Developer C2 Game Studio and publishers Versus Evil and tinyBuild have today announced that the newly retitled Astor: Blade of the Monolith (formally Monolith: Requiem of the Ancients) will be bringing the fantasy fight to Switch on 30th May.
In this action RPG, you will play as a lone hero (honestly, is there any other kind?) making your way across a desolate landscape in the hopes of solving the mystery of his creators' disappearances. If it sounds very action-RPGy, that's because it is. The developer has cited the likes of Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, and The Legend of Zelda as points of inspiration for Astor's creative combat and fantasy world — both of which look rather nice in the new trailer (above).
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You'll be wielding ancient weapons and learning magical attacks as you make your way through Astor's colourful planet of Gliese. There looks to be lore a-plenty for those who want to get into the weeds of the fantasy setting, but there's also a good amount of fighting to be had if you would rather simply slash some baddies.
You can find a little more about the game's features and get a look at some screenshots below.
- Engage in intense battles against 16 different enemies and 10 formidable bosses across over 20 hours of main story and side quests
- Arm yourself with 4 unique weapons, master dynamic skills and combos, summon powerful constructs, and craft your own combat style
- Traverse Gliese's diverse landscapes, complete various side quests and uncover remnants left by your creators
- Test your skills in combat challenges and conquer New Game+ mode for an even greater challenge
Astor: Blade of the Monolith will be arriving on the Switch eShop next month for $24.99 (or your regional equivalent).
Does this look up your street? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Comments 23
Not completely sure it's for me, but I have to say that it looks pretty cool so I might get it at some point and regardless obviously hope it will be good for those interested in it!
Looks awesome!
are games looking a little... "samey" to anyone else this generation? or is there a prolific artist doing all these 'hooded robot with a magic sword in Utah" kind of concepts?
When I saw PlayStation logo at the end of trailer, that's means I will consider those games on PS4 / PS5 version.
If it go's on cartridge I might get it
If not then I will not🤔
Looks better than I was expecting, like the PS2 platformers, will read the reviews and possibly pick it up once it goes on sale. Reminded me of Biomutant which didn't review well, and despite getting it with PS+ I only played for like an hour then stopped. Kena Bridge of Spirits was good, but that was heavy on story.
One day, in the future, a game will be released that isn’t compared to Zelda.
Looks fantastic for an indie action RPG. Also love all the small references to Xenoblade here (ex: Astor being ref. to the Astor Flier in Torna, patterns on objects similar to those found in the Monado series, using Monolith and blade in the same subtitle, etc.). Definitely will check it out.
@-wc- So funny, I have been wracking my brain to come up with a pithy name for this specific visual style — observable in games such as Ori and the Will of the Wisps, The Last Campfire, OMNO, and now Astor: Blade of the Monolith — but “hooded robot with a magic sword in Utah” will do just fine.
This looks quite up my street indeed. Will wait on reviews and who knows, even a physical version!
Inspiring yourself from Bayonetta's combat, what a great idea!!
Art direction seems to be taking from different sources as well, maybe not super original, but certainly looks polished, you can feel the power of the attacks in the trailer already, hope it translates just as well in the game.
Looks pretty cool so far.
@Limberlost
don't forget Creature in the Well!
😂
https://www.nintendolife.com/games/switch-eshop/creature_in_the_well
cheers ✌️
Another game to add to my ever growing wishlist.
@-wc- the definitive example
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/unbound-worlds-apart-switch/
Biomutant 2 looks pretty dope. 😄👍
@-wc- Not to mention it's got the glowy BOTW ancient tech look too, which has been done to death.
@-wc- I genuinely laughed out loud at your comment cause that's exactly how it feels 😂
As afar as my own opinion, it looks competent to get the job done, just not sure it'll leapfrog my own backlog. There's so much saturation on Switch that I feel bad for new projects if they aren't breaking (or lifting) new ground.
Looking over the trailer, it looks too graphical for the Switch to handle. I can already hear the critics complain about the framerate, the loading times and smooth transitions between screens, and just overall gameplay being repetitive. I hope I'm wrong, but this has become the pattern of 2024 releases this year.
Hype radar on full alert. So, I'm obviously expecting at maximum a 7 but most likely a 6 on final review.
@JohnnyMind What about it doesn't look good for you? Are you not into action RPGs in general? Seems like this will be pretty solid, especially on PS
I know times change but man am I sick of this kind of graphic style in modern games. feels soulless.
@ItsATM I'm not into action RPGs as much as other genres, but now that I've properly read the article - unfortunately didn't have enough time yesterday - I've seen that there's lore to be discovered so my interest has definitely increased, looking forward to reviews of it and if it's good I'll most likely give it a try at some point (on Switch as I unfortunately don't have any PS)!
Kinda getting Blue Fire vibes from this (loved that game, very underrated).. which was almost like a 3D Hollow Knight to me. This looks more combat focused than platforming so far from the trailer though. Gonna keep an eye on this one, hopefully you guys review it!
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