Asteria
- July 2, 2014
- Legend Studio
- 2h median play time
Get on SteamAsteria is a Sci-Fi Platformer game that offers both single-player and multiplayer/co-op modes. As the last human colonist on Asteria, you must build your safe haven, defeat local aliens, and explore 9 hand-crafted dungeons. The game features ranged mining and fighting, over 100 items across 9 tiers of gear, a 900-slot inventory, and full mod community support. With good music and a creative mode, Asteria offers an engaging and immersive experience.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a fun and nostalgic experience reminiscent of childhood gaming, with satisfying progression and simple fighting mechanics.
- The pixel graphics are beautiful, and the game features a captivating storyline with interesting biomes to explore.
- The crafting and upgrading system allows for customization of play style, and the game is best enjoyed with friends.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and unresponsive controls, making gameplay frustrating and tedious.
- Crafting and building mechanics are overly simplistic and linear, lacking depth and variety, which detracts from the sandbox experience.
- Boss fights can be unbalanced and frustrating, often leading to cheap deaths without clear feedback on damage taken.
- gameplay48 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising its challenging mechanics and beautiful pixel graphics, while others criticize it for being a watered-down version of Terraria, lacking in sandbox elements and offering frustrating boss fights. Many players found the mechanics to be generic and uninspired, leading to a repetitive experience, although a few appreciated certain aspects like the music and exploration. Overall, the game seems to appeal to fans of the genre but may disappoint those seeking deeper gameplay mechanics and innovation.
“The game has received generally positive reviews for its challenging gameplay, beautiful pixel graphics, and captivating storyline.”
“I love the OST and the gameplay is also amazing!”
“If you are a fan of games like Terraria, where crafting and exploration take center stage, Asteria's game mechanics will feel very familiar.”
“This game is supposed to mix sandbox gameplay, boss dungeons, and item crafting all in one, kinda like a mix of Metroid and Terraria. The first thing I must highlight is that it completely failed at being a sandbox and item crafting game.”
“The idea of finding boss dungeons sounds fun at first, but it becomes annoying very fast. By the end, I was fairly sure it was more about extending the gameplay so they could claim a longer experience, but it was not fun at all.”
“This game feels like a stripped-down Terraria with a bunch of horrible mechanics.”
- music30 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's music is generally praised for its beautiful ambient soundtrack that complements the theme well, with some users noting its responsiveness to gameplay actions. However, many reviewers expressed concerns about the repetitiveness of the looping tracks, which can become annoying over time. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, its lack of variety detracts from the experience.
“When you first fire up the game, you'll be astounded by the wondrous soundtrack.”
“The soundtrack is beautiful though.”
“The music is so great and seems to be fairly responsive to changing to certain types of actions/progressions.”
“The audio featured some electronic music and weak sound effects for combat; the repetitiveness of the spider sound was getting grating.”
“Music is okay, but could get repetitive as it keeps looping over and over.”
“The soundtrack would be worth about $1 if I could listen to it outside of the game.”
- graphics26 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a unique chitinous alien aesthetic and beautiful pixel art, which some players appreciate for its polished look. However, criticisms include a lack of handcrafted level design, resulting in a visually cluttered experience with repetitive icons, and some find the graphics slightly blurry and reminiscent of early flash animations. Overall, while the background graphics and audio are well-received, the foreground visuals leave much to be desired.
“I like the chitinous alien aesthetic.”
“The game has received generally positive reviews for its challenging gameplay, beautiful pixel graphics, and captivating storyline.”
“The game uses very tiny tiles to make graphics, which gives it a nice and polished look.”
“But you did not even get handcrafted level design and instead are left with geographical messes with lack of interesting features and a bunch of randomly generated resources all represented by samey looking tiny icons.”
“The graphics are slightly blurry and lackluster, but it's not a game-breaker.”
“Even if I got past that, the graphics feel like 1st gen flash animation style.”
- story20 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The story of Asteria follows a young hero named Callum on his quest to save his kingdom from an evil force known as Darkness, which has garnered mixed reviews. While some players appreciate the captivating premise and beautiful pixel graphics, others feel the narrative lacks depth and engagement, suggesting that it feels like an afterthought with minimal player interaction. Overall, the storyline has potential but could benefit from more immersive elements to enhance player involvement.
“In Asteria, players take on the role of a young hero named Callum, who sets out on a quest to save his kingdom from an evil force called Darkness.”
“The game has received generally positive reviews for its challenging gameplay, beautiful pixel graphics, and captivating storyline.”
“The game has compelling makings of a story.”
“The storyline feels like an afterthought and does not at all engage the player throughout the game.”
“What I would have liked to see here is some form of player-story interaction.”
“It would engage the player in at least a very small manner and give the illusion that the storyline is not just the beginning and the end.”
- grinding12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and less rewarding compared to similar titles, as it often feels like a necessary chore to progress. While some appreciate the farming mechanics for base building, many feel that the effort required detracts from the overall enjoyment, making it feel like a grind to reach the more engaging parts of the game.
“Part of the allure for games like this includes building a base - but this game takes that element and makes it far more tedious of a task than any other game like it.”
“- Getting far in the game is tedious, and not at all rewarding.”
“As a result, it kinda feels like grinding to get to the good part.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is described as isolated and reminiscent of the Metro series, with a sense of potential that remains largely unfulfilled. While the handcrafted dungeons contribute to a unique environment, they detract from the expected sandbox experience, leaving players with mixed feelings about the overall ambiance.
“I cannot vouch for the multiplayer as I played it solo from start to finish; the isolated atmosphere is akin to the Metro series.”
“I like the idea of it; the atmosphere is okay and it really had a lot of potential.”
“The isolated atmosphere is akin to the Metro series, which detracts from the overall experience.”
“Dungeons themselves are not generated but handcrafted instead, completely breaking the sandbox atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere feels restrictive and lacks the dynamic elements that a sandbox environment should have.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game has limited replayability due to its reliance on nine hand-crafted dungeons, which offer the same experiences in each playthrough. While players enjoy the gameplay, the lack of varied content and the repetitive nature of the dungeons detracts from its potential as a sandbox experience.
“Had a blast, but it suffers from a lack of replayability.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the absurdity of nuclear bombs, which are portrayed as both hilarious and capable of causing destruction in exaggerated, physically impossible ways. This blend of dark humor and over-the-top scenarios adds a unique comedic element to the gameplay experience.
“On the plus side, nuclear bombs are hilarious and destroy things in ways that seem physically impossible.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users note that the game effectively creates a significant emotional impact, enhancing the overall experience.
“You can even use it to create some level of emotional impact.”
