Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, a review of a fun action game

A curse, an ancient city, a young and eager hero who finds himself embroiled in a story that is clearly bigger than him: these are the core elements of Asterigos Curse of the Stars. Acme Game StudioThe Chinese team is in their first development experience.

Asterigos’ proposition has been known since we suggested we try it last week. On this occasion, we hadn’t explored much of what the game has to offer as only a small demo is available, but we have finally completed our adventure in the city of Aphes.

Final release, PC (via Steam) from October 11, 2022, Xbox Series X | S made us realize how good and how less refined this game is, which we remember being available for PlayStation 5, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. .

For all the details, just continue from ours. Asterigos Curse of the Stars review.

thousand years

There Hilda’s storybegins when our hero is sent to search for a team that has been missing for months by the leader of the North Wind Legion, of which he is a part. His final destination is Aphes, a city corrupted by a curse that also struck the King of the Anbari kingdom, where the Legion was his elite guard.

There The story of AphesHowever, the curse begins 1000 years ago, as time blocks the people of the city. Aphes was inspired by the city-states of ancient Greece, not only on the stylistic level with its temples and buildings, but also on the social level with a clear distinction between free people and slaves.

This is not only a detail added to make the game world more reliable, but also one of the main themes of the adventure. Asterigos in the game is the curse around which the adventure revolves and the characters want to break, but the central figures of the adventure will only be able to talk about it. freedom He lost not only for this condition of immortality, but also for the social freedom that Aphes did not grant to many of its inhabitants.

Between speeches of magic, rituals that turn humans into monsters, and mythological figures inspired by ancient Greece, the characters They will talk about liberation and independence.. Doing so will, among other things, not only our allies but also enemies throughout the adventure which makes it difficult for us to tell if they are really on the right side.

On average, the quality of the writing isn’t always very high to be honest, and some characters are a bit too basic, although they play an important role in the adventure, but it took two or three key figures enough for the story. Take care to ensure the tissue stays interesting to the end.

Even Game World extremely compact and full of collectible narratives that tell sub-events and reveal the past of Aphes. Accessing this type of content takes some dedication, as there is a lot to read (more than we expected), but it may be worth it.

we are fighting

But time is not spent calmly talking and reading. Asterigos Curse of the Stars is an action RPG and above all you fight. As we told you in our essay, Hilda almost weaponry (a total of six) who are in the game. He will only be able to get accessories that improve defensive stats, and talismans that apply an element to our attacks for the sake of the plot. Weapons and items can be upgraded using materials that are also useful for crafting the accessories mentioned above.

always talk about upgradesHilda has three stats (attack, life, power of special moves) and a set of skill trees linked to the various weapons she uses: the latter is the most important part for the evolution of the character. Skills are divided into passive (improving the abilities of weapons, sometimes replacing existing attacks) and active.

Hilda can use any skills she unlocks even if she doesn’t have the weapon attached. Are you using a dagger but want to attack with the hammer skill? No problem. This, strategic possibilities and lets you fight with our favorite weapons and any skill. But in reality, completing more than two skill trees in the arc of the adventure is difficult, so you will tend to prioritize those of the chosen weapons to get the corresponding passive bonuses. Just by taking more time to level up and, above all, by entering New Game +, it will be possible to improve your skills and have a more eclectic character.

Either way, skills are powerful moves, capable of dealing and creating massive damage. diversity in the combat system. There are pure offensive moves, but there are also skills that create temporary defenses, spheres of influence that empower us, moves to stun enemies or perhaps create gravity that pulls them in. Various movements work well together.

Variety also comes from basic weapons. Each weapon has its own moves and perks, including a unique special move. The sword and shield let you dodge damage, the magic stirrup becomes a loaded sniper rifle, bracelets let you place mines, etc. Pure and simple melee is pretty classic (not to say derivative), so the combat system rises above all else with these secondary abilities. It attacks for positional advantage, dodge rolls, and circles around enemies without too many surprises. It is therefore important to use skills, not only to earn more easily, but also to have more fun.

this common enemies unfortunately they are a bit simplistic in their attack routine and tend to react a bit too slow at the start of the fight, making them easy prey for our magical staff (our favorite weapon). On the contrary, bosses are very interesting because they all have unique and fun mechanics to exploit to win. Another positive note is the design of the spaces, all large and full of secondary sections and shortcuts to unlock: the best spirits lack the “interconnected world” depth, but on average the spaces are well done and usually offer some. game uniqueness.

this battle system It’s not revolutionary by Asterigos, it’s just well made and works. While the game draws limited inspiration from the spirits-like world, it also lets you choose the difficulty level: the normal level, in our opinion, is perfectly balanced for such a tough challenge, forcing us not to keep our heads down. , but then. He is never punishing.

We have provided employment with such difficulties and with very few deaths. 20 hours and a little more to finish the plot, just by completing a few side quests. The latter is perhaps the weakest item of the pack, mostly because they require us to go back and forth to deliver items to secondary characters. We’ll get rewards and learn more about the game world, but they’re playfully pretty boring. Finally, to extend longevity, there are a number of endgame bosses that unlock when you get in front of the final battle. We will be able to return to the game world to find and defeat them all. Given that there are good reasons for a second game, Asterigos’ longevity is more than excellent, even considering the budget price.

As expected in the trial run, which we can confirm to be representative technical level The latest game, Asterigos, offers a simple cartoon style. The environments are varied, not always very detailed but still pleasant. There are some limitations on load points between maps with heavy framerate drops, but that’s only a moment in non-combat moments, so you can get past them.

The English dubbing of the characters didn’t always convince us, but the soundtrack can be listened to unaffected. there is a game all texts in italian.