Switch's exclusivity pushing Platinum Games in new directions • Eurogamer.net

It has been more than 10 years since Platinum Games launched its first project and since then, the Osaka-based studio has defined and redefined the action game with brilliant versions such as Bayonetta, Vanquish and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Deny: Automata has achieved excellent results and the recently released Astral channel is the next step in its evolution.

Combining its established arcade action with exploration, investigation, storytelling and puzzle solving, Astral Chain is one of the most successful projects. ambitious Platinum to date. It is also a very difficult game to describe. As could be expected, the fight plays an important role, but this time the experience has been extended. It has been described as a "synergistic action game" – a descriptor referring to the namesake chain Astral – which connects the player's character to a being called Legion, a mechanism that influences almost every aspect of gameplay. From combat and search to the simple crossing, the link between the player and this legion is the key.

Basically, Astral Chain is Platinum's opinion in a cyberpunk-style world, influenced by genre epic designs such as Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed. The world is divided between streets steeped in puddles, ruined lanes, the headquarters of Neuron and the alternative dimension to the origin of the main threat of the game. As expected, Astral Chain is based on the Platinum's internal technology and is more about pushing the switch hardware and making the most of the fantastic artistic design.

Even the introductory sequence on the bike is a beautiful demonstration of the operation of current lighting and post-processing techniques, coupled with exceptional artistic direction. We are looking for a relatively simple tunnel using cube maps, motion blur per pixel and lens reflections, plus a good mix of particles and excellent modeling. There is nothing innovative here, but the composition is together to create something of a surprising beauty. It's a showcase of strong artwork and clever development first and foremost.

That said, some visual effects are well presented, taking into account the very limited power of the graphics processor that Platinum must exploit. The implementation of the depth of field, for example, is a clever attempt at cinematographic simulation of the camera's bokeh. Subtle motion blur is applied to moving objects, providing extra animation. The particle effects are surprisingly rich and beautifully detailed, while the skybox and its use of color are simply fantastic. I think it's more appealing, more often compared to the technically superior Nier: Automata, which often seemed a little rough around the edges.

Pushing the graphics with force certainly requires a compromise, with the main trade taking the form of a fall of Platinum's favorite preferences at a target rate of 30 frames per second. Despite doubling the rendering time per image, the studio always seeks to optimize visual results, and that starts with the native resolution of the game. Unlike Bayonetta switching ports, Astral Chain can achieve resolutions overtaking 720p in docked mode. However, this time, the team chose to use dynamic resolution to stabilize performance.

When they are docked, the number of pixels usually ranges between 720p and 900p, or about 810p on average. This solution is associated with a post-processing solution for anti-aliasing, which allows to obtain a slightly sharper image quality but still somewhat cloudy. However, when considering the material, the overall picture quality is satisfactory and is an improvement over Bayonetta.

As one could expect, the portable mode reaches its peak in 720p and appears in connected mode, it uses the dynamic scaling of the resolution – but there is a huge difference between both of which resulted in something we had not seen before – a new approach that works quite well. In mobile mode, the game works without any anti-aliasing and when the resolution drops below 720p, it is resized without linear filtering, resulting in uneven pixel edges. The screen captures and video capture look very rough, but on the Switch screen, it's almost impossible to see. The result? The game really looks very clear when it is played in portable mode and may be more presentable than the anchored output when it is inflated on a large TV.

Performance matters in an action game. So the question is whether the Platinum approach plays with a constant frame rate. Fortunately, the results are solid for the most part. Astral Chain maintains 30 frames per second in most situations. The exploration is generally perfect and the race around the world offers stable performances, as you would like. In combat, things are slightly more variable. Although the target is reached most of the time, it's not quite a lock at 30fps. The frame rate may momentarily drop below 30 frames per second, but the impact on fluidity is not so severe and is relatively fleeting. The drop in portable mode resolution is also profitable because the overall experience is very similar to the anchored performance.

All in all, Astral Chain is an excellent version of Switch, but I have an unexpected complaint. For unknown reasons, surround sound is not supported. On my 7.1 configuration, the game only plays audio on the left and right channels, with the remaining speakers remaining silent. This is not the first Switch game to present this problem, but it's still strange. On the plus side, the sound itself is excellent and the soundtrack is first class.

Overall though, I really enjoyed Astral Chain. The quality of the image is not quite superior, but the visuals displayed are often beautiful and the design of the world itself is compelling. Its unique atmosphere differs from most other Platinum titles – and I really enjoyed it. Beyond the presentation, the game itself is very engaging. Although the fights remain as strong as ever and present an excellent turn, it is the overall progression that I find the most fascinating. It's a slower experiment than the typical Platinum action game, but exploration and puzzle solving add a lot of variety to the mix.

I started this part by saying that Astral Chain is rather hard to describe, but suffice it to say that its Cyberpunk-inspired aesthetic, stunning art direction, and Platinum arcade action have all hit the target. But there is much more than that: if the game is very different from Deus Ex, it has the same ebb and flow between its high intensity action and its moments of calm and for me, it works perfectly.