In an age where you can feel the influence of the Souls-like genre in just about any action RPG, it’s easy for a ton of challenging adventures to blend into a death screen montage. Asterigos: Curse of the Stars is a cartoonish odyssey inspired by Greek and Roman mythology, with a simplified version of the soul-like formula at its heart. In the consequent decision of each act I slouched in my chair. I was used to having characters die and being punished for reckless behavior on numerous occasions, but my questionable decisions negatively affected the story and it raised the stakes for me in a very refreshing way. Back then, it was a completely different thing.
When I first saw it, I felt déjà vu with Asterigos’ simple hack-and-slash combat, dodging rolling and drinking potions as I made my way through each area and boss. Likewise, the Greek and Roman mythology-inspired world and cartoonish art style reminded me of last year’s his Immortals: Fenyx Rising. That’s not to say Asterigos hasn’t carved out his own path. It’s clearly more accessible than the typical Souls-like game, thanks to multiple difficulty options, resources you can keep after you die, and more. It’s also a fantasy tale set in a world of gods and monsters that’s quite unique so far. I couldn’t help but struggle to find one…at least at first.
But that differentiator hit me hard when I discovered that many chapters presented major decisions that would seriously affect the story in the long run. I was dispatched to retrieve the object and was explicitly told to avoid overt confrontation with the faction in question. I attacked a character who was clearly told not to do it at a glance. Honestly, I’m so used to soul-like formulas that I thought it would be okay if I didn’t bother negotiating with this character in the first place. Based on that decision, me and my character’s personality will change. After all, if I had initially sought a peaceful solution, I would have gained more insight into the story, saved face with my allies, and acquired character traits that made my character act more mature. would have been Results later. But unfortunately, my monster-killing brain activated autopilot and that recklessness returned and hit me hard.
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The fact that Asterigos allowed me to make big mistakes that affected my character’s personality and ultimately the story became a game changer for me, and the fact that several NPCs were bloodthirsty killers. After being slapped on the wrist from , I approached future missions more cautiously. And honestly part of me just wanted to purposely do the opposite of what the quest giver was asking me to do, just to see what would happen. Either way, it’s a lot more interesting than the average “fight the boss, beat the boss, then report back” that I’m used to.
Is there still something Asterigos could do better? Absolutely. The controls are a little shaky, the animations are stiff and unpolished, and the combat is fairly repetitive in a short amount of time, but the high stakes at which the story and your decisions are dealt with are a lot of those rough edges. will be of great help in redeeming the
