Save a colorful world shrouded in mystery in Astor: Blade of the Monolith.
Astor: Blade of the Monolith was originally known as Monolith: Requiem of the Ancients. It is an Action RPG with a fun and familiar combat system which were inspired by games like Devil May Cry, Zelda, and Bayonetta. Astor: Blade of the Monolith was developed by C2 Game Studio located in Medellin, Colombia, and was established in 2008. They are known for games like Nitro GP an iOS and Android game.
Astor: Blade of the Monolith was co-published by Versus Evil and tinyBuild. Both studios have a whole list of great titles under their name that they have previously published such as Lil Guardsman and Mothergunship under Versus Evil and I AM FUTURE under tinyBuild.
In Astor: Blade of the Monolith you play as Astor a young Diokek warrior who is determined to uncover the secrets behind why his Creators had died. The journey takes place across the mysterious planet of Gliese, a mystical world where a towering Monolith stands in a silent vigil. Little is known to the Diokek about the origins of the Monolith. Was it created by their creators like they had been? Or had it been there since the beginning?
The Diokek small puppet-like beings are being plagued by a group of dangerous-looking beings called Hiltsik which seek to destroy what they had built up. When Astor explores an ancient tomb he gets separated from his friend and finds him face to face with a runic power. When he manages to meet up with his friend he finds that he had been ‘chosen’. He finds himself becoming the savior prophesied to save the Diokek people and resurrect their creators.
Astor is a silent protagonist, a character who doesn’t speak in comparison to protagonists from other games. However, this shouldn’t be a problem as body language and actions should show off Astor’s personality. While it does work to some extent showing off his protectiveness for his friends and the other Diokek he meets, there isn’t much in terms of emotional build-up, especially with the last boss fight making the overall story and Astor as a protagonist feel a little flat
While the character designs are unique and colorful the plot for Astor: Blade of the Monolith seems a little more like a run-of-the-mill adventure game plot. There is some great world-building and lore but most of it is noticeable during the last hours of the gameplay of the game. The world is semi-open world so there are a lot of side quests and exploring to do on each map but in terms of lore building in the early gameplay there isn’t much.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a lot of character building on the other characters even when you meet them often as Astor. When they show up it is usually too far along the plot making it hard for you to make a connection with any of the characters in the game even Astor. Especially with more ‘darker’ scenes where there was an attempt to create a little more emotional reaction but since you don’t get to know the character it falls flat.
There are different Biomes to explore within Astor: Blade of the Monolith with most of the maps being open-world world allowing for full exploration. The largest biome is the desert. There are ancient ruins that dot the landscape created both by the humans who created the Diokek and the civilization that came before them. Astor explores the ruins searching for the truth as he solves puzzles and gains runic powers along the way. Each of the landscapes that you explore is well done and has a lot of effort put into it which makes it worth a while to slow down and explore as much as you can as there are little puzzles to work through in the semi-open world that is Gliese.
The combat mechanics of Astor: Blade of the Monolith are pretty simple to pick up. You must swing whichever weapon you have equipped into the enemy and chain combos together while dodging and blocking enemy attacks. It’s reminiscent of old adventure RPGs where your combo chains are timed. Of course, there is also a parry system but it can be iffy to get a hang so dodging usually becomes the go-to.
There are 4 different weapons you can unlock through your playthrough each one comes with its own benefits and disadvantages such as the sword being an allrounder and the gauntlets and Hammer having a slower attack speed but more damage. Each weapon is upgraded separately with its own finishers to use at the end of a combo chain. While there isn’t a ranged weapon, you can fire runic blasts at crystals that you can use in combat to damage enemies that are further away or flying.
There is one place you can get upgrades to weapons and skills and that’s at the same orb you use to save your game manually. To get the upgrades you need to gather red essence from crystals and shard upgrades from around the world. Weapon and skill upgrades aren’t the only things you can get in terms of leveling up your stats.
You can find chests hidden around the world each glowing one of three colors Green, Yellow, and Blue. Green chests upgrade your maximum health and Orange chests upgrade your stamina allowing you to sprint longer, do more aerial attacks, or make use of the runic blast more. Blue chests upgrade something called your focus bar, this bar allows you to use a certain amount of finishers so you can combo them together just like your normal attacks.
There were many different bosses to fight in Astor: Blade of the Monolith and you eventually found small portals dotted around which allowed you to complete combat challenges including fighting against previous bosses. However, the attack patterns were easy to figure out making the combat easier in normal mode and on hard mode, while the enemies hit harder it didn’t make them more difficult
The Graphics of Astor: Blade of the Monolith are great. The levels are aesthetically pleasing and the world is colorful and lush, the desert biome dotted with oases and old ruins that break up what could’ve been a bland map. The character designs are cute although there weren’t a lot of differences with unnamed characters like the villagers. The visual combat effects were great and didn’t take away from the combat when you fought.
The sound engineering in Astor: Blade of the Monolith is good in terms of the soundtrack and sound effects. However, there really isn’t a huge difference in sound when entering different areas such as Golem Town or Crystal Haven. There isn’t any voice acting outside of the narrator and while the narration is generally well written it isn’t always executed as some of the voice acting can feel a little bland rather than sounding like a storyteller that the narrator is supposed to be.
Overall, while Astor: Blade of the Monolith is well designed and the characters are colorful, the soundtrack is great but the combat system is easy compared to other Adventure RPGs. It’s a great game with potential that unfortunately feels a little undone in terms of story and character development.
