Awaken-: Astral Blade

Awaken: Astral Blade – A Cyberpunk Fairy Tale That Cuts Deep

8.5/10 – A haunting, beautiful slice of action that proves the metroidvania genre still has plenty of new dreams to dream.

Every so often, a game comes along that refuses to fit neatly into a single genre. Awaken: Astral Blade is that game. Part moody metroidvania, part high-speed hack-and-slash, and entirely drenched in a hauntingly beautiful cyberpunk aesthetic. If you’ve been craving something that plays like Hollow Knight but feels like Blade Runner by way of a gothic fairy tale, it’s time to pay attention. Awaken- Astral Blade

The soundtrack? Expect ambient synthwave mixed with melancholic piano. It’s the kind of music that makes you want to stop moving, just to listen for a minute—right before a corrupted security drone reminds you to keep running.

The narrative is delivered in sparse, poetic fragments—think Child of Light meets Ghost in the Shell . It doesn’t hold your hand, but every environmental puzzle and ancient data log adds another brushstroke to a genuinely touching story about identity, sacrifice, and what it means to be "alive." Awaken: Astral Blade – A Cyberpunk Fairy Tale

You step into the role of Tania, a bio-mechanical warrior awakened from a cryo-sleep she was never supposed to survive. The world of Awaken: Astral Blade is a dying one—not with a bang, but with a slow, electric whimper. Nature has been overtaken by rusted cables and neon flora, and a mysterious “Miasma” turns machines and mutants alike into hostile shadows of their former selves.

Yes—especially if you’re a fan of Ender Lilies , Salt and Sanctuary , or The Messenger . Expect ambient synthwave mixed with melancholic piano

No game is perfect. The early difficulty curve is a bit steep—the first major boss will absolutely test your patience. Also, the map, while gorgeous, could use a few more color-coded markers for “you need this ability to get here.” You’ll do a lot of mental note-taking.

Awaken: Astral Blade doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it sharpens it into a razor-sharp crescent. It’s a 10-15 hour journey that respects your intelligence, rewards your curiosity, and sticks its landing with an ending that left me staring at the credits screen for a solid two minutes.