Game:

Asteria (2014)

Category:

Review

Duration: 39:09

4,540 views

15

I'm playing Asteria, a sandbox platform game by Legend Studio. The procedurally generated destructible worlds include pre-designed dungeons and persistent server-based online multiplayer. Mining and attacking are both ranged, which results in expedient mining of varied materials and quick combat. There are a lot of raw materials to gather, divided into different tiers; the game provides explicit tool-tip recipes for crafting items, so there is no guessing what is needed for necessary components. Resources can be turned into a wide selection of weapons (blasters, shotguns, sniper rifles), armor, mining tools, lights, signs, storage, doors, waypoints, and drones to mine and find portals to dungeons. The large inventory has high stacking limits, so you rarely have to worry about running out of room. Enemies are typically just a nuisance, and the lack of a death penalty favors unbridled exploration. Asteria puts the emphasis on quick progression, leaving a lot of the tedium present in a majority of sandbox games behind. A focus on rapid collection, plus an outstanding variety of materials to gather and equipment to craft, makes Asteria an appealing entry in the genre.