Awaken Astral Blade is bringing Metroidvania-style action to mobile with pre-registration open for iOS

• Awaken - Astral Blade is set to arrive soon on iOS
• It puts you in the shoes if bionic girl Tania
• Utilise fast-paced combos and upgrades to take down enemies fast

The Metroidvania genre is one with an unsurprisingly deep history on mobile. After all, if you need to while away the hours on a plane or train, exploring Dracula's Castle or conquering the world of Dead Cells is a great way to spend your time. But now we may have a new entry in the genre to add to our rotation with Awaken - Astral Blade.

First released for PC back in 2024, Awaken - Astral Blade boasts a dark sci-fantasy world to explore and uncover. You play as the bionic girl Tania, who is tasked by her creator, Dr Herveus, with finding a research team lost on the deadly Horace Island.

There's a bit more of Dead Cells than Castlevania: Symphony of the Night about Awaken - Astral Blade. Positioning, speed and combos are just as important as finding new weapons and equipment. And Astral Blade boasts an entire upgrade and customisation system using the mysterious Aether to improve Tania's abilities.

Booting up

While Awaken - Astral Blade may not be for everyone with its mix of dark setting and cutesiness (cats, yes, you can pet them), it certainly boasts plenty in the way of mechanics to explore.

And like any good Metroidvania, navigating the map of Astral Blade is intended to be quick and easy the stronger you get. While fans of the genre who've arrived mainly because of Blasphemous and Dead Cells, the fast-paced platforming and combos will be a mite more engaging than the slow-paced exploration of something like Symphony of the Night.

So keep an eye out for Awaken - Astral Blade, as it's slated for a late September release and is available for pre-registration now on iOS.

Need to get reacquainted with the Metroidvania genre? Then check out our list of the best Metroidvania games for iOS!