Who doesn’t love a tactical RPG with PS1 era graphics? I do, and probably, if you’ve read to this point, you do too. So, when the code for Astral Throne dropped on my digital desk, I jumped at the chance to try it out. I love these kinds of games and there’s a special place in my heart for them.
It’s kind of like video game chess, often featuring something akin to rock-paper-scissors mechanics. I love positioning your units, planning my moves out, and then watching a strategy play out – often disastrously at first and learning through trial and error.
And I’ll say it, right from the get go: Astral Throne hits all the right notes, although it’s not always perfectly in tune.
Classic style that took me back
I don’t mind admitting, it was love at first sight. The art style took me back to the golden age of the PS1 era, classics like Suikoden and Suikoden Tactics, and I felt like I was back playing my old faves.
The art is rich and full of personality, but somehow it manages to feel both old-school and fresh at the same time. Game stages are atmospheric and full but not to the point that it gets overwhelming with detail as you look down on them from your isometric view.
Then throw in a beautifully delivered sound track and you’ve got something that was clearly made with love.
Tactical action for Fire Emblem fans
As much as I love a good-looking game, I’m here for the action — and Astral Throne deliver there, too. For those who love games like Fire Emblem, I think this will be right up your street.
The core combat system is turn-based and your movement is grid-based. You can move a set number of spaces and carry out actions each turn, and every move matters. You have to decide whether to push forward, putting your characters at risk, or hold back a little and see what enemy comes your way.
The problem with holding back is that you have a limited amount of turns to do what you need to before your health starts ticking down, and if you rush into things and your leader dies, it’s game over. Balance is key to your progress.
A characterful RPG adventure
I mentioned leaders, so let’s talk about character and skill customisation. You level up upon gaining enough XP, you have a choice of three options to progress your character and improve their skills. You can even change class, adding another string to each character’s bow.
There are some weapons which are class-specific, so by adding a new class, your characters can suddenly use other items in the inventory. This whole levelling up system adds loads of variety and replay value and you can, to a certain degree, sculpt your team the way you want it. And, while you start off with a small crew, you can actually choose to recruit or fight some of the characters you meet on the battlefield.
So, this website is all about roguelikes: where does Astral Throne fit into that? Well, for starters, each run is different thanks to the game’s roguish elements.
You start with a small band of heroes, and after your first fight, you’re given the freedom to choose your path across a randomly generated map. There are battles, shops, and camps that you can rest at, with special events and more – all placed in such a way that you’re constantly making decisions about risk vs. reward.
I think this is the part of the game that I loved the most; the strategy of planning out not only your battles on the field, but your movements around the map. Do you go on, striving for a fight in hopes of reward, or do you dodge it to negate the risk? The variety of routes, random encounters, and character builds makes it tempting to head back in for another play.
The Gods of RNG
Now, I’ve been very positive up till now, however, despite everything that Astral Throne does right, it’s not without its flaws. We’re not talking anything game breaking or major – more personal bugbears.
The biggest issue I had was with the map generation. Sometimes, I felt like I was pushed into battle after battle without a chance to rest and after a while it felt a bit too punishing.
There is also not enough variety on the map in terms of things to do. At times, I felt like the action emphasised luck over merit-based gameplay, and even the best strategized plans were beholden unto the Gods of RNG.
Grinding for victory
The difficulty was also a bit of an issue for me – going beyond “gruelling but fun” to the point of frustration. This was mainly down to reinforcements, with them constantly being added to the battles, meaning a turtle approach was less rewarding.
There’s a fine line between a fight being a challenge and it feeling tedious. Personally, I feel like Astral Throne can cross that line at times. I mean, once or twice, grinding it out and only just beating the level despite the reinforcements can be fun, but doing it time after time can become too much.
There are also a few quality-of-life features I’d love to see added. Inventory management needs some work, for example. As it stands, handling items can feel clunky. This was particularly annoying in battle where I felt all fingers and thumbs, and a more intuitive UI wouldn’t go a miss.
One area that could use a bit of extra content is across the enemy types and maps. While there’s an alright amount of variety early on, after a few runs, it starts getting a bit too familiar. Just adding a bit more variety would make it fresher and feel more challenging.
Should you sit atop the Astral Throne?
Despite these minor issues, I genuinely reckon Astral Throne is a decent little class-based, turn-based RPG strategy that comes with a nice mix of nostalgic charm and modern mechanics. I can easily see myself coming back to it over the coming weeks—not because I want to beat it, but because it’s pretty fun deep down and I want more.
With some balance tweaks and a few quality-of-life improvements, Astral Throne could be awesome. It’s already shown flashes of brilliance, and I’m hopeful the developers will continue to support and evolve the game in the future, which it seems they intend on doing.
Astral Throne is out now on PC (Win) and Roy played with a code provided by the game’s developer, Zero Sun Games.
