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.

78%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

grinding, character development

85% User Score Based on 372 reviews

Critic Score 65%Based on 5 reviews

Platforms

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About

AWAKEN - Astral Blade is a single player hack and slash game with fantasy, anime and dark fantasy themes. 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…

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85%

Audience ScoreBased on 372 reviews

story46 positive mentions

grinding12 negative mentions

Combat system is fluid, responsive, and satisfying with diverse combos and weapon swapping mechanics.
Visually impressive with beautiful 2D environments, character designs, and atmospheric music that enhances immersion.
Exploration is rewarding with a large, well-designed interconnected map full of secrets, collectibles, and platforming challenges.

Story and dialogue suffer from poor translation, clichéd writing, and awkward or lacking voice acting that break immersion.
Boss fights and enemy variety are inconsistent; some bosses are challenging and well-designed while others feel repetitive, poorly telegraphed, or frustrating.
Gameplay has jank issues such as imprecise controls, clunky animations, occasional bugs, and some platforming sections demand pixel-perfect timing causing frustration.

story
173 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
64%
9%
The story in "Awaken - Astral Blade" is generally regarded as average to mediocre, with many finding it clichéd, confusing, or poorly translated, which hampers engagement and clarity. While it includes some intriguing elements and occasional twists, the narrative often takes a backseat to gameplay, featuring basic delivery and inconsistent voice acting. Players interested mainly in story may find it lacking depth or cohesion, but those focused on combat and exploration typically still enjoy the overall experience.
- “It tells the story of Tania, a cybernetically enhanced warrior sent to the mysterious Horace Islands to investigate the disappearance of a research team and uncover the secrets behind the strange energy known as Carpus.”
- “Narratively, Awaken - Astral Blade tries to weave an ambitious story about synthetic life and human emotion, but the execution often feels secondary to the action.”
- “The story follows Tania and the tale being told is presented in a way that kept me interested throughout the entire campaign.”
- “The story content so far has been abysmal.”
- “Translation is a joke, perhaps do localization instead of a Google translation or do a minimal story without dialogue next time; I'm not a native speaker and even I can tell how bad it is.”
- “The game's story hits on some surprisingly deep themes, despite its visual style and character design that can be off-putting to some, but the execution often feels secondary to the action.”
gameplay
106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
54%
3%
The gameplay of Awaken - Astral Blade is generally praised for its smooth, tight combat mechanics, engaging boss fights, and well-designed platforming elements that become more complex with upgrades. While some find certain mechanics frustrating or poorly balanced—such as enemy design, tutorial interruptions, or lack of audio feedback—the overall experience is considered solid, enjoyable, and polished, making it a worthwhile metroidvania for fans of the genre.
- “Story had great twists, mechanics were smooth, combat was fun and flexible.”
- “Gameplay; dash is available from the start and double jump very shortly afterwards, so all platforming and bosses are designed around this mechanic which is nice, the upgrades and unlocks aren't hard to complete and the game is dishing out new upgrades often enough to feel worthwhile.”
- “Combat mechanics are well-executed, offering a seamless blend of light and heavy attacks, dodges, and abilities that maintain engagement throughout battles.”
- “Gameplay is kinda dull, combat feels clunky, enemies are just damage sponges.”
- “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.”
- “Lots of visual issues like holes in levels or clipping/flickering overlapped planes, lots of audio issues or missing audio bits, and plenty of rough-feeling gameplay or odd balance.”
graphics
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
35%
5%
The game's graphics feature a striking, hand-drawn art style with beautifully detailed environments and character designs that create an immersive, atmospheric world. Visuals are often praised for their quality, lighting, and coherent sci-fi aesthetic, though some note that animations can feel average or slightly unfinished. Overall, the graphics strongly enhance the gameplay experience, making exploration and combat visually engaging despite occasional critiques on polish.
- “The graphics are stunning, especially the lighting and particle effects—almost every area feels like a wallpaper.”
- “The visuals are striking, the combat fluid, and the world immersive enough to pull players into its bleak yet beautiful setting.”
- “The art direction leans heavily into atmospheric science fiction, blending biotechnological ruins, alien landscapes, and futuristic laboratories into a coherent aesthetic.”
- “If the visuals and the enemy variety weren't that bad, I'd recommend the game, but as it is, the game is a gigantic slog that's boring as hell.”
- “This game might only have one good aspect, the visuals, but they're not that good to be honest—just average and mostly look good only in screenshots.”
- “Any beauty in the graphics is marred by their poor animation.”
music
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
37%
6%
The music in the game is generally praised for fitting the atmosphere and complementing exploration and combat, with many describing it as calming, subtle, or haunting. However, some find the soundtrack forgettable, repetitive, or not distinctive enough to stand out outside the game. Overall, the soundtrack is appreciated for enhancing mood and immersion, though it may not be memorable or compelling for all players.
- “The soundtrack complements this beautifully, alternating between melancholic ambient tracks and pulse-pounding electronic beats during battles.”
- “Luckily the music in the game is really good, enough for me to have bought the OST alongside my copy of the game.”
- “The game has everything to offer from fun combat, creating different combos with different weapons, solid controls and amazing art style and don't forget the beautiful soundtracks that you can be listening to for hours of playing.”
- “Music is bland, I don't even remember it.”
- “Repetitive, boring music which leads to boring exploration and boring enemies, meh story and unsatisfying gameplay.”
- “That however can't be said about music, because while it fit the game, it's one of the few soundtracks I wouldn't listen to outside of it (and sometimes I even put Ori or Nine Sols soundtrack over the actual game and it made my experience much better).”
atmosphere
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game features a richly crafted, atmospheric world blending gloomy yet colorful sci-fi elements with biotechnological ruins and alien landscapes, enhanced by meticulous level design and haunting music. Its unique, stylish ambiance perfectly complements tight combat and slick animation, creating an immersive and memorable experience that resonates deeply with players. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as a key strength, elevating both gameplay and narrative subtly but effectively.
- “The art direction leans heavily into atmospheric science fiction, blending biotechnological ruins, alien landscapes, and futuristic laboratories into a coherent aesthetic.”
- “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 touched all year.”
grinding
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
Grinding in the game is a mixed experience: while some find weapon-switching combos and boss fights tedious and frustrating due to design issues, others appreciate the upgrade system and skill variety that make farming and progression rewarding rather than a chore. Overall, grinding can feel repetitive and tough at times, but exploration and skill development help balance it out for many players.
- “The last boss is poorly designed and forces excessive grinding. The shield with bad pixel detection heals while I barely deal damage, making it frustrating to progress on hard difficulty. Overall, the game is too grindy and poorly balanced compared to similar titles.”
- “Farming is beyond a chore, making the process feel tedious and unrewarding.”
- “They want you to switch weapons to initiate combos, but it's tedious and repetitive.”
optimization
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
20%
30%
The game generally offers smooth and stable performance with consistent frame rates, even during intense moments, and runs well on devices like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally. Some users experienced minor optimization issues that were mitigated by adjusting settings, though a rare hardlock bug was reported. Overall, the optimization is solid but could benefit from minor improvements to ensure consistently smooth gameplay.
- “From a technical standpoint, the game runs smoothly and maintains consistent performance even during intense combat sequences.”
- “The game is very stable and well optimized, there are no major bugs or other problems.”
- “Tight controls and runs smoothly on Steam Deck.”
- “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
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game’s character development is marked by visually appealing and memorable designs, particularly for the protagonist, with smooth animations and a story that explores deep themes. However, some players feel the character design does not always fit the environment and may desire more in-depth development as the game progresses. Overall, the visual and narrative elements present a mixed but largely positive impression of character development.
- “Awaken: Astral Blade is a Chinese metroidvania that draws heavy inspiration from Nier: Automata in both character design and plot.”
- “The animations are silky smooth, and the character design (especially the protagonist) is memorable and expressive.”
- “The game's story hits on some surprisingly deep themes, despite its visual style and character design that can be off-putting to some.”
- “The character design is bad, I'm still stuck with Afterimage and the world building feels almost the same.”
- “The character design does not suit the environment.”
- “This may leave some players desiring a deeper character development experience as they progress through the game.”
emotional
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game shows potential through character motivations and some touching moments, particularly in Tania's evolving identity and relationship with her creator, but it falls short due to heavy reliance on exposition and brief, less impactful dialogue. The voice acting is noted as lacking emotional depth, resulting in an overall experience that is modestly engaging but not deeply moving.
- “Tania’s relationship with her creator, Dr. Herveus, and her own evolving sense of identity could have anchored a more emotionally resonant story, but much of it is told through exposition and brief dialogue exchanges that lack weight.”
- “While I wouldn't say it was particularly emotional, I was still pleasantly surprised at how much effort was spent to make the characters' motivation consistent and believable.”
- “There are some twists and touching moments, but nothing really special.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is mixed, with some players experiencing a polished, bug-free playthrough, while others encounter frequent glitches and bugs affecting gameplay and UI. Overall, the game feels generally stable but has notable issues that impact some users.
- “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.”
- “Game is super buggy.”
- “Game is fun but it's buggy.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is highlighted by its intentionally exaggerated early-game difficulty and amusingly poor AI voice acting, which players find hilarious. The main character Tania's tough yet funny personality adds charm, further acknowledged by the developers in the end credits, complemented by playful elements like funny cats.
- “Early game feels a bit hilarious when a mid-jump combo with finisher special attack is necessary to kill a small bug.”
- “The AI voice acting is so horrendous that it's hilarious!”
- “I love the gameplay, art style, and funny cats.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
Replayability is considered a mixed aspect: while the game offers multiple difficulty levels and encourages running through with handicaps for added challenge, some users feel it is its biggest flaw. However, others highlight its rich replay value through exploration, multiple endings, and quality metroidvania elements.
- “It would add to the replayability by being able to run through the game handicapped in certain ways.”
- “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 and for replayability.”
- “It has all the hallmarks of a quality metroidvania: hack'n slash combat that is balanced between power and speed, its use of color and anime-inspired visuals know how to set the moment, rich in replay value with its focus on exploring and multiple endings.”
- “I can't think of anything else at the moment, but replayability is largely the biggest flaw here.”

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65%Critics’ scoreBased on 5 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

AWAKEN - Astral Blade is a hack and slash game with fantasy, anime and dark fantasy themes.

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 AWAKEN - Astral Blade for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade is a single player game.

Similar games include Afterimage, Moonscars, ANNO: Mutationem, 8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure, Vernal Edge and others.

AWAKEN - Astral Blade

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