Astalon: Tears of the Earth

Astalon: Tears of the Earth has a lot of promise a Metroidvania. The cute designs give it a feeling of Castlevania by way of Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti [スプラッターハウス わんぱくグラフィティ] with some more grotesque boss and background art direction in the game. I also enjoyed the flipping between characters to use their unique powers. The map is huge and a blast to explore and find new items and upgrades and some other surprises. The most unique option to this game would have to be the benefit of dying. On death, you are taken to the underworld where you can make purchases for items, health, upgrades, etc.

The game is a total blast to play through but there are just a few things that hold it back from true greatness is just a handful of confusing choices. Some of the mini-boss things show up so often you get an "oh, you again?" vibe. The Hud also covered up some ladders to other areas which I can't imagine was a real game-time decision. The game's plot seems a little unbalanced juggling about three separate plot points (the main villain's plot is a bit too melodramatic for everything else, while the other part about a mystery involving the end of the world never gets resolved). What is a real pleasure is the small campfire scenes where the characters have some more human interaction).

If you are seeking out a Metroidvania fix and don't need to play a Metroid, Castlevania or Hollow Knight again, this will do the trick, but it just so easily could have been a bit better with some balance and polish.