Astral Chain gameplay
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#35Action · 2019 · Nintendo

Astral Chain

You control a police officer and a separate chained creature called a Legion at the same time, sending the Legion ahead to grab or attack enemies while you fight directly, then switching between the two mid-combo. Outside of battles, you walk through a city investigating cases and talking to residents. It asks you to juggle two things happening on screen at once, which takes a few missions to get comfortable with.

Gameplay video

More Astral Chain gameplay on YouTube →

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Screenshots & review notes

Astral Chain screenshot 1: The verdict

The verdict

This is one of the most underrated action games on the system, blending detective work and combat into something genuinely distinct.

Astral Chain screenshot 2: The mechanics

The mechanics

Controlling your Legion partner alongside your character demands real coordination, and once it clicks the combat becomes a thrilling juggling act.

Astral Chain screenshot 3: Presentation

Presentation

The neon-drenched cyberpunk city and stylish character designs give it a visual identity all its own, backed by a pulsing synth soundtrack.

Astral Chain screenshot 4: Staying power

Staying power

The investigation sections slow the pace for some players, but action fans willing to push through will find a deep, replayable combat system underneath.

Frames captured from the gameplay video above; notes are our own take on the game.

What it's like to play

You play a rookie police officer in a near-future city, and from the start you are actually controlling two things at once: your character with the left stick and attack buttons, and a tethered creature called a Legion that fights alongside you and can be aimed independently with the right stick. Pulling the Legion toward an enemy or holding the chain taut to trip up a group takes some getting used to, since you are essentially managing two fighters in one body. The city itself is a neon-lit, anime-styled setting full of civilians to help and strange rifts spilling out monsters. Early missions ease you into switching between different Legion types, each with a different attack style, like a sword-wielding one for quick strikes or a beast-like one for grappling enemies.

Most missions alternate between these fast, stylish combat encounters and slower investigation sections where you walk around a crime scene, use your Legion to sniff out clues, and piece together what happened, more like a detective game than an action one. As you progress, fights ask you to juggle enemy positioning, chain placement, and timed dodges to pull off flashy synchronized attacks with your Legion, and the difficulty rises steadily as new enemy types appear. A single chapter, mixing investigation and combat, usually takes about an hour, and the full campaign spans a dozen or so chapters plus optional side cases. Legion swapping mid-fight becomes second nature only after real practice.

Session to session, the combat feels genuinely unlike most action games thanks to controlling two things simultaneously, and pulling off a well-timed combined attack is satisfying once it clicks. What might frustrate you is that this dual control takes real time to feel natural, and the slower investigation sections can feel like a pace change some players will not want. It suits action fans willing to learn an unusual system, and patience with the early learning curve pays off in genuinely unique fights.

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