AWAKEN - Astral Blade

Awaken: Astral Blade offers an excellent Metroidvania experience, blending action and exploration in a captivating sci-fi world. Its visual presentation is a significant strength with beautifully crafted 2D environments and top-notch character designs. The simple, yet effection combat system is another highlight, as is the well-designed map that is loaded with secrets and surprises to discover. If you're craving your next meaty Metroidvania adventure, Astral Blade is definitely worth exploring.

79%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, character development

86% User Score Based on 301 reviews

Critic Score 65%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

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About

AWAKEN - Astral Blade is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Dark Pigeon Games and was released on October 22, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

STORY Bionic girl Tania is assigned by her creator, Dr. Herveus to search and rescue a missing Investigation team in the rainforest of Horace Islands where mysterious Karpas energy turns local animals and plants into aggressive mutants. Weave your own story in this dark fairy tale. In the mysterious ancient ruins, you will embark on an adventure with Tania to reveal her origins and fate. Is there…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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86%

Audience ScoreBased on 301 reviews

story39 positive mentions

grinding11 negative mentions

Gorgeous visuals and art style that enhance the immersive experience.
Engaging combat system with a variety of combos and skills that keep gameplay fresh.
Challenging and rewarding exploration with plenty of hidden secrets and collectibles.

Inconsistent dialogue pacing with auto-scrolling text that can skip important story elements.
Limited enemy variety and some bosses feel repetitive, lacking unique mechanics.
Technical issues such as frame rate drops and bugs that can disrupt gameplay.

story
136 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
62%
9%
The story of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it confusing, clichéd, or lacking depth, often losing interest early on. While some appreciate the effort put into the narrative and its themes, others criticize the execution, including poor voice acting and automatic text skipping that hinders comprehension. Overall, the story is seen as passable for an indie title, with some engaging moments but ultimately overshadowed by gameplay and exploration elements.
- “The game's story hits on some surprisingly deep themes, despite its visual style and character design that can be off-putting to some.”
- “Awaken - Astral Blade is a very solid metroidvania with an interesting story about bionics; I have missed very good metroidvanias like these in a while.”
- “The story may be a bit familiar, but it still hooks players by slowly revealing itself.”
- “The story begins with voiced dialog that makes the Saturday morning toy commercials of the 80s look Shakespearean by comparison, but as you progress, you find that only segments of dialog are given even that much attention.”
- “On some of the negatives, I got lost in the plot pretty early on and after the first ~2 hours I had no idea why I was going to a certain place or fighting specific bosses.”
- “The story content so far has been abysmal.”
gameplay
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The gameplay in "Awaken - Astral Blade" is generally well-received, featuring smooth combat mechanics, a variety of weapon combinations, and engaging boss fights that enhance the overall experience. However, some players find the initial tutorials overly hand-holdy and the enemy AI lacking, leading to a mixed perception of challenge and engagement. While the game offers a polished experience with decent visuals and exploration, it falls short of being a standout title in the metroidvania genre.
- “The gameplay is great, the level design is really intriguing, and the art is beautiful.”
- “Combat mechanics are well-executed, offering a seamless blend of light and heavy attacks, dodges, and abilities that maintain engagement throughout battles.”
- “Overall the game is honestly a decent pickup for the amount of gameplay you get.”
- “Awaken does a good job of trying to teach you weapon combinations as you unlock them, but when it comes to other character mechanics, it fails entirely.”
- “Gameplay is some of the most boring 2D hack n' slash I've played in a while.”
- “The game is very hand-holdy at first, which some people may like and is even somewhat necessary for the slightly unintuitive combat combo mechanics, but even still I found myself getting rather frustrated with the interruption in play for tutorials for quite a while.”
graphics
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
38%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the stunning visuals, beautiful art style, and detailed environments, while others criticize the animations and character designs as bland or generic. Many players appreciate the overall aesthetic and polish, noting that the graphics enhance the gameplay experience, although some feel the game appears unfinished compared to better-developed titles. Overall, the visuals are often highlighted as a strong aspect, despite some inconsistencies in quality and execution.
- “The visuals absolutely blew me away, too.”
- “The graphics are stunning, especially the lighting and particle effects — almost every area feels like a wallpaper.”
- “Gorgeous visuals and fun combat.”
- “Any beauty in the graphics is marred by their poor animation.”
- “The bad: graphically, it looks like a Vanillaware game gone wrong; the character design is boring and bland. The main character looks like somebody's original take on 2B from Nier and Shiki from Samurai Shodown.”
- “The graphics are basic.”
music
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
32%
7%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, fitting well within the game's context and enhancing the overall experience. However, some players find it repetitive and not memorable enough to listen to outside of gameplay. While the soundtrack contributes positively to the ambiance, it is often overshadowed by critiques of the story and gameplay elements.
- “Music is subtle, peaceful, and sometimes haunting (like OG Metroid).”
- “Outstanding gameplay and atmosphere - just perfect, sound and especially music - truly fantastic!!”
- “The music is perfectly atmospheric and fits most situations well.”
- “I'm only really docking it for the repetitive music and storytelling.”
- “Repetitive, boring music which leads to boring exploration and boring enemies, meh story and unsatisfying gameplay.”
- “The story and soundtrack felt underwhelming, and the translation was wonky.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
92%
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game can be tedious and frustrating, particularly with boss battles that feel poorly designed and overly challenging. While some players appreciate the flexibility in combat and the potential for rewarding farming, many find the overall experience to be grind-heavy and lacking in excitement, leading to a sense of monotony. Despite some options to reduce grinding, the consensus leans towards it being a significant drawback.
- “Exploration is not tedious, and like other games in the genre, it opens up as you gain more abilities.”
- “The grinding feels rewarding, as each level up brings new skills and opportunities.”
- “I appreciate how the grind is balanced; it never feels like a chore, but rather a journey of growth.”
- “As it stands, bosses and mob combo rooms are tedious and annoying.”
- “The combat is really boring and spammy with no feeling of impact on anything you do - it's also one of those games where there's so much VFX going on that you can't even see what hit you - it gets tedious really quick.”
- “So farming is beyond a chore.”
atmosphere
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
9%
18%
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its haunting quality, stunning environments, and exceptional art direction, which collectively enhance the gameplay experience. Players highlight the seamless integration of music and sound, contributing to a unique and immersive ambiance that captivates and engages. Overall, the game's atmosphere is considered one of its standout features, making it a memorable experience for players.
- “The mix of precise action, slick animation, and haunting atmosphere is incredibly well executed.”
- “Add in the gorgeous environments and surreal atmosphere, and this is one of the best action indies I've played all year.”
- “There were so many moments where I just stopped and recorded a few seconds of the environment and atmosphere and shared it with my entire friends list.”
- “Each level is meticulously designed, contributing to a distinctive atmosphere that enhances the overall gameplay experience.”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
23%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is generally well-received, with most players reporting smooth performance and stability across various platforms, including the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. Some users experienced minor performance issues that were resolved with tweaks, while a few noted isolated bugs, suggesting that further optimization could enhance the experience.
- “The game is very stable and well optimized; there are no major bugs or other problems.”
- “Tight controls and runs smoothly on Steam Deck.”
- “The game runs smoothly; I play it on the ROG Ally Z1 Extreme.”
- “For a while I had performance issues, but with some tweaks here and there (between resolution, Nvidia panel, etc.), I solved it even if I have to settle for playing it at 30 fps and 1280x720 resolution.”
- “Performance, mostly it was fine; however, there are a few issue points.”
- “I believe a bit of work is necessary in terms of optimization to make sure the experience remains smooth overall.”
character development
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
Character development in the game is a mixed bag; while the protagonist's animations are smooth and expressive, the overall character design has been criticized for being bland and reminiscent of other titles. The story explores deep themes, but some players may find the character development lacking as they progress. Despite these issues, the game's visual presentation is praised for its beautifully crafted environments and memorable character designs.
- “The animations are silky smooth, and the character design (especially the protagonist) is memorable and expressive.”
- “Its visual presentation is a significant strength with beautifully crafted 2D environments and top-notch character designs.”
- “The bad: graphically, it looks like a Vanillaware game gone wrong; the character design is boring and bland. The main character looks like somebody's original take on 2B from Nier and Shiki from Samurai Shodown.”
- “This may leave some players desiring a deeper character development experience as they progress through the game.”
- “The game's story hits on some surprisingly deep themes, despite its visual style and character design that can be off-putting to some.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while some players report a polished experience with no significant issues, others have encountered various bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay. Minor glitches are noted, but the severity and frequency of these issues vary among players.
- “I also stumbled across a few glitches that got me killed more than once and an annoying bug with the UI when teleporting from save points via the menu.”
- “The game had some minor glitches here and there.”
- “Game is super buggy.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that while the game may not be overwhelmingly emotional, it does succeed in creating believable character motivations. However, the voice acting lacks emotional depth, and although there are some touching moments and twists, they do not stand out significantly.
- “While I wouldn't say it was particularly emotional, I was still pleasantly surprised by how much effort was spent to make the characters' motivations consistent and believable.”
- “There are some twists and touching moments that resonate with the players.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by the hilariously poor AI voice acting and the tough yet funny main character, Tania, whose comedic qualities are even acknowledged by the developers in the credits. Additionally, players appreciate the amusing portrayal of cats, contributing to the overall lighthearted tone of the game.
- “The AI voice acting is so horrendous that it's hilarious!”
- “The graphics look pretty cool for 2024, and the main character Tania is tough and funny.”
- “I love the gameplay, art style, and funny cats.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers a mixed replayability experience, with some players noting it as a significant flaw due to its forgiving difficulty levels, while others appreciate the potential for varied playthroughs through different difficulty settings and multiple endings. The metroidvania elements and engaging combat mechanics contribute positively to its replay value, especially for those who enjoy exploration and challenge.
- “It has an easy mode if you're afraid of fast-paced combat. I'm playing on normal and find it's pretty forgiving so far, but there is also a hardcore difficulty if you're good at this kind of thing, which adds to the replayability.”
- “It has all the hallmarks of a quality metroidvania, with hack-and-slash combat that is balanced between power and speed. Its use of color and anime-inspired visuals sets the moment, and it is rich in replay value with its focus on exploration and multiple endings.”
- “I can't think of anything else at the moment, but replayability is largely the biggest flaw here.”
- “It would add to the replayability by being able to run through the game handicapped in certain ways.”

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65%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

AWAKEN - Astral Blade is a role playing game.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade is available on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Windows and others.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade was released on October 22, 2024.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade was developed by Dark Pigeon Games.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade is a single player game.

Similar games include Afterimage, ANNO: Mutationem, HAAK, Aeterna Noctis, 8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure and others.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade

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