Astral Chain

Astral Chain
Icon art by manga artist Masakazu Katsura
Developer(s)	PlatinumGames
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Takahisa Taura Kaori Ando Makoto Okazaki
Producer(s)	Eijiro Nishimura Kenji Saito Hitoshi Yamagami
Designer(s)	Sota Kotajima
Programmer(s)	Katsuhito Shimane
Artist(s)	Masakazu Katsura Hajime Kimura
Writer(s)	Akiteru Naka
Composer(s)	Satoshi Igarashi Naofumi Harada Hitomi Kurokawa
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch
Release	August 30, 2019
Genre(s)	Action-adventure, hack and slash
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Astral Chain^[a] is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by PlatinumGames and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch. It was directed by Takahisa Taura, who was previously lead game designer for Nier: Automata, under supervision by Devil May Cry and Bayonetta series creator Hideki Kamiya, and character designs from manga artist Masakazu Katsura.

Set in a dystopian future Earth, the game follows the events of a special police task force that protect remnants of humanity from interdimensional creatures and aberrations that invade the planet, with the story centering on the task force's two new twin recruits. Utilizing the titular "Astral Chain", the twins restrain and tether the creatures, employing them in combat and investigation, referring to them as "Legions". The setting of the game draws heavy inspiration from various cyberpunk manga and anime, while the gameplay combines hack and slash combat with role-playing elements and investigative adventure game sections. The gameplay segments revolve heavily around the simultaneous controlling of two characters; the player character twin and their Legion.

Astral Chain was estimated to have had a five-year long development cycle and follows a slate of previous collaborations between PlatinumGames and Nintendo, with both companies having previously worked together on titles such as The Wonderful 101 and Bayonetta 2. The game was announced February 2019 as a part of that month's Nintendo Direct presentation. Astral Chain received highly positive reviews from critics who praised its dual-character gameplay, world building, presentation, customization, and soundtrack, though it received some criticism for its usage of a silent protagonist. As of December 2022, the game has sold over 1.3 million copies worldwide.
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