- Developer: LABS Works
- Publisher: DANGEN Entertainment
- Release Date: 03/6/2021
- Price: £15.49 / $19.99
- Review code provided by LABS Works
Introducing: Astalon: Tears of the Earth Review
Astalon: Tears of the Earth is one of the newest 2D Action Platformers on the market. I was actually excited the moment I first saw the trailer for this game. As anyone who has read my previous reviews would know, I am a huge fan of games in this genre. Typically make it a point to play each one and getting the chance to review Astalon: Tears of the Earth, is really exciting. Let’s not waste anymore time and dive into this review for Astalon: Tears of the Earth.
Climb the Tower of Serpents
The story for Astalon: Tears of the Earth takes place within the Tower of Serpents. A tower full of gorgons and what appears to be the source of the poisoning of the village the main characters hail from. You climb the tower as a band of three characters: Arias the knight, Kyuli the ranger, and Algus the mage, against the Black Knight. All with the goal of saving their village. But there is a secret within the group, as Algus has made a pact with the demon Epimetheus, which allows for the death loop within the tower until your goal is complete.
Classic Metroidvania With a Twist
Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a really fine tuned Metroidvania to say the least. Each of your party members has unique abilities to help traverse the rooms of the dungeon. Arias can cut through vine walls opening passages. Kyuli has a wall jump ability for reaching higher ledges. And Algus can shoot through walls with his magic attacks, which can help clear wall enemies
Now don’t get me wrong, this party mechanic is not new. The Bloodstained series has a tendency to use this mechanic, but I would say that it is done a lot better in Astalon Tears of the Earth. Though, not all characters are created equal in this model. I found myself usually using Algus or Kyuli to traverse through the tower as Arias just got hit way too often for my comfort. He couldn’t really hit flying enemies too well, so he was at a huge disadvantage in most rooms.
Other trappings of Metroidvania style games are here as well. A map that is filled in as you explore. Items that give your party members different abilities. Such as a cloak of levitation for Algus or dashing boots for Arias or infinite wall jump boots for Kyuli Most of these special items are locked behind doors that require a white, blue, or red key, which you find while exploring. There is another upgrade system we have to talk about involving Algus’s secret.
Epimetheus’s Upgrade Emporium
As I mentioned earlier, Algus has a secret from the rest of the party. He has invoked a pact with Epimetheus and placed a death loop upon the Tower of Serpents. This allows for the death loop that occurs within the game, where you are revived upon death at the entrance of the tower, but it also allows for an upgrade shop as well.
As you progress through the game and kill monsters, you will collect soul orbs. These can be spent upon death with Epimetheus. Within the shop you will find some good quality of life upgrades, stat increases for each party member, and special abilities you can unlock for each character. I actually liked this method of upgrading characters. Some of the better upgrades to me were the one that pulls soul orbs to you and the mercy ability, which is kind of a last hit bonus ability. There are also three insights that you can buy within the shop. These insights will tell you the story of your main nemesis, the Black Knight.
Secrets and the Bestiary
As in standard Metroidvania fashion, there are a ton of secrets within the game. Such as the aforementioned insights you may buy. There are a ton of secret rooms throughout the map, most holding warp points or soul orb cubes, but a few will hold paths to completely new areas. This is one of the reasons I typically walked around as Kyuli, because she was good at finding secret rooms early on in the game.
Another secret within the game is a Bestiary with a kill goal for each entry. Now if you aren’t a completionist I suppose you could just forget about this secret, but this is one of the handier ones available to you. If you return to the guy who hands you the bestiary, he will give you soul orbs for each kill count you complete. I really liked this as it helped to unlock ultimate powers for the characters or get some higher pointed quality of life upgrades.
Fighting the Gorgons
The gorgon fights are the main boss fights you will encounter in Astalon: Tears of the Earth. I loved these fights a lot. Each fight had unique mechanics to learn if you want to beat them, unlike the Black Knight fights which don’t change as often as I would have liked.
I would have to say that my favorite gorgon fights were a dual souled gorgon and the second main gorgon within the tower climb. The dual souled gorgon fight was not particularly challenging, but it was the fact that it had a true second phase with a new health bar that got me liking this fight.
The second gorgon fight on the tower climb really takes the game’s philosophy of “sometimes you have to make sacrifices” to a new high. There were parts of this fight with the second half that just seemed like I had to be hit, but could maximize damage afterward. Also, the second gorgon’s first phase has a full stage laser attack that just reminded me of the “I’m firing my laser” memes of my youth.
Final Thoughts
I really had a lot of fun working on this review for Astalon: Tears of the Earth. The story was compelling. The boss fights are all unique and challenging but fair. And the death loop system really turned this Metroidvania into something unique. If you are a fan of Metroidvania games, then I cannot recommend checking out Astalon: Tears of the Earth enough.
Pros
- Fun and challenging boss fights
- Death loop/upgrade mechanic
- Team based mechanic really shines through
- Plenty of secrets to find
Cons
- Slow pacing until you get some upgrades
- So many key locked doors
Verdict
Astalon: Tears of the Earth is a fantastic Metroidvania. A must play for any fans of the genre.
