Astlibra Revision is one of those games that from the outside it is very easy to look at as just another modern retro attempt at side-scrolling gameplay. But if you look deeper, there is an impressive amount of game here and this could be one of the most expansive action RPGs on the market.
A Long Time Revising
The game according to the store page has been in development for 15 years, and it certainly goes all over the place. The story starts with the protagonist, AKA: you, and your bird Karon surviving off the land for eight years after a demon attack robs them of their memories. Going out to explore the world, they run into a wide assortment of characters, demons, and more plot points than you would think for a game like this.
The game itself is split into chapters, with each one taking place in a self-contained area filled with hidden treasures, enemies, and a few boss fights. Survive, and you’ll return to the hub area to continue your journey and you can revisit previous areas. The stories of each chapter may sound a bit hokey at first, but there is some very deep and dark conversations as you learn about what is going on.
The gameplay itself is what separates Astlibra Revision from its peers, by putting in every kind of system imaginable for a game like this.
Yes, to All
When it comes to secondary systems and progression, I don’t think there is an action RPG that beats Astlibra Revision. I equate this game to the same style of game system depth that we see from the Disgaea series — having multiple forms of progression that can break the game at a minimum and is required if you want to see everything.
Every weapon and armor piece earns experience that unlocks either a new skill or crystals that are used to activate skills after you use them enough. There are unlockable recipes for new gear, a passive tree that would make Path of Exile say, “maybe that’s too big” and other systems and challenges. The game continues to unlock new content and challenges, even to the very end when it briefly turns into an action roguelike.
The game’s story also goes all over the place — with multiple “bad endings” to avoid that the player will eventually get to the over-the-top real ending. This is a game that is for action RPG fans; there is a lot here to enjoy and go over if you want to see everything, including optional super fights.
With that said, Astlibra Revision is definitely a “me” kind of game, but even I can’t ignore some of the issues that do knock it down a few pegs.
Timeless Pain Points
Astlibra Revision reminds me of yet another game — La Mulana, in that this is truly a game that was designed by fans, for fans, of the genre, but offers very little to someone who isn’t already a super fan. The onboarding and approachability are not that good here. This is a game that casually hides the fact that you can unlock double jumping right at the very start. Several hidden treasure chests will literally have essential skills that will make your life a lot easier in specific sections. Some of the puzzles that you must solve can be obtuse in spots, as you must rely on hitting specific event triggers to move things forward.
Trying to grab action screenshots of this game can be very hard when it gets crazy
And if you decide to play on the higher, or highest difficulty… all I can say is “good luck” when you get to some of the many extreme pain points and difficulty spikes that the game has to offer. There were several spots that I could spoil here that were just horrible to go through on the higher difficulties. This is partly due to the structure of the game, where previous chapters and their respective loot and gear are inaccessible when you are in the story of another chapter. Due to the as-for-mentioned skill unlocks, having the right skills and accessories can trivialize some of the game’s spiker sections. However, it is very easy to get put into a soft-lock situation where you don’t have the right skills and items and are unable to get access to them.
From a technical standpoint, Astlibra Revision doesn’t have too many bugs that I could find, but it does have some issues with hit detection and hitboxes. Enemy attacks will often generate the hitbox surrounding an attack before the attack animation plays. On the lower difficulty settings this isn’t too bad, but when you’re on the higher ones and death is very fast, this can mean a huge difference.
The game will also throw tons of projectiles at you, with enemies who can snipe at you from across the arena. Due to how the camera pans, bullets don’t appear at the edge of the screen, but a few inches inward — lowering the amount of time you have to respond to offscreen attacks. Believe me, this will become a problem in the later chapters.
Rewind Time
Astlibra Revision is one of those games that you are either a fan of or you’re not. A massive culminating project for Action RPG fans, this is the kind of game for people who know what they’re getting into. If you’re interested in a sprawling epic of combat and game mechanics and want to push the difficulty as high as you can go, this is the game for you. If you’re new or not a fan of action games like this, this is definitely not the game to start trying to learn. For you reading this, Astlibra Revision is either going to be a game that you’re going to find issues with and stop playing fast, or you are going to go all the way to the true ending and see everything this game has to offer.
Despite the pain points, I really enjoyed this game and hopefully, there is more to come from the developer.
This was played with a press key on PC
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