Since its Steam launch final 12 months, Astlibra has developed a faithful cult following. Sporting an Overwhelmingly Constructive score on the platform, some have even gone so far as saying it was one of the best recreation of 2022. If nothing else, Astlibra represents an unbelievable quantity of labor on the a part of its creator. I don’t know if I’d reward this one that a lot, however I can definitely say that it was an absolute journey, and I don’t remorse taking that plunge.

Astlibra Revision (PC, Swap [reviewed])
Developer: KEIZO
Writer: WhisperGames
Launched: October 13, 2022 (PC), November 16, 2023 (Swap)
MSRP: $24.99

It’s about time

Astlibra begins like many RPGs you’ve definitely performed. There’s a boy (you), and there’s a lady (your love curiosity). Sooner or later, demons assault your hometown, separating the boy who isn’t named and the lady. Should you assume the rest of the plot will contain the boy embarking on a tireless quest to reunite together with his childhood buddy, you might be right.

Regardless of this, Astlibra takes some sharp-left narrative turns virtually instantly. Following the assault on the village, the boy wakes up in a cabin miles away from civilization. Right here, he meets a speaking crow, and sure, speaking crows are bizarre even on this fantasy universe. There’s a right away sense of melancholy and intrigue that units the stage for the remainder of the plot. How did you get right here? The place did this crow come from? Wouldn’t or not it’s higher to only attempt to have a cheerful life right here, quite than danger your life pursuing this lady who probably died?

So far as Astlibra’s basic vibe goes, I can solely describe it as a mixture of a Vanillaware recreation like Muramasa and early Falcom video games like Popful Mail. You may instantly have a look at screenshots and assume “Metroidvania,” however Astlibra doesn’t fairly match that style. Don’t get me fallacious, there may be some exploration right here, and there are secrets and techniques to uncover. However precise platforming a la Blasphemous 2 or Symphony of the Night time is mainly non-existent.

Astlibra as an alternative focuses closely on its fight system, which feels fairly good on the floor. Beginning off, you’re only a man with a stick hitting slimes. Even at this stage, you’ll discover that inflicting injury comes with a pleasant hit-stop that offers your strikes some weight with out slowing the motion down. Earlier than lengthy, you’ll acquire entry to the magic system, which helps you to pause the motion and enter primary directional button instructions to make use of particular assaults that drain your Stamina gauge.

That is as a lot an offensive boon as it’s a defensive one, as utilizing magic offers you helpful invincibility frames. Timing your particular strikes effectively rapidly turns into a core a part of fight, particularly as enemy projectiles begin littering screens.

That mentioned, the sport’s plethora of choices rapidly turns right into a blessing and a curse.

Put together to grind

If there may be one factor I can not stress sufficient about Astlibra, it’s that it is extremely a lot designed for individuals who take pleasure in grinding. In order for you absolutely anything in Astlibra, you have to work for it. I don’t essentially assume it is a dangerous factor, nevertheless it does make the sport’s enchantment very area of interest in follow.

For example, take the sport’s gear. There are a ton of armaments you’ll be able to equip, every completely different by way of vary, dealing with, energy, and even elemental affinity. Nonetheless, all gear – armor and shields included – comes with expertise you’ll be able to grasp by incomes sufficient EXP whereas utilizing them. Some expertise are duds, however others are mainly important. These embrace issues like extending your invulnerability interval after getting hit or boosting elemental injury. So to get essentially the most of your character, you higher like swapping gear and filling up each bar you see.

And this isn’t even entering into how Astlibra encourages accumulating each merchandise due to its Libra system, the talent tree which makes use of six completely different currencies dropped by monsters, uncommon drops in every zone… the listing goes on.

Taking part in on the Exhausting problem, I discovered all this grinding was completely essential to get by the primary half of the sport. As a result of once more, this isn’t simply to make your numbers greater; it’s the one technique to totally unlock Astlibra‘s fight system. You possibly can theoretically drop the issue and coast by the sport with out the grind. However I genuinely surprise if somebody choosing this playstyle would actually take pleasure in Astlibra.

You wouldn’t assume the existence of grinding would influence Astlibra’s fight on a philosophical stage, nevertheless it completely does. As talked about above, you’ll rapidly discover that the sport loves littering monsters on each display screen in entrance of you. And in case your energy stage is excessive sufficient, you’re rewarded with an insane wave of constructive suggestions. Slaying enormous teams comes with satisfying sounds and explosions of gold, objects, and expertise that actually will get the dopamine going.

You realize that feeling you get if you see that massive explosion of loot in an ARPG like Diablo? That’s what Astlibra has going for it.

The one downside with this strategy is that fight begins to point out cracks if you aren’t overpowering enemies. These enormous swarms of foes can simply overwhelm you, leading to conditions the place you’ll be able to go from full well being to lifeless as a result of enemy assaults lined up in a bizarre method. Moreover, the sport’s frankly plain visible type doesn’t assist issues, as enemies don’t telegraph their assaults tremendous clearly. That final level is comprehensible given the sport’s growth. KEIZO frankly did a tremendous job given what he was working with. That shortcoming simply form of comes with the territory.

With that established, one of many fascinating issues about Astlibra is that it will get tangibly higher as you progress. As your hero’s capabilities continue to grow, so too do enemies’. Boss battles, particularly showcase higher design. These main encounters aren’t terribly spectacular early on. However by the sport’s midpoint, you begin to see extra clearly outlined assault patterns and techniques that you may mess around.

Mixed together with your hero’s steady escalation of energy, you ultimately do discover some fantastically quick and frenetic encounters. Inflicting enormous injury with rapid-fire strikes when you time your magic spells good feels actually good. I’d go so far as to say it gave me that rush I sometimes get from Falcom’s Ys collection. Do I feel the sport’s superior second half makes the sport worthwhile for somebody who simply doesn’t like the primary half? Under no circumstances. However for those who at the least take pleasure in what Astlibra places on the desk early on, you could have a pleasant payoff awaiting you.

On one hand, I do want KEIZO would have possibly gone again and achieved extra work on the early recreation to match the standard you’ll see later. Alternatively, I actually loved seeing KEIZO change into more adept as a developer as I performed. It’s a singular vibe, and it’s solely one thing I ever noticed again after I was deep into RPG Maker video games in a previous life. I do not know if that form of factor issues to anybody else, nevertheless it did improve my expertise.

Now, at this level I wish to discuss Astlibra’s story, because it deserves to be unpacked and analyzed simply as a lot as its gameplay. Don’t get me fallacious; for those who’re in search of the following recreation to vary your life alongside the traces of Undertale or Rakuen or no matter your favourite indie recreation is, Astlibra in all probability isn’t it. That mentioned, KEIZO actually swings for the narrative fences and takes Astlibra to some fascinating locations.

In brief, Astlibra is a recreation about time journey. That isn’t a spoiler; you’ll see the inspiration for that laid very early on. However as an alternative of diving proper right into a sweeping, grand story, it as an alternative explores remoted, episodic tales early on that I actually preferred. Even the sport’s earliest chapters characteristic bittersweet, melancholic moments that also make me tear up a bit to recollect. Astlibra does a very good job exploring “what if” situations, typically not a lot touchdown on a central thesis because it does ask fascinating questions. What would you modify for those who may return in time? And, maybe extra importantly, what would you sacrifice in that course of?

It’s a recreation that basically likes to play at your expectations, for higher or for worse. I think that at sure factors throughout growth, individuals taking part in early chapters of Astlibra might have found out sure twists early, which impressed KEIZO to provide you with extra subversive parts to maintain gamers on their toes. I’ve no technique to show this past that being the vibe I received. However the result’s one thing that isn’t all the time cohesive, however fairly fascinating nonetheless. Should you’re somebody who values tales stuffed with twists, you’ll like what Astlibra presents.

If Astlibra’s narrative has one sore spot, it’s that it may well get uncomfortably sexy at factors. Look, I went into Astlibra anticipating to struggle scorching bare RPG gods and/or goddesses, and that’s definitely right here. My gripe is that Astlibra’s lewd moments, whether or not you’re viewing them as humorous or titillating, simply aren’t good. One chapter is very egregious with this, typically forcing risqué conditions that actively broke my immersion with the episode’s most important story. For lack of a greater phrase, this makes me cringe, it’s embarrassing.

Horniness apart, Astlibra’s strategy to storytelling does imply that its extra fascinating themes don’t get explored as a lot as they may. Across the recreation’s general midway level, issues get loopy. It begins introducing ideas that individually may act because the central battle for the rest of the sport’s run time, solely to cease a bit quick and transfer onto one thing else. This lead to a narrative that’s fascinating to comply with, however doesn’t finish on as sturdy of a notice.

That mentioned, if I did must sum up the general which means I gleaned from Astlibra as a complete, it’s that we’re all formed by our hardships. Even when we may return and alter the previous, we are able to’t erase the reminiscences that knowledgeable that call. There’s, fairly actually, no time like the current. And typically, we should face a future stuffed with uncertainty and take care of the results as they arrive.

Now, on condition that I’m taking part in the comparatively new Nintendo Swap port of Astlibra, I’d be remiss if I didn’t discuss concerning the high quality of this model of the sport. General, it’s fairly good! The whole lot typically runs at a easy framerate, and the straightforward artstyle naturally appears to be like simply pretty much as good right here because it does wherever else. I can’t immediately evaluate the sport to its PC model, however the footage I’ve seen appears to be like related sufficient.

That mentioned, it’s not fairly excellent. Close to the endgame, the sport may undergo noticeable slowdown every time the display screen received excessively cluttered with enemies and projectiles. I additionally had at the least one occasion the place some enemy graphics flat out didn’t load in a single space, although this did right itself later for causes I don’t perceive. Thankfully, these had been extremely uncommon points all informed. I’d say this impacted possibly 1% of my whole playtime.

Truthfully, I perceive why Astlibra was ported to the Swap over the opposite choices: it really works notably effectively as a handheld recreation. Grinding out supplies to improve your talent tree and weapons works nice in brief bursts, particularly for those who’re in search of one thing to play when you atone for some podcasts. The sport is comparatively punishing for those who die, so it’s not fairly a “flip your mind off” form of grind. However I did like taking part in it on this context. Take that as you’ll.

Astlibra Revision is likely one of the most fascinating video games I’ve performed this 12 months, and I can solely conditionally advocate it. Should you’re not the form of individual that enjoys grinding for supplies and going for 100% completion, I don’t know the way a lot you’d get out of the sport. Moreover, Astlibra has sufficient jank throughout its many techniques that I may in all probability fill one other assessment nitpicking at it. These points are comprehensible contemplating the sport’s growth, however they’re points regardless.

But after I look again the sport in its entirety, I can’t assist however really feel completely impressed by it. In each its story and its gameplay, Astlibra repeatedly goals increased than its solo-developer has any proper to. And by some absolute miracle, it succeeds extra typically than it doesn’t. As soon as I reached the postgame content material, I used to be virtually positive I used to be achieved with the sport and thought I may write my assessment already. But even at that time, it simply saved rising, and it wound up hooking me for practically 20 further hours.