In the midst of the overwhelming hype for the recently released Hollow Knight: Silksong, it can be easy to forget that there are other Metroidvania titles out there with just as much creativity and gameplay variety waiting to be played.
Such is the case with AWAKEN - Astral Blade, a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania released October 22, 2024, exclusively for PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam.
It was created as part of Sony's 'China Hero Project', an initiative to support and raise awareness of China-based videogame developers, and received a very positive reception from players upon release.
Now, nearly a year later, AWAKEN - Astral Blade will be making the jump to Xbox consoles.
This news announcement was confirmed through a newly released playable demo for AWAKEN - Astral Blade's Xbox port, which you can download right now on the Xbox Store.
If you want to know more about this title, here's everything you need to know about AWAKEN - Astral Blade.
AWAKEN - Astral Blade is a Metroidvania title set in a dark fantasy world mixed with sci-fi elements, where you play as Tania, a Bionic girl created by a scientist named Dr. Herveus.
You have been assigned to rescue an Investigation team that has gone missing while exploring the islands of Horace, in an attempt to uncover why Horace's wildlife is mutating into bloodthirsty monsters.
To complete your mission, you need to search every nook and cranny of the Horace Islands for Aether. This mystical resource can be used to upgrade Tania's combat abilities or be traded with vendors to buy useful items.
In addition, you will be forced to engage enemies in fast-paced, real-time combat.
You will need to master Tania's large repertoire of martial arts skills and weapons to dodge, parry, and slash away at enemies to achieve victory.
Plus, you can weave multiple attacks into devastating combos or employ special abilities like slowing down time or temporary invincibility to help even the odds against the game's gigantic bosses.
You can never have enough Metroidvania titles.
While it isn't the most popular game in the world, AWAKEN - Astral Blade has garnered a cult-following on Steam, with many players praising the game's gorgeous art design, complex combat system, tough difficulty, and rewarding exploration.
Although there has been a more mixed reception regarding its story, which fans regarded as serviceable at best and dull at worst.
While I personally can't say if these pros and cons are accurate, as I haven't played AWAKEN - Astral Blade, I can definitely say that its gameplay does pique my interest after watching the trailers.
The combos you can pull off look slick and stylish, and the bosses look absolutely crazy and fun to fight.
I've always been a fan of lesser-known Metroidvania titles that try to shake up the genre, like Axiom Verge with its insanely dark sci-fi concepts or Guacamelee! with its wrestling-based combat system, just to name a few.
With a free playable demo available on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, I'm gonna check out AWAKEN - Astral Blade to see if its cult following is well deserved, as I have a feeling we may have an underrated gem on our hands.
As for AWAKEN - Astral Blade's full release date on Xbox, nothing has been set in stone yet.
However, the game's publisher, ESDigital Games, has stated on X that "The right time will come!", which implies it may be launching AWAKEN - Astral Blade's Xbox port very soon in the future.
I'm personally hoping it will release on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and Xbox Cloud Gaming, as a title like this would be perfect for the subscription service, and side-scrollers are always nice to play on the go while travelling.
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