Some of them are only concealing stashes of orbs or optional enemies, but others are hiding keys or secret doors that must be found to advance. Keep an eye peeled for invisible switches and cracked stones. There are secret passages everywhere and they aren’t marked on the map. One of the best and most frustrating elements of this game is the hidden secrets. Fortunately, the map color codes rooms where you can swap out party members. While monsters respawn after your death-and every time you exit a room, for that matter-puzzles remain solved, bosses remain slain, and you keep any keys you picked up. Each character has different abilities that can counter specific obstacles, meaning you have to regularly switch between them to advance. As you explore and slay monsters, you gather the souls of the dead in the form of blue orbs, which you can trade with Epimetheus for permanent power-ups. Upgrades range from increased damage to health bonuses to the ability to automatically absorb orbs. The latest addition to my Switch download catalog, Astalon: Tears of the Earth, is one such example. The 8-bit soundtrack and sound effects that might as well have jumped directly out of an old-school arcade machine help create an atmosphere that’s equal parts nostalgic and unsettling.ĭying means putting the dungeon-crawling on pause for a bit while you renegotiate terms with the Titan of Death. The cast, with their huge eyes and stylized armor, wouldn’t look out of place in the original Puyo Puyo or even Madou Monogatari games. The character design draws heavily on 80s and 90s anime. It really feels like the Tower itself hates you. This contrasts sharply with the genuinely ominous environments and off-putting enemy designs that range from oversized insects to twisted cyclopes to rotting corpses. Rest sequences help to establish the bonds between the main cast just as the post-death upgrade conversations help to establish the friction between Algus and Epimetheus. Algus doesn’t let the grim fate awaiting him stop him from complaining to-and gossiping with-Epimetheus, the monstrous Titan of Death that will inevitably claim his soul. The game manages to create a truly creepy tone, but the writing is at once simple, deeply affecting, and surprisingly funny.
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