Asteria (2014)

[h1][b]Not Recommended[/b][/h1]

could have been good if things were simpler

Asteria is a 2D science-fiction sandbox adventure that mixes platforming, exploration, combat, mining, crafting, and construction into one surprisingly ambitious package. Developed and published by Legend Studio, it approaches the familiar block-based sandbox formula from a side-scrolling perspective while placing considerably more emphasis on action and character progression. Rather than simply dropping the player into an empty playground, it provides a basic narrative motivation for exploring the hostile planet, gathering resources, and becoming powerful enough to confront its dangers. The central appeal comes from the freedom to manipulate the environment. Terrain can be destroyed and mined for useful materials, giving exploration a satisfying sense of discovery because almost every expedition can contribute toward future upgrades. Resources feed directly into crafting and progression, so digging through the landscape is more than cosmetic experimentation. The ranged mining system is particularly useful, allowing terrain to be manipulated without requiring the character to stand directly beside every resource. This makes excavation faster and helps maintain the game's more acti…

Several years ago when I bought this game, it was pretty cool, and I played it for like 5 hours in one sitting. Today in 2026, I tried to play the game again only to find it mostly unplayable. As part of the intro tutorial thing, you get to pick up a mining device that should shoot a cloud forward of the gun, this cloud then breaks any blocks that it comes in contact with letting you pick them up. Unfortunately that cloud does not move away from the tip of the gun, which means you effectively can NOT dig anything unless the tip of the gun is directly in contact with it. And no, the gun does not reach your feet, so you can NEVER dig down because of this bug. Reading through the discussions this bug was pointed out to the dev way back in 2016, the dev said they were looking into it, but nothing was said about it afterwards. There was some mention of toggling full screen with alt+enter, and toggling V-Sync with F10, that apparently worked for some other people, but of course neither worked for me. Until this bug is fixed, I do not suggest anyone purchase this game. And since the devs are no longer working on this game, I suspect it'll get fixed...NEVER.

A bland, frustrating Terraria knockoff with linear crafting, uninspired world design, limited weapons, awful boss fights, and poor, punishing mechanics.

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