Astria Ascending Reviews
A fascinating effort from a writer who's delivered some of the most beloved JRPG stories has too many flaws to be another classic.
While Astria Ascending adds some flair to traditional turn-based combat, it has a lot of gaping flaws and too much going on for it.
Despite some of the JRPG royalty involved, Astria Ascending just isn’t able to live up to the high expectations. The good news is that Artisan Studio seem committed to updating the game over time, so ideally the rough edges present will get smoothed out.
Built by talented designers of some of the most celebrated RPGs in history, Astria Ascending introduces a beautiful fantasy world and a cast of characters that promise to pull nostalgic players in. Will your adventure with the Fated Eight bring a fresh turn-based experience?
A sensory achievement for nostalgic JRPGs left without any enjoyable game under the hood and falls short of an already exceptional 2021 JRPG roster.
Astria Ascending is a game that reminds the golden era of JRPGs, with a modern twist tied to a brilliant combat system and a renewed job system. It is a must have for turn-based combat lovers.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Astria Ascending has the makings of a unique RPG but never builds on its strengths to rise above average.
While Astria Ascending's gorgeous world has a basic gameplay loop that can satisfy for a while, it lacks the knowledge to challenge minds or the spirit further. With no strategy in the later battles, a story moving too quickly to be poignant, and severely unlikeable stereotypes as characters, the lessons are forced and the result is grating.
Astria Ascending is heavily inspired by classic JRPGs. Its combat is its strongest suit, but its narrative fails to hold of the player as it should, which keeps it from recreating the elements that made its inspirations so special.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
If you're ready to go all-in on Astria Ascending… well, you probably already have. If not, there's plenty of fish in the RPG sea on Switch and some more marlins coming before the year's out. You'll be able to get your fill.
Overall, the game is fantastic. It works well on GamePass and the cloud gaming option for phones. The job system is greatly designed paired with a strong combat system and beautiful design. While the voice acting and difficulty jump take a bit away from the game, it’s definitely a great pick for turn-based JRPG fans who love the classics.
Review code provided by the publisher.
Astria Ascending is a bit of an odd bird to me...
An ambitious project featuring big names from the JRPG scene. It uses many JRPG conventions from the past, but ultimately, fails to stand up to the best in the genre.
Overall, Astria Ascending is a perfectly good JRPG that is familiar and traditional in a way that is both refreshing and frustrating. What it does differently from others in its class (fun and unique temple puzzles, amazing quality art assets) are enough to help it rise from the ashes of its storytelling faults. Major difficulty spikes and repetitive encounters hold it back from greatness and may make this a skip for some, but the adventure will speak to many fans of classic JRPGs.
While this choice may be unorthodox, Astria Ascending does a marvelous job at providing its players with a finely executed combat system, as well as a very engaging sense of character progression. Completionists too will enjoy clearing every single path for the development of the game's characters. Set amid a visually gorgeous world, Astria Ascending could have invested more in its plot, which is rather generic and unoriginal, but fans of JRPGs who can look beyond that will find a very fun and absorbing work landing on their Nintendo Switch.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Astria Ascending seeks to captivate you by the eyes and she succeeds. However, convincing you at the controls has it more complicated if you are a veteran in the genre, since his history and combats could take a couple of more turns to be more original. Still, it is an excellent JRPG that will please most.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
A JRPG that drinks from very good titles and has good ideas, nice and pleasant. Unfortunately it has certain design decisions that do not let it shine and make it a little heavy for its genre.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I came into Astria Ascending expecting a pretty by the numbers classic RPG experience but came out pleasantly surprised. My only main niggle was I didn’t find the story particularly compelling. However, the battle system and the depth to character customization make this game stand out from the competition. Adding that to a very beautiful art style, this is an RPG that any fan of the genre should most certainly take the time to experience.
Astria Ascending had me invested in the 25 hours it took me to get to the final dungeon. However, that comes with a padded runtime of level grinding, lengthy battles, dungeon navigation confusion, and many menu interactions. So if you begin, prepare not to understand what is going on until 10 hours into the game, but if you don’t have that time, don’t bother. However, those who do get far enough are in for a genuinely fun JPRG experience that only requires a few quality-of-life improvements.