

This means you can only travel from side to side, although there are many doors you can enter that will take you to different screens and areas. Unlike the recently released Tales of Arise, Astria Ascending is a fully 2D style JRPG. It’s up to you and the good guys to figure out what exactly is going on. It’s not going to be an easy mission for the eight-person party because a lot of sinister things are cooking up behind the scenes. It’s up to Ulan and her party of seven companions to find out what is going on and who is behind the recent attacks. Things aren’t going smoothly when enemies called ‘Noises’ have kept appearing in the cities and surrounding areas. She is accompanied by seven other demi-gods to protect the Kingdom of Harmony.
ASTRIA ASCENDING ULAN PS4
The only bad thing about playing the PS4 version is that the loading times are a lot slower.Īs for the story, the main character is a tough demi-god by the name of Ulan. Sure the game runs smoother and looks better on the PS5, although the PS4 version still holds up.

ASTRIA ASCENDING ULAN FULL
The game is rendered in 4K and it looks like a real-life painting is popping out of your screen!Įven when the game zooms in to see the character models in full detail, the image quality never falters one bit. One of the biggest drawing cards of the game is the amazing 2D style hand-drawn graphics. There are a lot of options available to gamers to make this game either really easy or very hard depending on how you want to play it.Įven though Astria Ascending is developed by a smaller gaming studio, this does not mean that the game has a budget presentation.

As aforementioned, it features turn-based combat, but this does not mean the game is easy to play. However, there is a new JRPG being released this year called Astria Ascending that is sure to please old-school fans of the genre.Īstria Ascending is a new JRPG developed by a small studio called Artisan Studio. The only recent game that utilizes turn-based combat is the small RPG called Cris Tales.
ASTRIA ASCENDING ULAN PC
Do any of them take issue with being chosen as a demigod? Do any of them fear the inevitable death that is coming for them? These are the types of questions that I hope are explored, but how hard will the commitment be remains to be seen.There have been many JRPGs released for PC and consoles, although some of them do not feature turn-based combat. With these heroes chosen as demigods they are guaranteed death three years later. It isn’t particularly a necessity as it doesn’t hurt the gameplay’s quality, but it has been such a useful feature in many modern turn-based JRPGs of this century that it seems odd that it is absent.Īstria Ascending looks really promising, with, based on what I’ve played so far, great combat, fantastic visuals, and an interesting world to explore – but the latter is where I have my hesitations. Of course, many players will want to experience everything organically, but having the options for those who are newer or more casual with the genre to enjoy their experience in their own way is a huge win.ĭespite how much I enjoy the combat, one notable omission was the lack of a turn bar displaying the order in which the field would operate. Genre veterans know that this is relatively common when you have more party members than what is allowed in battle, but in Astria Ascending you can swap out up to your entire party if you want to in a single turn – and for good reason.įor instance, enemies respawning in dungeons can be disabled, difficulty can be changed on the fly, and there’s even a weakness indicator that can be turned on so you don’t have to use an ability or play the guessing game to figure out a threat's vulnerabilities. While there are eight party members throughout your journey, only four are usable in a battle. Whether it be abilities or a melee attack, you can use up to four focus points dealing up to 200% strength. But focus points don’t always go in your favor, as you can lose several at once if you attack an enemy who can absorb, resist, or nullify the damage type. A party member can also use their turn to focus and gain temporary points to help deal massive damage. By hitting your enemy’s weakness you will gain focus points.

Where Astria Ascending defines its unique battle mechanics is with its focus system. In general, the environments and animations are drop-dead gorgeous across the board despite some unnecessary detail, but its turn-based combat is where it is at its best, with each slash and blast oozing with charm.
