Asterigos: Curse of the Stars Review
Release Date: October 11th, 2022
Developer: Acme Gamestudio
Platforms: Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S (Reviewed), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Steam, EGS)
Price: $34.99
Souls-like games have been on the rise for quite some time now and is a prominently featured genre within the indie community alongside rogue-lites and farming simulators that continue to dominate the weekly release schedule of games, but one of the most appreciated factors for these sorts of games - despite the oversaturation - is that there's an increased sense of creativity and risk being taken within these genres to make them more flexible and stand out more, providing a way for just about anyone to play the games regardless of if they have a history with a certain genre or not. This flexibility and amalgamation of genres and gameplay styles allows a chance for games to truly have a sense of identity, even if that means simply combining the mechanics and art direction of varying titles into one. In the case of Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, at a glance, it's obvious that the visuals were inspired by the likes of Immortals Fenyx Rising and Kena: Bridge of Spirits, with combat taken from a mix of the two mixed in with some Souls-like flavoring and systems in place. Even though it's wearing its inspirations on its sleeve, however, there's still enough about Asterigos: Curse of the Stars that makes it a great game in its own right, and a big part of that has to do with its flexibility, accessibility, and simple intuitiveness of its gameplay that makes it a comfortable and enjoyable experience.
Unfortunately, the story is where everything falls apart, though to counteract that Asterigos has a fairly engaging world and gameplay that more or less makes up for the faults in its narrative. The gist of it is that Hilda, a young warrior, has been awaiting the return of her father and set of soldiers to return after visiting a large city known as Aphes, but never came back from their expedition. She takes it upon herself to find answers, but in doing so comes across echoes that help flesh out the story a little more as well as various notes and scrolls riddled throughout providing entries and the sort that elaborate further on a moment in time during their travels. As she continues to look for answers, Hilda finds herself working alongside a small group of other deities and folks labelling themselves as The Adherents, who have lived for hundreds of years. After explaining of a curse that has been around for centuries they come to an agreement to life the curse all while aiding to help Hilda find her father. A story like this has the potential to be fleshed out an interesting, but the large issue lies from the dialogue that just isn't particularly compelling, nor are any of the cutscenes that feel like they're meant to be prototyped screenplays rather than part of a finished product. More often than not no matter how unattractive a story may seem, I still find myself sitting through any cutscenes just in case there's something interesting that may happen, but Asterigos was the first time in a long time that I've skipped cutscenes and fast-paced through dialogue even after repeatedly giving it a chance. If it didn't grab me after the first thirty seconds, we were moving on. Though admittedly there was a large part of me that was excited to simply get back to the game, so it wasn't necessarily a matter of groaning through a boring story, but the excitement of wanting to just play again since Asterigos does a great job at providing an interesting world with a charming enough protagonist to play with.
Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is an extremely accessible souls-like adventure that gives the challenge where necessary but also the breathing room to appreciate the environment Hilda finds herself in. On Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC, the game runs like a charm, and though some detail is oddly lost sporadically in all versions of the game with the occasional textures that may have been neglected, it overall is a pleasant game to look at and take in the sights with. Asterigos isn't the most overly detailed world, but there's enough rewards in every corner to warrant continued exploration even well after you've completed the main quest before going back to The Shelter and carrying on with the story. That said, however, it's not free from technical issues, as there can be some slight hitbox and collision oddities that will occasionally cause for a head tilt and look of confusion, and one of the things I found the most problematic and consistent across all versions of the game is that when moving the camera there are frequent flashes seen as the map is trying to keep up and load in time to be displayed on the screen as the camera moves. It's not entirely egregious, but it's often enough that it's worth mentioning and certainly noticeable after a long gameplay session. Outside of those, however, Asterigos: Curse of the Stars has a solid foundation that makes for a relatively enjoyable journey from beginning to end with very few hiccups that take away from the experience.
The combat for the most part is fluid, and being able to mix and match any weapon types, perks, and skills at will really gives Asterigos a personalized touch for the player regardless of their proficiency in the combat style Asterigos: Curse of the Stars draws so heavily from. Boss fights are varied enough also to provide a level of strategy when doing type matching with various elements and weapon skill sets, so it's fun experimenting between them all and making sure they all get a fair amount of love as you'll never know when you'll need to the benefit that may strike slow but hit hard, or vice versa for when you need something that is super quick and provides a parrying or dodge technique like daggers and lancers. Doing this in a fluid fashion without the added layer of stress needing to purchase myriad weapons or pick up anything and everything you see on the floor makes Asterigos feel focused and streamlined, which is much appreciated when a lot of these games add unnecessary depth that works against them. There's a level of comfort when playing Asterigos that is seldom seen in other games within the genre, and it's a big reason why I also find it as being highly accessible to those that have interest in action-adventure games but may be turned off by the Souls-like approach to its combat and mechanics.
Overall, Asterigos: Curse of the Stars does what it does extremely well, and one of the most appreciated aspects will always be the accessibility of the game. While the story falls flat, it's fun enough with its varied but focused skill sets, perks, skill trees, world-building, and more that really make the game feel whole, especially with all the environments players will find themselves going through above ground, below ground, and everything in between throughout Hilda's journey in search of her father and lifting the curse. The influence of architecture and atmosphere from Greek and Roman mythology also gives off a flair that we haven't seen done as vibrantly since Immortals Fenyx Rising, so Asterigos: Curse of the Stars, for what it's worth, is striking in more ways than one. Though it won't be for everyone and likely will upset those that are more proficient or seasoned with Souls-like titles, there's still plenty to love here in the grand scheme of things that I think would make Asterigos work out as a continued series or even through expansions that I think can really build a relatively loyal following and become a rather successful IP.
PROS:
A great visual direction that pops in every corner
Intuitive interfaces and mechanics makes for a comfortable experience
Being able to save whenever you please rather than certain locations is much appreciated
The music is absolutely fantastic
CONS:
The story is not very engaging
Frequent flashes of the world loading can become irksome
Some jank to the movement and world can be problematic
A massive thank you to tinyBuild for providing us with a copy of Asterigos: Curse of the Stars for the purposes of this review!