lack of a map, exploring the game’s world was frustrating even with fast travel.
One thing worth noting is that, unlike other games in the Soulslike genre, this game tells its story to the player in a direct way. This gives more context and meaning to the player’s actions as well as greater characterization of the player character Hilda. Additionally, the game’s deeper lore is delivered through a combination of optional dialogue, echo stones that showed holographic recordings of past events, and collectible notes (much like many modern triple-a games). This all leads to the game’s story being a mix of easily digestible and a mountain of exposition that feels like a slog to get through.
The gameplay, like the other elements of the game, is another mixed bag. The player has six different weapons at their exposal, each with their own extensive skill trees and super moves to unlock and utilize in combat. Players can use two of these weapons in combat, with the game encouraging switching between them mid-combat to maximize damage and stagger enemies. This is by far the best part of the game’s combat as it offers a good deal of complexity and customization for players to enjoy.
Unfortunately, the enemy AI doesn’t share this degree of complexity. Enemies are often simple, with the majority of them being simple attackers with easily readable animations that allow plenty of time to dodge roll away. Bosses aren’t much better in this regard. Speaking of dodge rolls, they are the main method of defense much like other games in the Soulslike genre. However, the same can’t be said for attacks. Fights boil down to players wailing against enemies with reckless abandon while easily dodging attacks. After a certain point, the game becomes too easy to be deeply engaging.
I end this review by reiterating that Asterigos: Curse of the Stars isn’t a bad game. It’s a perfectly fine 7/10 experience that would work well as someone’s first Souslike. But, for a game to truly be great, it must strike out and establish its own identity beyond its inspirations. In my humble opinion, Asterigos simply fails to stand out amongst its gaming peers.
For more information, visit: https://www.asterigosgame.com/
Related: Reviews by Josh Freeman
I love games and love talking about games. Some of my favorites include action games (both 2D and 3D), metroidvanias, roguelikes, shooters, and Indies.
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