News Articles
Wednesday31st Aug 2022
News Platinum's Switch Exclusive Astral Chain Celebrates Its Third Anniversary
Director shares a special message
It's now been 3 years since PlatinumGames released the hack and slash Astral Chain exclusively on the Nintendo Switch. When the game originally arrived on the scene in August 2019, we praised it for its amazing visuals, presentation, varied gameplay, and rewarding combat. If you haven't already played it, we would...
Tuesday19th Jul 2022
News PlatinumGames Hires Nintendo Veteran, Signalling 'Significant Change'
Takao Yamane becomes Vice President
PlatinumGames, known for its work on the likes of Bayonetta, The Wonderful 101, and Astral Chain, has hired Nintendo veteran Takao Yamane in a move that is said to bring "significant change" to the company going forwards. Yamane will join PlatinumGames as its Vice President and Chief Business Officer. The news...
Tuesday14th Sep 2021
News Astral Chain's "Superstar" Director Is Working On A New, Unannounced Game
"He’s working on something, but we can’t say what it is"
PlatinumGames' boss Atsushi Inaba has recently been speaking to VGC (alongside Hideki Kamiya) about a wide range of topics – including Star Fox Zero and Bayonetta 3 – and another subject that has cropped up is the current work status of Takahisa Taura, the director of the Switch...
Wednesday1st Sep 2021
News Platinum's Switch Exclusive Astral Chain Celebrates Its Second Anniversary
Is it time for a sequel?
Just over two years ago, PlatinumGames released the Nintendo Switch exclusive Astral Chain. We praised it at the time for its amazing visuals, fantastic presentation, varied gameplay and rewarding combat - awarding it nine out of ten stars. It was one of the Switch's stand-out hits at the time and is still one of the best...
Friday29th Jan 2021
News Astral Chain Is Now Fully Owned By Nintendo, Says PlatinumGames
Nintendo takes ownership of the IP
One of 2019's standout Switch games, Astral Chain was a bold and exciting new release from PlatinumGames. Directed by Takahisa Taura, the game sold above expectations and showed fans that the studio's relationship with Nintendo was as strong as ever – the game was, after all, co-owned by both parties. We say...
Monday25th Jan 2021
News Hideki Kamiya Was "A Shoulder To Lean On" During Astral Chain's Development, Says Director
"I don’t think I’ve ever felt a sense of distress like that before"
Takahisa Taura has worked on plenty of amazing video games, including Madworld, The Wonderful 101 and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, but Astral Chain was his first time working as a director – and he's been speaking to Famitsu about th
Sunday6th Sep 2020
Soapbox Astral Chain Was The Game Nintendo Needed Most In Its 2019 Switch Lineup
And Platinum, for that matter
Astral Chain is now a year old. In this soapbox piece, Mitch Vogel explains why he thinks it's one of the most significant Switch titles yet. This past weekend marked the first anniversary of the release of Astral Chain, the latest product of the long-standing collaboration between PlatinumGames and Nintendo...
Sunday30th Aug 2020
News Platinum Celebrates The First Anniversary Of Its Switch Exclusive Astral Chain
But what's this about a sequel?
It seems like a lifetime ago (at least to us) since the action-adventure hack and slash Astral Chain arrived exclusively on the Nintendo Switch, but this week it's only just reached the one year mark. To celebrate the game's first anniversary, PlatinumGames prepared a special Lappy cake for the occasion, and Platinum...
Tuesday4th Feb 2020
"too early to say"
Now that a Kickstarter campaign for a remastered version of The Wonderful 101 has been officially launched, there's talk about what other Platinum-developed Nintendo exclusives could potentially be released on other platforms. One game that many people would like to play (who don't seem to own a Switch, we might add) is Astral...
Thursday30th Jan 2020
News Astral Chain And Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Both Surpass One Million Sales
Lifetime figures released
Last summer, Switch owners were treated to two particularly intriguing Nintendo-published exclusives - PlatinumGames' Astral Chain and Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order from Koei Tecmo. It has now been confirmed that, as of December 2019, both games have managed to surpass one million sales. Astral Chain has sold...
Tuesday14th Jan 2020
News Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Gets Four New Astral Chain Spirits This Week
Summon a Legion
Nintendo has held a lot of spirit events in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for its exclusive Switch titles, but one game that missed out around the time of its release was Astral Chain. To make up for this, later this week the all-star brawler will be hosting a special-themed event based on PlatinumGames hit release. This spirit event...
Wednesday8th Jan 2020
News Astral Chain Director Says Nintendo Switch Exclusive "Sold Above Expectations"
Sequel confirmed?
Astral Chain was one of last year's most impressive Nintendo Switch releases. When it arrived in August, it managed to grab first and second place in the UK and Japanese gaming charts respectively, and it followed this up in the
Tuesday19th Nov 2019
News Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Leads Nintendo's Nominations For The Game Awards 2019
Plenty of Nintendo nom nom noms
The nominations for this year's Game Awards, the annual show hosted and organised by Geoff Keighley, have been posted and Nintendo has a good showing with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate gaining a nomination for Game of the Year. One of six games to receive a nomination, the others are Remedy's Control, Hideo Kojima's...
Wednesday30th Oct 2019
News Monkey Ball Director Loved Astral Chain, Was Inspired By Takahisa Taura "To Improve"
"It was a well-made, fun, solid action game"
Yesterday saw the release of Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz HD on the Nintendo Switch. The game is a remake of the 2006 Wii launch exclusive and comes with enhanced graphics and two brand-new modes. In charge of this remake was the director and producer Masao Shirosaki. He's been doing the press rounds...
Wednesday18th Sep 2019
News Astral Chain Director Talks Sequel Potential, Says Game Wasn't Intended To Be Beginner-Friendly
"I was aiming for the opposite"
If you've played Astral Chain, we imagine you probably agree that the game's pretty wonderful. It's already turned out to be quite the success, too, so we definitely wouldn't say no to sequels being released a few years down the line should the first game's sales warrant such a thing. Speaking of which, the game's...
Friday13th Sep 2019
News Astral Chain Was One Of The Best-Selling Games Of August In The United States
Fire Emblem had the best Switch software sales overall
August wasn't the best month for the video game industry in America, with software sales falling to their lowest since 1998 according to NPD Analyst Mat Piscatella. Despite this, Nintendo still had a good run and the Switch was once again the best-selling hardware system as well as the only...
Monday9th Sep 2019
News Astral Chain Writer Talks About How The Game's Story Was Put Together
Legions could have been rather different
Astral Chain has been out for just over a week now on Nintendo Switch, easily becoming one of our favourite games of the year so far. If you're as invested in the game as we are, you might want to check out this recent blog post shared by story writer, Akiteru Naka. Naka-san has worked as a game designer at...
Friday6th Sep 2019
News Metacritic Takes Action Against Disgruntled Gamers Who Review-Bombed Astral Chain
Game now has a 9.0 rating
Update (Fri 6th Sep, 2019 15:45 BST): It would appear that Metacritic has taken action against review-bombers and has nuked a whole bunch of negative reviews. As a result, Astral Chain now stands at a 9.0 rating (thanks to Quarth for the heads-up). While it's good to see that little issue solved, the negative rev
News PlatinumGames Thanks Players For Making Astral Chain "Such A Success"
Exclusive art shared
It would appear that Astral Chain got off to a flying start after its launch last Friday; not only did it manage to grab first and second places in the UK and Japanese gaming charts respectively, but developer PlatinumGames has gone out of its way to thank players who have made it "such a success".
Wednesday4th Sep 2019
Japanese Charts Astral Chain Just Misses Out On Number One As Switch Sales Soar
PS4 exclusive takes top spot
Famitsu's Japanese chart figures are now in for 26th August - 1st September, revealing that PlatinumGames' Astral Chain has narrowly missed out on securing another number one position after its UK success earlier this week. The game sold 32,236 physical copies in its opening week, but it wasn't quite enough to beat PS4...
Tuesday3rd Sep 2019
News Hideki Kamiya Slaps Down Demands For Nintendo Switch Exclusive Astral Chain On PS4
"It would be great to have Mario, Zelda, and Metroid on the PS4 too"
Astral Chain is a bit special, as you'll know from our glowing 9/10 review. It's PlatinumGames at its finest, offering thrilling combat, superb visuals and a nice mixture of gameplay styles – and it's exclusive to Switch. However, such a fact doesn't seem to have stopped people...
Monday2nd Sep 2019
UK Charts Astral Chain Becomes PlatinumGames' First UK Number One
Off the chain
UK chart data is now in for the week ending 31st August, revealing that PlatinumGames' Astral Chain has entered the charts right at the very top of the pile. It managed to beat a number of other newcomers to achieve the feat, including 505 Games' action-adventure title Control. Things were tight between the top four, however, with...
Saturday31st Aug 2019
Video Digital Foundry Gives Its Technical Analysis Of Astral Chain On Switch
"A really well-made Switch game"
Astral Chain is the latest masterpiece from PlatinumGames and it is exclusive to Switch. So, how does it hold up in the technical department? According to the folks over at Digital Foundry, the focus is on pushing Nintendo's hardware, rather than targeting higher frame rates. Unlike the Bayonetta ports, Astral Chain...
Friday30th Aug 2019
Round Up Is Astral Chain A "Platinum-Plated Masterpiece" Or "Flavourless Disappointment"?
The critics wade in
Today sees the launch of PlatinumGames' latest epic, the action-packed Astral Chain. Showcasing the company's trademark combat-focused gameplay and eye-catching visuals, this Switch exclusive also features sections where you investigate crime scenes and compile clues. It's a fantastic mix of genres and is effortlessly one of the...
Gallery The Astral Chain Collector's Edition Is From Another Dimension
*Spoiler Warning*
It's launch day for PlatinumGames' latest frenetic action game, Astral Chain. If you're one of the lucky ones, you might have ordered the Europe-exclusive Collector's Edition – and if you are one of those people, we suggest you look away now and save your eyes for your own private unboxing. However, there are many more people...
Poll Astral Chain Is Out Today, Are You Getting It?
Make your voice heard
Today finally sees the release of Astral Chain, the latest Nintendo-exclusive game to arrive courtesy of PlatinumGames. We've already sung its praises in our review - we went as far as to say that this is one of 2019's best video games - but now we want to hear from you. Will you be grabbing a copy? Perhaps you're even already...
Thursday29th Aug 2019
Nintendo Download 29th August (Europe)
Astral Chain! Heave Ho! Dragon Ball LITE!
The latest Nintendo Download update for Europe has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy! Switch Retail - New Releases: ASTRAL CHAIN (Nintendo, 30th Aug,...
Nintendo Download 29th August (North America)
Astral Chain, Spyro Reignited Trilogy and Torchlight II
The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived, and it's bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy! Nintendo Switch: Astral Chain...
Tuesday27th Aug 2019
Video Astral Chain's Launch Trailer Brings The Hype
Friday can't come soon enough
Three days. That's all that stands between us and Astral Chain, PlatinumGames' latest release exclusive to Nintendo Switch, and we couldn't be more excited. Nintendo has shared a launch trailer for the title (we've plonked it above, just for you) and it's somehow managed to raise our hype levels to an even higher state...
Wednesday21st Aug 2019
Video Check Out The Previously Unseen File 06 In Astral Chain
Off the chain
Gamescom is now well underway and director Takahisa Taura of PlatinumGames has been busy showing off some new exciting gameplay in the upcoming action game Astral Chain, which is headed to the Switch on 30th August. The video shows the previously unseen File 06, with Mr Taura demonstrating some high-level play against the boss of this...
