Game Review: Astlibra Gaiden: The Cave of Phantom Mist

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)

I've reviewed a lot of roguelike games here, but rarely ones that could be considered full-fledged RPGs too. Astlibra Gaiden: The Cave of Phantom Mist is a standalone DLC game that's meant to accompany last year's Astlibra Revision. It's a roguelike RPG that is heavier on the RPG mechanics. It's out now on the Nintendo Switch and PC, and we're going to take a look at it on the Switch today. There's a lot to cover in this one, so let's dive in!

Astlibra Gaiden places you into the shoes of the local Baker's Daughter, who is never actually named. She lives a quiet life in a quiet town, but dark times have recently come about. As chance would have it, the local adventurers who typically protect the town have gone missing. It seems that they went on one adventurer too many, and have pretty much disappeared as far as the town is concerned. This is no small matter though, as monsters have started to attack the town in their absence. The game opens with one of these attacks, which has made its way to the heart of the city. No one is around who can stop the monsters, but The Baker's Daughter manages to fight them off pretty much single-handedly, armed only with a broom. Her strength draws the attention of a talking wolf named Polin who tells tasks her with exploring the titular Cave of Phantom Mist in search of the missing adventures. While she is hesitant at first, she ultimately decides to take on this quest in the hopes of re-establishing local trade so that her sick sister can get the medicine she needs. From there the plot expands a bit to include more plot regarding the other inhabitants of the town, but things never truly go beyond the initial goal of exploring the Cave of Phantom Mist, and hopefully bring back the adventurers in one piece.

While the plot here is rather thin, it works well for this style of game. The main Astlibra title is more of a standard RPG, while Astlibra Gaiden has many roguelike elements. Seeing as the gameplay loop is quite a bit different, it makes sense for the story to take a hit to its depth. Despite this, the characters and setting are both strong, and it even ties in with the original game. Admittedly I can't speak too much on that last point since I haven't played Astlibra Revision, but it's my understanding that this is a "Gaiden" in the purest sense. Its story takes place during the events found in the main game, and it even features several characters from there too. Naturally this will lead to some spoilers if you play this one before the first game, but I don't think it's all that important. You could very easily ignore the fact that this is a tie-in title in the first place, and just enjoy it for what it is. As someone who did exactly that, I can say with complete confidence that no prior knowledge of any sort is needed to enjoy this game. Those coming here from the Astlibra Revision may get more of the references sprinkled throughout, but newcomers will do just fine. In short, play it if it seems like a great game no matter where you stand as far as the first game is concerned. Now that we have story out of the way, let's talk gameplay.

I mentioned earlier that Astlibra Gaiden is a roguelike, but that's not really giving the gameplay itself justice. Your goal in the game is to complete runs in the Cave of Phantom Mist, and hopefully earn enough of the in-game currencies to gain permanent upgrades to make subsequent runs easier. The Baker's Daughter does have a standard level that determines base stats, but the level counter resets to one after each run. It also seems to max out quite low, so standard levelling doesn't play too much of a factor here. Force Gems are the real name of the game, and these are used to upgrade stats on a more permanent basis. This is done by feeding them into a large grid that's somewhat reminiscent of the sphere grid from Final Fantasy X. It's quite a bit more cramped and busy than what you'd find there, but that should give you an idea of what to expect. Not only can you unlock new stats on the grid, but you can also gain new spells, skills, and treasure. You can only access this grid back at home though, so you'll always want to keep that in mind if you're playing on a difficulty that takes away gems gained if you die. You can always lower the difficulty if you're not a fan of that sort of thing, but by default you lose some of what you gained when you fail a run. Considering you can only leave a dungeon level at the halfway point, or before fighting a boss, it's best to not push yourself too hard if you're making some good gains.

It's not just Force Gems though, as there are several other ways to upgrade your character. There's simple equipment that can be bought, crafted, or found, and many of these give The Baker's Daughter new skills and abilities as she uses them. These skills have a chart of their own (Thankfully a much less complicated one!) and you use different, multi-use, gems to equip them. These can unlock the ability to double jump, see damage given or taken, and so on. There's also a class mechanic to mess around with as well. This not only unlocks even more skills and abilities, but it also grants you a special ultimate attack, and moves your stats in a way that's relevant to the class you've currently selected. This might sound a little complicated, and honestly it sort of is at first, but it all makes sense within the context of the game. There's also the Astlibra Scale that grants special abilities depending on what items are placed onto each of its sides, but explaining it at length is probably far too much to be done within the context of a review. There's even a magic system I could get into, but I think you're starting to see the bigger picture. Suffice it to say that The Baker's Daughter is quite the customizable character, and you can craft her skills, stats, and equipment to your liking. There are many games where I've said something like: "You can make the character suit your play style very easily through the in-game mechanics!" but that's never been truer than it is here. You can even buy some new outfits, accessories, and hair styles if you so desire. It may not be a total "The sky is the limit!" type scenario, but it's pretty close.

Exploring the Cave of Phantom Mist is its own type of fun too. Each floor has multiple rooms, and there are lots of hidden treasures and even the occasional minigame to break up the monotony of exploration. I say "monotony", but I don't think I've ever played a roguelike that had such a fulfilling gameplay loop. The goal on each floor is to find the lever that opens to door to the next floor, and then drop down to it. Plenty of enemies stand in your way, and dealing with them can be quite fun. Seeing your hard work pay off by defeating hordes of enemies has never felt this good, and there's so much more you can do too. Treasure is scattered everywhere, resources can be mined, and special in-dungeon item shops can be visited and gambled in. It's really as complex as any other part of the game, and I mean that in the best way possible. Naturally death can mean a quick end to the fun, but that's what difficulty settings are for. There are also checkpoints found at the midpoint, and the final area before the boss. You can fast travel to the start and midpoint of any area you've visited, and revisiting cleared areas might be necessary if you need a certain type of Force Gem to level up. It makes for a satisfying gameplay loop that you can easily lose yourself in. I have hope that future games in the series keep the roguelike elements introduced here, as I'm of the mind that the formula has been perfected. This is probably best described as the roguelike RPG for those who may not like roguelike elements. They're included in a way that feels like you're constantly progressing in a meaningful way, but there's still the randomized "back to the start" elements too. Astlibra Gaiden has some of the best gameplay I've seen in a long while, and it probably isn't going to shock you when I say that I think it's the best aspect of the game.

Those looking for cutting edge graphics might be disappointed by what Astlibra Gaiden offers. It's not that it's unimpressive, but it the graphics lean towards a retro look. As stated earlier, the entire game takes place in a side-scrolling 2D environment, and that means lots of pixel-based graphics. Observant readers will already have seen plenty of the game via screen shots, and it goes without saying that the character and monster designs found here are among the best. Not only are they impressive as far as indie games go, but they stand out with some bigger titles as well. It's not all 2D though, as there are plenty of 3D models throughout the game too. These are placed so seamlessly into the 2D world that it doesn't make too much sense to discuss them at length separately. They're just as good, if not better, than the pixel graphics. Be they in 2D or 3D, the game's boss monsters are among the best things you'll see in the game. They're all large and impressive, and defeating them is always rewarding. The only true negative I have about the graphics would have to do with the blandness of some of the dungeon areas, but I guess that's to be expected in a roguelike game that randomizes its layout with each run. With that said, I still don't think that these parts of the game are particularly bad, just not as appealing as it could've been. Everything else makes up for it though, as even small details like weapon and costume designs look amazing. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the game runs perfectly on the Nintendo Switch. I was initially worried that it wouldn't run all that well due to how much action is always going on, but I'm pleased to report that I was wrong in that early assumption. Even though the graphics may be a bit better on certain platforms instead of others, you can pick it up on whatever works best for you and still have a smooth experience.

I originally was going to rave about the music found in Astlibra Gaiden, but then I learned that it primarily uses royalty-free music throughout. This doesn't mean that the music is bad, far from it in fact, but it does mean that I don't feel right discussing it at too much. I don't like to judge games harshly that use bought music, but I'm of the mind that the best video game music is created with the game itself in mind. Part of me wonders if some music might actually be original, as the soundtrack just fits everything perfectly. That could just speak to the great choices the developers made during the game's development, but who knows. Either way, the entire soundtrack is full of great tunes. Dungeon themes get you through each area quickly thanks to their lively melodies, while the boss themes keep you on the edge of your seat. Similarly, the music found in the safe zones, or in the town itself, have the right mix of calming and foreboding that is hard to describe in writing. The music is so good that I wish I never learned about its origins. Music aside, it should also be mentioned that there is no voice acting to be found in this game. This is very understandable considering the scope of the game itself, but it's a slight letdown nevertheless. I would've loved to hear some of the characters brought to life via voice acting, but I guess we'll have to hope a third Astlibra title might give us that.

If this is the side-story to the main Astlibra games, then I have to wonder how much content that first game must have. I put in close to 20 hours in Astlibra Gaiden, and still have a few things to unlock. Simply put, this is a game that delivered far more content than I first anticipated. There are plenty of challenges to undertakes, character builds to try out, and lots of secrets that will take some good amount of grinding to find. There are also difficulty settings to mess around with if you want to challenge yourself on a second playthrough. I fell in love with this game pretty much instantly, and I still can't believe it only costs $9.99. I've played several games at this price point that don't offer even a quarter of the content this one does, and nothing about it feels like it's fluff either. You really can't go wrong with picking this one up now, and it even appears like it's on sale at the time of this writing. I can only assume that the main game has more than double this amount of content seeing as it comes with a much higher $24.99 price tag, but I guess we'll have to wait to see if that's true. Also, on a side note, Astlibra Gaiden is marked as DLC in most places, but it's a standalone game on every platform that I can see. It doesn't require the purchase of the original game as far as I'm aware. That might seem like an odd thing to point out, but it actually did confuse me while I was researching it for this review.

It probably comes as no surprise that I give Astlibra Gaiden: The Cave of Phantom Mist the highest of recommendations. It's a roguelike RPG that leans more into the RPG aspects, and I feel it's a great example on how to get the genre balance right. I have practically nothing at all to complain about, and I think it's a must-play for fans of either genre. It also has lots of accessibility options as far as difficulty goes, so it could be a nice intro for new players as well. It really is one of the best games I've played this year, and I hope that we get more from this series soon. If we do, or if I ever get around to playing that first game, you'll know where to find me! See you in the next one!

Check Out Astlibra Gaiden: The Cave of Phantom Mist on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/astlibra-gaiden-the-cave-of-phantom-mist-switch/

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Story: A
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A
Music/Sound: A
Value: A+

Overall: A

Pros:
+ The perfect mix of roguelike and RPG gameplay mechanics. I don't think I've ever seen a game implement them better than this one does.
+ The Baker's Daughter might not have a name, but she's fully customizable in every way. It's easy to mold her to suit any play style.
+ Exploring the Phantom Cave is very fun, and provides a satisfying gameplay loop that's full of fun moments.
+ Both the graphics and music are amazing, with the presentation being spot on all around.
+ Multiple difficulty settings make this perfect for gamers of all skill levels. You can challenge yourself, or simply play for the enjoyment of the story.
+ Is an absolute steal at just $9.99.

Cons:
- There were times when I felt that the dungeon areas lacked much life or diversity.
- Learning that the music is all royalty-free, as opposed to being created specifically for the game, was disappointing to hear.
- Though I found no fault with the story, this is a game that puts gameplay first.
- May spoil the main Astlibra game for those who choose to play this one first.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

#Astlibra