Astalon: Tears of the Earth

A time-worn formula with solid gameplay and an interesting twist.

87%Game Brain Score

gameplay, story

grinding, stability

90% User Score Based on 878 reviews

Critic Score 84%Based on 9 reviews

Platforms

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About

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a single player platformer game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by DANGEN Entertainment and was released on June 3, 2021. It received positive reviews from both critics and players.

Uphold your pact with the Titan of Death, Epimetheus! Fight, climb and solve your way through a twisted tower as three unique adventurers, on a mission to save their village from impending doom! Three heroic explorers wander the post-apocalyptic desert on a mission to save their village from despair. They soon find a dark, twisted tower that has risen from the depths of the planet and seemingly h…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 878 reviews

gameplay93 positive mentions

grinding100 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay with a solid mix of exploration, character-switching mechanics, and retro aesthetics.
Challenging yet rewarding, with a sense of progression as players unlock shortcuts and upgrades.
Well-designed levels filled with secrets and hidden areas that encourage thorough exploration.

Tedious backtracking as players must return to the beginning of the dungeon upon death, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay.
Limited healing options and unclear item descriptions can lead to frustration and confusion.
Some characters feel underutilized, leading to a tendency to favor one character over others throughout the game.

gameplay
274 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
59%
7%
The gameplay of "Astalon: Tears of the Earth" is characterized by its engaging metroidvania mechanics, including a unique character-switching system and a roguelite-inspired death mechanic that allows players to upgrade upon dying. While many players appreciate the exploration and puzzle-solving elements, some criticize the backtracking and the necessity of returning to save points to switch characters, which can disrupt the flow of gameplay. Overall, the game offers a satisfying blend of classic and modern design, though it may frustrate those who dislike its more tedious aspects.
- “Actually great metroidvania with an amazing map, novel character-switching mechanics, and an engaging storyline which made me want to see the game through to 100% (quite a challenge in the end but I got there).”
- “The gameplay feels good, and the boss battles are not too hard (especially since I found a way to grind a lot, I appreciate that in metroidvanias).”
- “Astalon masterfully blends NES-era brutality with modern metroidvania design—gorgeous pixels, tough-but-fair gameplay, and an expertly crafted tower to conquer.”
- “Astalon has some good music and decent environmental art, but nearly every gameplay and pacing decision undermines what could have been a fun dungeon-crawling experience.”
- “Between the grindy progression, exhausting backtracking, punishing death mechanics, and poor dialogue system, Astalon: Tears of the Earth feels more like a test of patience than a test of skill.”
- “The gameplay is standard metroidvania exploration, key collecting, and backtracking, but the way the main gimmick works is what sours the experience for me.”
story
221 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
61%
7%
The game's story is generally described as engaging yet straightforward, revolving around three adventurers on a quest to save their village from a poisoned water supply caused by gorgons. While some players appreciate the intriguing character interactions and the dark undertones, others find the narrative lacking depth and convoluted at times, with criticisms aimed at its delivery and pacing. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay, providing enough motivation for exploration without overshadowing the core mechanics.
- “The developer attempts to tell a somewhat serious story about a village’s water supply being poisoned, and the main characters going to this tower to fix the problem.”
- “The story is well written and paced, so much so that I would love to see it adapted as an anime.”
- “What starts as a mission to save your town's drinking water soon turns into a quest to prevent a sinister group of eldritch horrors, known as the gorgons, from breaking free from their tower prison and unleashing hell upon humanity.”
- “The plot is also convoluted and poorly touched on; there are only a couple of lore notes in the entire game.”
- “Dialogue in this game can be easily accidentally skipped, prompting me to skip most of the rest of it, due to already lacking content, and from what I was allowed to read, the characters have no personality and the story has a vain attempt at intrigue inside of an otherwise milquetoast, par-for-the-course narrative.”
- “The game asks a lot of you and your time to see all the story has to offer, but the story isn't quite good enough to warrant it.”
music
202 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
38%
4%
The music in the game has received a mixed reception, with many praising its catchy 8-bit chiptune style that evokes nostalgia and enhances the gameplay experience. While some players find the soundtrack to be a standout feature, others criticize it for becoming repetitive and lacking variety across different areas. Overall, the music is generally regarded as enjoyable and fitting for the retro aesthetic, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “The tone and music match the thematic elements of the castle and elevate this game to the heights of the genre.”
- “The music is a bop, the story is intriguing, and the art style is fun.”
- “Astalon is a wonderful metroidvania game with great retro graphics and music, and some of the best map design in the genre.”
graphics
157 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
48%
2%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their vibrant pixel art style and authentic 8-bit aesthetic, which successfully evokes nostalgia while incorporating modern design sensibilities. Many reviewers appreciate the detailed backgrounds and character designs, although some express mixed feelings about the character art and overall aesthetic coherence. Overall, the visuals are considered a strong point of the game, enhancing the exploration and gameplay experience.
- “The graphics and art style are wonderful and the music is really good too.”
- “The striking NES-coded visuals with their matte color palette of beautiful orange and blue tones, the boppin’ chip tune music and vintage yet charming story presentation hyped me up pretty instantly.”
- “Astalon nails the NES-era aesthetic and gameplay, while maintaining enough modern conveniences to largely avoid the frustration that true old school games came with.”
- “Not a fan of the 8-bit graphics nor of the music; it's really annoying.”
- “It's an aesthetic mismatch that detracts more than it adds.”
- “As this game is a throwback to the earlier days, graphics are not its strong suit compared to a modern game.”
grinding
102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and frustrating due to excessive backtracking, punishing death mechanics, and the need to farm for upgrades and healing items. While some players appreciate the challenge and retro feel, others feel that the grind detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a test of patience than skill. Overall, the game is described as having a grindy progression that can wear thin, especially for those who dislike repetitive gameplay.
- “Leveling up is not too tedious.”
- “Impressive, the level design is very recursive but not tedious, makes sense and is challenging. The difficulty is correctly progressive, which is very hard to achieve in this type of game.”
- “While the game has some aesthetic and audio strengths, its actual design choices create a needlessly grindy and aggravating experience that wears thin fast.”
- “Between the grindy progression, exhausting backtracking, punishing death mechanics, and poor dialogue system, Astalon: Tears of the Earth feels more like a test of patience than a test of skill.”
- “The game's progression revolves so much around the 'farming, dying, buying upgrades' loop, only made extra tedious due to absurd game design decisions such as being unable to restore health in any way other than dying and respawning, shop upgrades not telling you what they do until you buy them, and you always respawning at the beginning of the dungeon no matter what.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
33%
13%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its dark, immersive qualities, enhanced by a captivating soundtrack and detailed artwork that evoke a sense of tension and adventure. Players appreciate the unique environmental elements, such as flowing curtains and crumbling statues, which contribute to the overall mood, making it a standout feature despite some gameplay quirks. Overall, the game's atmosphere effectively draws players into its world, reminiscent of classic titles while offering a modern experience.
- “It's a challenging metroidvania with a dark atmosphere and a cool way to explore.”
- “There are flowing tattered curtains, dripping water (and other substances), detailed stone work as you climb/descend to the different areas of the dark tower and it simply oozes atmosphere.”
- “Literally every screen is clearly carefully crafted to immerse you in the atmosphere and lore of the world, all the while giving off the classic feel in a modern, quality-of-life filled experience that is truly amazing.”
- “But this aspect works well with the general scarcity of healing in creating a pretty tense atmosphere especially in the later areas, when you're getting low on health and hoping for the next lift, gate or shortcut unlock at every screen transition.”
- “It doesn't contribute to the atmosphere of the game to keep in this kind of flashing, photosensitive or not.”
- “The mysterious, sometimes spooky atmosphere of a single tower is reminiscent of games like La Mulana, which is never a bad thing.”
replayability
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
52%
16%
The game offers significant replayability through features like New Game+ and various challenge modes, allowing players to retain progress while rediscovering items. While many users appreciate the depth added by modding and unlockable game modes, some feel that the replay value can diminish over time. Overall, it is praised for its engaging mechanics and the ability to explore different character paths, making it a worthwhile experience for those seeking extended play.
- “Solid platformer / metroidvania with a lot of replayability from New Game+ and challenge modes.”
- “I'm glad that there's more to do when it's done, so replayability is both to be expected and a treat, since you'll probably want to return to the game when you're done anyway!”
- “With hours of replayability, characters and items to discover, stat progression, and a ton of other unlockables, Astalon sets a new standard for retro indies and for the price is a steal.”
- “There isn't much in terms of replayability, outside of some bonus modes.”
- “It's great to see it once, but with the additional modes, they get old.”
- “This is a wasted opportunity for adding replayability through different equally viable upgrade paths.”
stability
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game's stability has been a significant concern among users, with many reporting a variety of bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience. While some players noted minor issues like graphical glitches and movement problems, others highlighted more severe bugs affecting gameplay and story progression. Overall, the game is described as enjoyable but marred by its instability, leading to a mixed reception regarding its technical performance.
- “Great metroidvania overall, and runs great on Steam Deck.”
- “Easily an 8/10 to 9/10 metroidvania that was left with so many bugs and glitches you could deduct 2-3 points from that score.”
- “I did encounter a couple of glitches that were mentioned in the bug report forum back in 2021 and were clearly not resolved.”
- “Bugs include but are not limited to: very frequent total silence when music should be playing, clipping into walls, visual glitches, approximately 1/4th of the entire story clearly being played out of order, spoiling itself, and assorted minor bugs related to combat.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
86%
14%
The game's humor is a mixed bag, with some players finding it childish and unfunny, particularly in certain enemy designs. However, others appreciate the dry and dark humor in character interactions, alongside moments of genuine comedy that enhance the overall experience. While humor may not be universally appealing, it contributes to the game's charm and engaging narrative.
- “It's a very good game, with possible influences but definitely reminiscent of Rick Dangerous, Lost Vikings & Mega Man... and it's a Metroidvania game with a lot of humor anyway.”
- “Top notch music, funny at times, full of secrets, good story and dialogue, challenging but not brutal, and leveling up by playing around 19 hours led me to destroy the final few bosses.”
- “There is some dry and dark humor to be had in the way the characters interact with each other.”
- “There's a spider enemy late in the game that flies at you at mach speeds, so that's probably really not funny at all if you're arachnophobic.”
emotional
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is described as an emotional rollercoaster, eliciting a mix of frustration and nostalgia, with players feeling a strong desire to enjoy it despite its flaws. While the narrative may not be unique, its minimalistic approach effectively enhances the emotional impact and overall experience, resonating with players on a deeper level.
- “What a weirdly paced emotional rollercoaster of a game that was.”
- “Awesome platformer that made me feel like a kid again.”
- “The story is fun too, and while it may not be particularly unique, the way it is incorporated into the game greatly adds to the overall experience, providing some emotional impact to the experience as well as expanding on the sense of world.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
While the character designs and animations in the game are praised for their charm and appeal, particularly due to the work of renowned mangaka Ryūsuke Mita, reviewers feel that the overall character development lacks depth and finishing touches, preventing it from reaching its full potential.
- “The character designs are appealing, and both the player character and monster sprites have good animations.”
- “Rysuke Mita, the mangaka who created 'Dragon Half' back in the late 80s, designed the characters for this game, and they are full of charm and personality.”
- “In Astalon’s case, it is most definitely the latter; the pixel art is great, with character designs by noted mangaka Ryūsuke Mita.”
- “It's so close to being an incredibly capable game; it's got everything but the finishing touches and character development.”
- “Rysuke Mita, the mangaka who did 'Dragon Half' back in the late 80s, did the character designs for this game, and they are full of charm and personality.”
- “Shoutouts to Mita Ryūsuke (creator of the also-criminally-underrated manga 'Dragon Half') for providing the character designs for this game.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
Overall, user feedback on optimization is mixed; while some players report excellent performance, others express frustration with poor optimization and performance issues.
- “The optimization in this game is outstanding, resulting in smooth performance and minimal lag.”
- “I am impressed by how well the game runs; the optimization truly enhances the overall experience.”
- “The developers have done a fantastic job with optimization, making the gameplay fluid and enjoyable.”
- “This should not have performance issues; optimize your game.”
- “The game is not optimized and runs poorly.”

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84%Critics’ scoreBased on 9 critic reviews

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9h Median play time

10h Average play time

6-16h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a platformer game with fantasy theme.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 10 hours playing Astalon: Tears of the Earth.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth was released on June 3, 2021.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth was developed by DANGEN Entertainment.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a single player game.

Similar games include Alwa's Legacy, Environmental Station Alpha, The Last Faith, Souldiers, Afterimage and others.

Astalon: Tears of the Earth

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