December2019
News Hideki Kamiya Says Bayonetta 3 Development Is "Going Really Well"
There you go
At the start of the year, Switch fans got quite a shock when Nintendo announced the development of Metroid Prime 4 had been entirely restarted. This followed later on in the year with the delay of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. With this in mind, it's nice when we do get regular updates from developers about how
Feature From Astral Chain To Zetman: The Story Of Masakazu Katsura
Get to know the man behind Astral Chain's art
Although he's a famous manga artist in Japan, there's a good chance you've probably never heard of Masakazu Katsura – and if you have, it probably wasn't until very recently. He’s the character designer for Astral Chain, the latest action title from PlatinumGames. In anticipation of Astral Chain’s...
October2019
News Did Hideki Kamiya And Ikumi Nakamura Just Tease An Okami Sequel?
"Okami is going to be back"
Okami is one of those games that seems to raise a smile on the face of anyone lucky enough to have played it, and it would seem that the series is in line for a revival. Ikumi Nakamura – who made headlines at E3 as a staffer at Tango Gameworks before leaving the company and embarking on a massive world tour of games...
Random Shinji Mikami Had To Ban The Resident Evil Devs From Playing Tetris Attack
The Tetris Attack effect
At one point or another we've all found ourselves playing some ridiculously addictive game when we know we should really be doing something else, whether it's working or walking the dog or taking gran to her doctor's appointment. Video games, eh?! It seems that during development of the original Resident Evil on PlayStation,...
September2019
News If You Want NieR: Automata Ported To Nintendo Switch "Please Ask Square Enix"
Yoko Taro insists
As much as we appreciate Bayonetta and the more recent release Astral Chain, one other PlatinumGames title we would love to see make its way to the Switch is the critically-praised action role-playing game, NieR: Automata. Nintendo fans have requested a hybrid version for quite some time, and during an interview with Bunnygaming...
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 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...
August2019
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...
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...
Video A Closer Look At The Combat And Boss Battles In Astral Chain
Arriving at the end of this month
One of the bigger games coming out at the end of this month is PlatinumGames' Switch exclusive, Astral Chain. While we're all looking forward to this release at Nintendo Life, our American-based video producer Zion Grassl is particularly excited about it. Fortunately, he doesn't have to wait quite as long as the...
News Astral Chain's Combat Was Possibly Inspired By Pokémon
Legion, I choose you!
One of the more anticipated releases due out later this month is PlatinumGames' Astral Chain. It's an action title where you take on the role of a rookie officer and must help save humanity from an interdimensional invasion, with the help of a sentient weapon known as the Legion. The game's director, Takahisa Taura, has...
July2019
Preview Astral Chain Mixes Bayonetta, Wonderful 101 And Metal Gear Rising, And You'll Love It
Trust us on this one
You’d think it’d be a little easier to relax when you’re lounging inside a hotel suite playing a video game, Platinum Games’ Astral Chain, to be exact. High above Comic-Con, Seagulls were flying face level to the glass panes of the room, while sailboats were lazily drifting off in the San Diego bay; yet all anyone could...
June2019
Preview Astral Chain Is The 2019 Switch Game Everyone Should Be Talking About
Off the chain
When Astral Chain was announced earlier this year, it was easy to forgive some mild scepticism from Nintendo fans. Wait, another anime-styled action title from PlatinumGames, and one that's less than a year from release? While the studio has built up an incredibly solid reputation with titles like Bayonetta, The
Random Astral Chain Is Filled With Hidden Toilets And "Lots Of Cats"
Um, what?
While the majority of PlatinumGames fans are eagerly anticipating the release of Bayonetta 3 on the Switch, the next title the Japanese company is actually releasing on Nintendo's hybrid platform is the synergetic action game Astral Chain. It's being directed by Takahisa Taura, who was the lead designer on NieR: Automata. During the...
News Astral Chain Brings An Interdimensional Invasion To Switch On 30th August
It's humanity’s last chance
In today's Nintendo Direct we got to see a bit more of Astral Chain, the new synergetic action game from PlatinumGames headed to the Switch on 30th August this year. You can see the latest footage in the video above. In the game humanity’s last chance against an interdimensional invasion is a sentient weapon called...
News PlatinumGames Talks About Bayonetta 3, Astral Chain And Reviving The Wonderful 101 On Switch
The future is now
During an interview with Gematsu at BitSummit 7 Spirits in Kyoto last weekend, PlatinumGames' executive director and producer Atsushi Inaba and game designer Takahisa Taura were queried about the company's upcoming projects. When asked about how Bayonetta 3 for the Nintendo Switch was coming along, Inaba simply said development...
May2019
News PlatinumGames' Studio Head Talks About Strong Professional Relations With Nintendo
"We've been friends for a long time"
In the same interview with VGC, Platinum Games' studio head, Atushi Inaba, spoke about the positive relations the company had maintained with Nintendo over the years and how respect and trust played a major part in the relationship. "Nintendo is a company that respects creators. From that perspective, it is a...
News Astral Chain Has No Link To Axed Xbox One Project Scalebound
"It's all in your imagination"
In a recent interview with VGC, Platinum Games' studio head, Atushi Inaba, was asked if the upcoming Switch exclusive Astral Chain had been influenced by the previously cancelled Xbox One title, Scalebound. There are supposedly no similarities between the two games: "I can’t go in to detail about how the different...
February2019
Video Don't Get Your Hopes Up About Project H.A.M.M.E.R. Or Scalebound Making A Comeback
"Very unlikely" to return
Earlier this week, we reported a rumour about Nintendo's plans to revive a "dead and buried" game. This rumour stems from a comment made by Game Informer's Senior Editor Imran Khan on last week's Kinda Funny Games show. According to the source, Nintendo has intentions of reviving a certain project, even though it was...
Random Hideki Kamiya Would Like To See Bayonetta In Mortal Kombat 11
Just imagine...
Just after the Mortal Kombat 11 community had come to accept the fact Shaggy from the Scooby Doo series wouldn't be added to the upcoming release, Bayonetta Director Hideki Kamiya has decided to send fan speculation into overdrive once again. All it took wa
News Former PlatinumGames Producer Pooh-Poohs Scalebound Rumour
"I’d highly doubt this is a thing"
Last night the internet was a-buzz with whispers that Scalebound was the "dead and buried" game to be revived on Switch. Outlandish as the rumour may sound, the game that Microsoft cancelled started out as a Wii project, so it's no strange
Rumour PlatinumGames' Scalebound Is Being Revived As a Nintendo Switch Exclusive
There be dragons?
Scalebound was an ambitious action title in development at PlatinumGames a few years back, and was intended to be an Xbox One exclusive. Helmed by the one and only Hideki Kamiya, it mixed fantasy with science fiction and was understandably on the 'must have' list of many a gamer. However, in 2017, Microsoft pulled the plug on...
News Studio Head Of PlatinumGames Talks About Astral Chain In Official Blog Post
Due out this August
One of the shock announcements of the recent February Direct was Astral Chain. While we were all led to believe PlatinumGames was hard at work on Bayonetta 3, it turns out the team has also been devel
News Bayonetta 2 Director Yusuke Hashimoto Leaves PlatinumGames
Moving on
Following the recent Nintendo Direct, where it was revealed PlatinumGames was "hard at work" on the upcoming Switch release Bayonetta 3, it's now been revealed Japanese director and producer Yusuke Hashimoto - who previously worked on Bayonetta, Bayonetta 2 and