Astral Chain Release Date, Gameplay, Multiplayer And Trailer

The Nintendo Switch is just a lovely little system, the place where grand, left-of-center gaming has found a caring, supportive home. And the best of AAA gaming now has the ability to travel outside the living room. But if there's any one area where the system has been lacking, it's in the kind of wild, flashy, blindingly fast third-person action that Sony and Microsoft have been able to deliver seemingly once a week. Platinum Games is apparently out to change that.

Astral Chain, Platinum's first exclusive title for the Switch, is on its way, which is not only playing around in a starving genre on that platform, but also happens to be one of the few wholly new IPs from an established studio. That's an exciting thing to see and support, and we've got all the details for everybody to do exactly that.

The first trailer, which was announced during a Nintendo Direct in February of this year, is more of a brief statement of purpose than a full fledged look at the game. Still, even without that Platinum Games logo, there should be no doubt in anyone's mind where this came from and which minds were responsible for it. There's a distinct feeling to the combat even without the Joy-Con in your hands. It's a sight to behold.

The real curveballs are in the second half, which are all seemingly detective work, environmental puzzles, and just the slightest hint of the larger plot. There's a lot more of that in the trailer from this year's E3. Even then, there's some very odd hints at the asynchronous gameplay going on that's different from Platinum's usual bag of tricks. 

It would be easy to say that this is another one of those titles that Playstation 4 and Xbox One owners look upon with envious eyes, but if nothing else, Platinum Games have always been rather generous in giving each of the major platforms their own exclusive bit of love. The PS4 had Nier: Automata, which was exclusive to the platform for about a year and a half. The Switch is also home to the two-pack re-release of Bayonetta 1 & 2. The PC got stellar ports of both Vanquish and the first Bayonetta. Yes, Nier: Automata's also over there, but we don't talk about that. The Xbox was supposed to get Scalebound, but that project was scrapped, although rumor has it the Switch might inherit it. 

Still, if there's one simple reason why Astral Chain went to the Switch, it likely lies in the same logic that caused Bayonetta 2 to be a Nintendo exclusive: they showed up, when no other publishers did, even Sega, who published the first Bayonetta. As long as that continues to be the case, Nintendo will always be in the company's best graces. 

The short answer: it's Platinum Games. If fast paced, stylish, lethal action has a name, it must be Platinum. The gameplay we've seen thus far backs that up, with that same satisfying mix of flashy melee attacks, aerial combos, and light-show special attacks. It's a thing of beauty, as one might expect. The big gimmick is the fact that Legion is involved, both mirroring the player character's attacks as well as setting enemies up for what seems to be a capture move involving the titular chain. 

While this could still just mean having an AI companion shadowing you every step of the way, Pokemon has also been cited as a major influence on the game, which could mean your Chimera buddy could have a lot more to offer. Structurally, according to the official descriptions, the game's looking a lot like Nier: Automata, which had self-contained stories and areas, but with a lot of freedom to roam and explore in between. 

So, if there's two characters onscreen at all times (the cop and his living Legion armor), does that mean there's multiplayer? Well, technically — technically — the answer is yes. According to a hands-on impressions piece by Kotaku, there's an Easter egg actually allowing the game to be played via couch co-op when the Joy-Cons are separated from the Switch, thus making the cop and Legion controllable manually. 

That's pretty awesome. But there's a catch. While the game will ordinarily sync the pair's attacks automatically, a second player performing the moves may make some of the more complex maneuvers a bit harder to pull off.

"If you're going for a high score, it's challenging to do this, playing in two-player," said director Takahisa Taura. "As one example, while you're playing the game, there are several synchronous moments where you're doing attacks with the Legion at the same time. And if you're playing two-player, the other player and you — actually, it's almost like you would actually have to be of the same mind."