The 26 best Nintendo Switch games of 2025

Multiplayer: p | Release year: 2019

I was on the fence Astral chain From the day the first trailer came out to the few hours of gameplay. The whole thing seemed a bit too generic, almost a paint-by-numbers rendition of an action game. There’s no need to worry, as it’s one of the most original games to come from PlatinumGames, the developer behind the Bayonetta series, in recent years.

In a future where the world is under constant attack from creatures that exist on another plane of existence, you will play as an officer in a special force dealing with this threat. The feature of the game is that you can tame these creatures into legions that you can use in combat. Encounters take place as you control your character and Legion simultaneously to deal with waves of larger and more challenging mobs and enemies. In addition to combat, you’ll use your legion(s) to solve crimes and traverse environments.

Astral chain It sticks closely to a loop of detective action, platforming puzzles, and combat — too closely, if I’m being critical — with the game divided into cases that serve as chapters. The story starts off well enough but quickly turns into a mish-mash of various anime tropes, including twists and arcs ripped straight from some very popular shows and movies. However, the minute-to-minute gameplay is enough to keep you engaged throughout the 20-or-so hour-long main campaign and into the somewhat significant end-game content.

He does Astral chain Reaching the heights Nier: Automatic? No, not at all, but its combat and environments can often outshine that game, which is probably my favorite of this generation. Often priced under $50 these days, it’s well worth your time.