Not Quite a Demi-God

The world of Astria Ascending is interesting to say the least. Imagine a world where people are randomly chosen to becomes Demi-Gods in order to defend the world from dangers. Of course, being granted with a ridiculous amount of power must come with a catch and in this case, it means that you die in three years. Yes, that is correct; if your number is pulled you will find glory beyond anything you can imagine, you will go down in history as one of the worlds greatest heroes. But you will die after three years’ time; your family and loved ones will be paid in great riches for your ultimate sacrifice… no pressure.

In Astria Ascending the player takes control of the 333rd group of demi-gods during what is their last three months of life. The team is comprised of each of the races that make up the planet, there is immediately an air of inclusiveness which was wonderful to see. The developers at Artisan Studio nailed the introduction to each of the team, once the player is given control all of the demi gods are in their meeting room. While the player controls the leader of the team, they are tasked with speaking with each member. This is great for a few reasons, but ultimately it displays a bit about each member’s class and abilities which is awesome because the team ends up being called off on an emergency immediately following the meeting.

MSRP: $39.99
Platforms: PC (reviewed), Xbox, PlayStation, Switch
Price I’d Pay: $39.99

Astria Ascending exudes that old school JRPG feel from the SNES/NES era. The battle system is a turn-based affair, with each member trading blows with enemies via attacks, special abilities and the like. While those tired and true tactics like exploiting elemental weaknesses is important; AA puts an even higher importance on it due to the Focus point system. While reminiscent of the more modern Bravely Default battle system in practice, AA makes the act of earning focus points a gamble. If the player can successfully guess a weakness they will earn 2 points, if they guess wrong and heal the enemy they will lose 4 points and various amounts in-between. While using focus points for attacks and spells will provide more damage, it becomes quite the gamble when up against an unknown foe.

While the battle system does the job, it’s the art that all but commands attention. In a word, stunning just doesn’t do it justice; as a sucker for the hand drawn graphics it was difficult to progress as I made a point to check out each level meticulously. As a 2D game, the player will spend a lot of time moving back and forth on that plane but each level is like a watercolor painting; filled to the brim with detail and sweeping beauty. While I had issues with some of the animations like when characters were walking, there legs move awkwardly but it was still a beautiful bit of awkwardness. Seriously there were times that I was convinced this was a Vanillaware game, fans of the studio will surely see the similarity in the art styles.

I wish the story was as engrossing as the level designs, AA doesn’t have a bad story to tell; it’s just very forgettable. And it doesn’t help matters that the characters don’t really have the opportunity to shine during the adventure but for a few times; because they are all different races and have vastly different customs it just seemed a missed opportunity for the 333rd. A lot of the understanding in the story comes from being able to keep track of all the wildly named people and places in this world. Its almost like the developers just had their cat walk across the keyboard and that became the name; ok its not that bad but some of them are just wild.

The beautiful graphics, unique characters and fun combat doesn’t take away from the fact that this is an old-school RPG at heart with new school wrappings. AA boasts a fun take on the traditional job systems found in JRPGs, I just wish it was given a story to match all of the great things it has going for it. Fights can drag on at times much like the JRPG’s of old, what helps is the amazing art and effects from the various attacks. But while fans of the older Final Fantasy’s and even Dragon Quest games may enjoy this trip of nostalgia; those folks raised on Persona 5’s and the last few Final Fantasy’s might be in for a bit of a shock. Astria Ascending isn’t a bad game, just a flawed one; but if you enjoy Vanillaware games and don’t mind a grind a lot of fun can be had here.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.