Ashen
blustrkr's Ashen Review Xbox Series X|S, 20-50 hours played
Really enjoyed this game a lot. It was my introduction to the soulslike genre. It's pretty tough and unforgiving sometimes, which from my understanding is a good representation of the genre.
I love the kind of "flat" art style and faceless characters, and it was what drew me to this game. Funny how in the endless chase for photorealism, more "basic" games like these catch my eye more and more.
Pretty awesome looking in my opinion!
My main complaints are that it was way too short (but it was $40 at launch, not $60) and both the controls and online co-op were a little finicky sometimes. You get separated and have to join up again every time you die or go to a shrine (save point basically). It's not that hard to join your buddy but it's not foolproof and polished either. Basically you and your friend have to stand in the same spot in the game world, then activate your beacons at about the same time. If other people in the real world are also standing in that spot in the game world and activating their beacon, you could get matched with them randomly instead. Luckily the game allows you to set a passcode that your friend can also enter in, ensuring no one else gets accidentally matched up. From there I suppose the rest of the experience is pretty seamless.
Some areas are dark, some are creepy, and some are all obscured and foggy like this.
It was satisfying to see different areas with different art styles, and it was also nerve-wracking exploring them because a powerful enemy could jump out from a corner at any moment and wipe you both out, making you drop all your loot. A bag gets dropped that you can reclaim, but if you die again trying to get it, it's gone forever.
It was also satisfying to see the game world change and evolve a bit as you progress through the story. The game does give you a slight bit of freedom with the order in which you choose to do quests, and of course the world is mostly open.
Exploration feels like it's rewarded with some powerful secret weapons, armor, and consumables that you would never find if you didn't spend extra time exploring.
It's dark and creepy in this cave, so naturally there are many nooks and crannies with secrets to be found.
Overall, a bit different of a gameplay philosophy than I'm used to but I really dug it. It was still similar enough to other third person RPGs that it felt familiar and comfortable. I would highly recommend it to fantasy RPG fans. To be honest, A44's next game Flintlock seems to be a big bummer. I wish they would've made more Ashen instead.
I love the kind of "flat" art style and faceless characters, and it was what drew me to this game. Funny how in the endless chase for photorealism, more "basic" games like these catch my eye more and more.
Pretty awesome looking in my opinion!
My main complaints are that it was way too short (but it was $40 at launch, not $60) and both the controls and online co-op were a little finicky sometimes. You get separated and have to join up again every time you die or go to a shrine (save point basically). It's not that hard to join your buddy but it's not foolproof and polished either. Basically you and your friend have to stand in the same spot in the game world, then activate your beacons at about the same time. If other people in the real world are also standing in that spot in the game world and activating their beacon, you could get matched with them randomly instead. Luckily the game allows you to set a passcode that your friend can also enter in, ensuring no one else gets accidentally matched up. From there I suppose the rest of the experience is pretty seamless.
Some areas are dark, some are creepy, and some are all obscured and foggy like this.
It was satisfying to see different areas with different art styles, and it was also nerve-wracking exploring them because a powerful enemy could jump out from a corner at any moment and wipe you both out, making you drop all your loot. A bag gets dropped that you can reclaim, but if you die again trying to get it, it's gone forever.
It was also satisfying to see the game world change and evolve a bit as you progress through the story. The game does give you a slight bit of freedom with the order in which you choose to do quests, and of course the world is mostly open.
Exploration feels like it's rewarded with some powerful secret weapons, armor, and consumables that you would never find if you didn't spend extra time exploring.
It's dark and creepy in this cave, so naturally there are many nooks and crannies with secrets to be found.
Overall, a bit different of a gameplay philosophy than I'm used to but I really dug it. It was still similar enough to other third person RPGs that it felt familiar and comfortable. I would highly recommend it to fantasy RPG fans. To be honest, A44's next game Flintlock seems to be a big bummer. I wish they would've made more Ashen instead.
9/10
Comments 1 total
Sw3etPoison21 days ago
One of the best games I've played! I really enjoyed playing it and I'm still not done with it! ｡◕‿◕｡
release date
NADecember 7th, 2018
user score9/10
T for Teen
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