Ashen

 PC
User Score
6.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 224 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 111 out of 224
  2. Mixed: 40 out of 224
  3. Negative: 73 out of 224

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  1. Stuvok
    Dec 17, 2018
    9
    small scale souls like. You can tell it's lower budget by the limited weapon move sets and limited progression options. But it fights well, looks great, and has a decent length. There is no reason to complain with only a $39 price tag or $1 if you have a xbox and the game pass since it's currently discounted. I thoroughly enjoyed my 20 hours with the game but you can't experiment withsmall scale souls like. You can tell it's lower budget by the limited weapon move sets and limited progression options. But it fights well, looks great, and has a decent length. There is no reason to complain with only a $39 price tag or $1 if you have a xbox and the game pass since it's currently discounted. I thoroughly enjoyed my 20 hours with the game but you can't experiment with builds or pvp so that's about all the time i'll put in for now. The game good so I can see myself showing it off to a friend or having a craving to beat it again after some time has passed.… Expand
  2. LionOfWinter
    Dec 9, 2018
    9
    Don't trust the zero reviews. "people" raging that it isn't on steam. Smells more like Gaben brand Astro turf than grassroots though. Ashen is a beautifully designed game with a charming style. The game play is Dark-souls-esque-lite and so far the voice acting and the story is AAA quality. Impressive showing from an indie developer. Try it!
  3. Peety
    Dec 16, 2018
    10
    Here to support the devs and the fantastic job that is this game. I want more!! Thank you for the fun :)
  4. turkeynaruto
    Dec 17, 2018
    10
    Dont Listen to Bad Reviews

    This game aint a 10/10 but I still give it a high rating so the overall score increases. This game is good in most aspects. Fighting, Lore, Atmosphere, Difficulty, Rewards, Upgrades,Art Style. This is not a big game (AAA) its a medium game (AA) so ofcourse it doesnt has some things a dark souls has for example a magic system or very nice graphics. The only    Dont Listen to Bad Reviews

    This game aint a 10/10 but I still give it a high rating so the overall score increases.
    This game is good in most aspects.
    Fighting, Lore, Atmosphere, Difficulty, Rewards, Upgrades,Art Style.
    This is not a big game (AAA) its a medium game (AA) so ofcourse it doesnt has some things a dark souls has for example a magic system or very nice graphics.
    The only thing that could be better in this game is better looking enemies like more creative.
    Thats all    … Expand
  5. Hyperactivebuff
    Dec 21, 2018
    9
    Ashen is a beautiful game.

    The phrase "souls-like" gets thrown around a lot. People use it for Dead Cells, Ori, Hollowknight, Cuphead, pretty much any game that is hard. It makes the phrase utterly useless. But for this game, it is an adequate genre-description. Ashen is a third person perspective action-adventure game with some RPG elements, and it is very much in the same genre as    Ashen is a beautiful game.

    The phrase "souls-like" gets thrown around a lot. People use it for Dead Cells, Ori, Hollowknight, Cuphead, pretty much any game that is hard. It makes the phrase utterly useless. But for this game, it is an adequate genre-description.

    Ashen is a third person perspective action-adventure game with some RPG elements, and it is very much in the same genre as Dark Souls. Mechanically, it is quite similar, with the main innovations coming from the social interactions allowing for permanent (or at least near-permanent) play with your friends. Albeit in a clunky and purposefully difficult way.

    Graphically, the game retains a very distinctive art style. It has been compared to Absolver, and that is not an unfair comparison. The interpretive style of the art is perfectly in character with the light/dark themes of the levels, and it is in this level design that Ashen masters most cleanly. The use use of light and dark in the design, from art aesthetic to level and creature design, all the way to the aural sensations of the soundtrack and sound effects, are immersive and evocative. They remind me of the same themes in Destiny.

    The game is relatively approachable, and despite the difficulty it never feels truly punishing. It's very narrowly easier than From Software's offerings,though a lot of that ease is the fact that ashen gets the controls right (which took Dark Souls until its 3rd title to do anywhere close to as well). The pacing is more like dark souls and less like Nioh or Bloodborne.

    The whole game takes just around 25 hours for an adequately skilled 'Souls' player. And it is thoroughly enjoyable from beginning to end.

    Mechanically, this game is nearly flawless. Artistically, it is a work of beauty. The multiplayer design is purposeful but bad. Why 'souls' games so utterly hate the idea of making it easy for you to play with your friends is beyond me, but it is what it is. Insofar as difficulty, it is a bit easier than Dark Souls, but on the other hand the controls are handled far better. I found the overall experience better, and I vastly preferred the world Ashen shows to us to that of Dark Souls.

    This is the best 'Souls' available on the market. It's better than Dark souls 1, 2, 3, Demon Souls 1, 2, Bloodborne, Nioh, and The Surge. It is my favorite game in the genre.

    I can't quite call this game perfect, but it is damn close. There are plenty of people who won't like Ashen. And there are also plenty of people who may like it mechanically but won't necessarily appreciate the aesthetic, which is boiled into everything about the game. But if you like the aesthetic, and you if this is your favorite genre, then Ashen is IMO the best game on the market for you.    … Expand
  6. kaicooper
    Dec 8, 2018
    9
    HARDCORE gamers or Dark Souls fans will enjoy the hell out of this awesom game..
    its soo atmospheric and the graphics is epic like a playable ART..its not easy at all
    and u'll die alot just like DS series..i wont spoil anything but if you r really DS fan..you need
    to play this right now on PC..yes its on EPIC store only but its coming to Steam soon..enjoy
  7. Jenne
    Dec 8, 2018
    9
    It's simple. There are two types of Souls fans - one camp can play and reasonably enjoy Souls clones like Lords of the Fallen, Surge or Darksiders 3. The other camp loathes all clones and can only play Souls games by FromSoft. If you're in the first camp Ashen is absolutely a game for you. It is not as a complete package as Dark Souls is - none of the clones are - but it's very, veryIt's simple. There are two types of Souls fans - one camp can play and reasonably enjoy Souls clones like Lords of the Fallen, Surge or Darksiders 3. The other camp loathes all clones and can only play Souls games by FromSoft. If you're in the first camp Ashen is absolutely a game for you. It is not as a complete package as Dark Souls is - none of the clones are - but it's very, very good. I'm not necessarily a big fan of this kind of stylized art, I prefer more realistic, grounded one, but the combat and atmosphere are so good I can get over it. I'm sure a lot of people will even consider it beautiful. All in all, three hurrays for this genre and all good Souls clones. And kudos to the devs, they made something really special.… Expand
  8. SnowProblemo
    Dec 12, 2018
    9
    I'm a big fan of Dark Souls. I love the pacing and exploration of FromSoftware titles. When I started my adventure on Ashen I initially I wasn't too impressed. After a few hours immersed in the world that changed. This is a wonderful RPG that I believe will captivate Souls fans. Most Souls fans have already played Lords of the Fallen, Nioh, and The Surge. Ashen is closer to Dark Souls thanI'm a big fan of Dark Souls. I love the pacing and exploration of FromSoftware titles. When I started my adventure on Ashen I initially I wasn't too impressed. After a few hours immersed in the world that changed. This is a wonderful RPG that I believe will captivate Souls fans. Most Souls fans have already played Lords of the Fallen, Nioh, and The Surge. Ashen is closer to Dark Souls than any of those games, without being a total copycat. Highly recommend.… Expand
  9. Cloudthor
    Dec 7, 2018
    10
    Excelente juego, promete mucho, un gran rpg que entrega una estética muy diferente a otros videojuego, una gran experiencia para los amantes de los que le gustan los juegos difíciles
  10. Cyber_Angel
    Feb 2, 2019
    9
    As a Souls games fan, this game drew me in and before you knew it, I sank 3,5 hours into it before I even checked the clock.
    Great pacing, lower difficulty as compared to Souls games due to having a companion for the most time. Beautiful artstyle, moody atmosphere and music.
    This is a gem out of nowhere. Great work, A44!
  11. n808
    Dec 11, 2018
    9
    Great Dark Souls inspired game. If you love Dark Souls and have a fast enough video card, you will most likely love this as well.
  12. tottyNA
    Dec 19, 2018
    10
    You would be a fool to miss Ashen. If the point of context has to be dark souls, they made Bright Souls, taking elements and art stylings of a Zelda, or Journey, or Absolver, and implimented them in simple enough a way that the player can access the core game and enjoy it- along side it's souls-roots in difficulty and challenge. It makes for a unique mix of optimism in the darkness asYou would be a fool to miss Ashen. If the point of context has to be dark souls, they made Bright Souls, taking elements and art stylings of a Zelda, or Journey, or Absolver, and implimented them in simple enough a way that the player can access the core game and enjoy it- along side it's souls-roots in difficulty and challenge. It makes for a unique mix of optimism in the darkness as opposed to hopelessness and a wary cautiousness one might feel in Souls. It really is something special and to let opinions about genre get in the way would be a shame.… Expand
  13. Veiled
    Dec 10, 2018
    10
    Las 4 reviews con 0 son lamentables y deberian ser eliminadas, uno dice que solo está en W10, lo cual es mentira, a otro le molesta el precio y que no salga en steam, nadie habla del juego, en fin haters hay en todos lados. El juego es excelente, ambientación, estructura de misiones y mazmorras, interesante el concepto de ir haciendo crecer la ciudad. 10/10
  14. louiebl
    Mar 18, 2019
    10
    Ashen is an extremely fun and addictive souls like with an interesting story and lore, amazing gameplay and a beautiful art style, I've never played dark souls so I can't compare the two games and i've heard from people who are fans of souls like games that there are better ones out there, however, coming from a person who isn't a big souls like fan, and this is purely my opinion, Ashen isAshen is an extremely fun and addictive souls like with an interesting story and lore, amazing gameplay and a beautiful art style, I've never played dark souls so I can't compare the two games and i've heard from people who are fans of souls like games that there are better ones out there, however, coming from a person who isn't a big souls like fan, and this is purely my opinion, Ashen is simply the best game I have ever played, I can't recommend it enough… Expand
  15. szokun
    Dec 8, 2018
    10
    Absolutely beautiful graphics . Bit like dark souls - You cant just go slashing enemies. Fantastic atmosphere
  16. barbone3
    Dec 9, 2018
    10
    Everything in this game looks, plays, sounds perfect! Simple combat system for an astonishing game!
  17. RagnarCritic
    Jan 7, 2019
    8
    Ashen presents us with a captivating world struggling to emerge from darkness and reach a new era of Light.

    Along a beautiful open world with really beautiful and captivating pictures, we will have to go running small errands to different NPCs. These messages are very simple, and are presented as an excuse to develop the mysterious history of each of them and thus move forward along the    Ashen presents us with a captivating world struggling to emerge from darkness and reach a new era of Light.

    Along a beautiful open world with really beautiful and captivating pictures, we will have to go running small errands to different NPCs. These messages are very simple, and are presented as an excuse to develop the mysterious history of each of them and thus move forward along the map and the adventure.

    The gameplay is Dark Souls style, but more simplified, as it is only based on melee combat, with one hand weapons, two hands (axes, halberds, mallets, hammers and flocks) and the ability to shoot spears. By killing enemies, we get "scum" that we can use to improve certain equipment or buy various objects. These scum points will not be used to improve the character, since our character will improve his health and energy automatically as we complete missions. In this case, instead of bonfires, we will activate some monoliths, and through some of them (not in all) we will be able to make a quick trip thanks to a creature that transports us between them different points of the map. Each time we die we must start from the last monolith activated and lose the points obtained, having the option to recover them if we get back to the point where we were killed.

    Throughout the adventure we may accompany some of the NPCs to help and support us during the fighting, there is the possibility of disabling this option and travel alone. It also has multiplayer, which will allow us to be accompanied by (or accompany) other players.

    Although there is not a huge amount of different enemies, if they are of varied designs. Also we will have to defeat several final bosses to be able to progress in the adventure.

    In short, Ashen is a game with a gameplay inspired by the Souls formula but with a more open and less labyrinthine level design, a humble but very careful game, with a mysterious story and endearing characters, with a very moving artistic design that constantly immerses us in beautiful landscapes and a few huge dungeons, able to create, partly also thanks to an excellent and relaxing soundtrack, very dreamlike atmospheres.    … Expand
  18. Phoenixxl
    Dec 10, 2018
    10
    If you like souls games you'll like this.
    It has everything you can expect from the genre, gameplay is smooth, the atmosphere is fantastic, some parts are really challenging.
    It's the release all of us have been waiting for now the dark souls pure sang series has been terminated and unlike some others I'm not going to mention here this game does not mess with the essence of a souls game    If you like souls games you'll like this.
    It has everything you can expect from the genre, gameplay is smooth, the atmosphere is fantastic, some parts are really challenging.
    It's the release all of us have been waiting for now the dark souls pure sang series has been terminated and unlike some others I'm not going to mention here this game does not mess with the essence of a souls game and realises that adopting the format is more than adopting the combat.    … Expand
  19. Zardnar
    Dec 16, 2018
    9
    This game is essentially a copy of dark souls, right down to the story. It adds enough of its own to be interesting and the combat is enjoyable. Somewhat short though. My two biggest gripes are the respawning enemies and how weapons are upgraded, other than that it is a good game.
  20. aiden_mcmeme
    Dec 11, 2018
    9
    Great game, love the look of the game. But not a "great" soulslike game, just a good action RPG game
  21. kenmorechalfant
    Dec 13, 2018
    9
    The game is beautiful. The story is decent. No beating around the bush, it's obviously heavily inspired by Dark Souls, but I think it stands on it's own. It's fun. I feel like the difficulty is a little uneven - your companion makes the beginning pretty easy and then at some point it gets a lot harder. Probably never as hard as Dark Souls, but still challenging.

    Overall, I really    The game is beautiful. The story is decent. No beating around the bush, it's obviously heavily inspired by Dark Souls, but I think it stands on it's own. It's fun. I feel like the difficulty is a little uneven - your companion makes the beginning pretty easy and then at some point it gets a lot harder. Probably never as hard as Dark Souls, but still challenging.

    Overall, I really enjoyed it - I loved exploring the world and the combat.

    There are hard core Souls fans who will say it's a crappy rip off - but I say that's crap. I think a lot of people will like this better than Souls, it's subjective.

    Then there are the haters who seem personally attacked that this is not on Steam, to which I say: grow up.    … Expand
  22. Mandulum
    Jan 28, 2019
    9
    Haiku Review: It fills a hole left / by a certain game's absence / And fill it it does
    Favorite Thing: It's a fun world to explore with lots of challenging combat.
    Least Favorite Thing: They give you a choice between one-handed and two-handed weapons but then force you to carry a lantern around, eliminating that choice. Date Completed: 2019-01-27 Playtime: ~ 16h Enjoyment: 9/10    Haiku Review: It fills a hole left / by a certain game's absence / And fill it it does
    Favorite Thing: It's a fun world to explore with lots of challenging combat.
    Least Favorite Thing: They give you a choice between one-handed and two-handed weapons but then force you to carry a lantern around, eliminating that choice.

    Date Completed: 2019-01-27
    Playtime: ~ 16h
    Enjoyment: 9/10
    Recommendation: It's a solid Souls-like.    … Expand
  23. Psychoticrow
    Sep 5, 2019
    9
    Art Style / Graphics - 10/10 I am biased because I love this dark yet simplistic style. It just appeals to me for reasons I can't even explain.

    Gameplay 8/10 - What is in this game works, and it works extremely well. It could do with a bit more uniqueness between the weapons and maybe even an ability or two outside of that. Maybe the lantern could be made slightly more relevant in that    Art Style / Graphics - 10/10 I am biased because I love this dark yet simplistic style. It just appeals to me for reasons I can't even explain.

    Gameplay 8/10 - What is in this game works, and it works extremely well. It could do with a bit more uniqueness between the weapons and maybe even an ability or two outside of that. Maybe the lantern could be made slightly more relevant in that regard.

    Co-op 5/10 - It's in the game and when it works it's wonderful but you'll struggle to get it to work properly at many points in the game, you often just don't run into people and even if you're playing with a friend it really shows its weakness. It just doesn't work because of "reasons" or sometimes because of intentional game design choices and the way they chose to implement it.

    Overall I honestly feel this game is a 10/10 but the really bad implementation of a key feature of this game the co-op really hurts it overall and knocks it down a mark or possibly 2 marks.    … Expand
  24. Birdie
    Nov 15, 2020
    9
    Just finished the game over the weekend together with a friend. We had lots of fun and are very happy with the experience. It’s a 25 hour game if you take it easy and explore. I liked everything from the graphics to the controls and also the sound and music. It deserves more attention and a higher grade.
  25. mbestvina
    May 30, 2019
    8
    Ashen is a mix of Dark Souls and open-world action-adventure games like Tomb Raider or Horizon ZD. The reception is a little mixed and I think I know why...

    In my experience, there are two types of people that love Dark Souls: people that love it as an immersive adventure game and people that just want to fight hard bosses. Souls clones tend to get the combat right and appeal to the    Ashen is a mix of Dark Souls and open-world action-adventure games like Tomb Raider or Horizon ZD. The reception is a little mixed and I think I know why...

    In my experience, there are two types of people that love Dark Souls: people that love it as an immersive adventure game and people that just want to fight hard bosses. Souls clones tend to get the combat right and appeal to the hard-boss-fight kind of players, while they generally flub the level design (looking at you, Nioh...). Ashen is the rare example that puts the emphasis on exploration instead of the combat and it excels precisely because of this reason.

    If, like me, you love the exploration in souls as much as the combat, then I highly recommend Ashen! There are a few key differences to the souls formula that bolster the exploration. Notably, you have a more conventional jump and you can climb ledges. Ashen also bucks the linear, windy levels for a sprawling open world filled with sidequests. No longer are you railroaded from one tough encounter to the next. Instead, you have a lot of freedom to decide where you go and what you do. This makes the world a delight to explore. It often feels more like Mario Odyssey than Dark Souls, combing each area for items. The first area or two is a bit dull to explore, but it ramps up significantly as you progress and the levels become more vertical. You eventually get a hookshot-type ability as well that further cements Ashen's strength in exploration.

    Aside from a focus on terrain traversal, Ashen also mixes up the typical Souls co-op by giving you an AI companion for the entire game, that will seamlessly be taken over by other humans that are in the same area. It works fine but ultimately, I felt this kind of co-op would have worked better in a typical Souls game than an open world game. Virtually every time I was partnered with a human, we would have conflicting priorities. I would want to push forward and they would want to scrounge for items, or vice versa. Only one time was my partner and I on the same wavelength and I ultimately turned the online off. The AI works great and can be depended on 90% of the time but that 10% will always frustrate you. The bigger gripe I have with the AI is with the final boss fight, where your AI companion will inevitably get knocked into the water and refuse to swim to shore until they die. I'm not sure if this was a glitch or intentional but it's baffling this got shipped in the final product either way. Whether you're using the co-op or the AI, the partner system is ultimately just kind of there.

    On the RPG side of things, Ashen has massively streamlined the Souls mechanics. The sword and shield combat is exactly as you'd expect, just with fewer options and playstyles. You have a lantern that functions like torches in Dark Souls 2 and this actually works much better here. Lastly, you don't level up your character, just your gear. There are very few upgrades for you to purchase, but their cost escalates rapidly as you buy upgrades. Unfortunately, I ran out of things to buy about 2/3 of the way through my 20 hour campaign. You can, however, upgrade your character's stats by completing sidequests. None of these are tedious and most of them simply require you to explore map, which most souls fans will do anyway so this is a nice way of rewarding exploration.

    Unfortunately, the difficulty is also all over the place. Once you get in the groove with Ashen, it's very easy to simply lean on your AI partner and it often feels necessary given how many gang-up fights there are. Most of the difficulty comes from long run-backs, though I will admit this is highly fitting for a souls-like that's more focused on exploration than combat. There are few bonfires in the overworld, the two dungeons really push the limit on how long you can ask a player to go without a bonfire, made even more egregious by not being able to warp in and out of the dungeons, and the final boss has both an awful run-back and is an absurd jump in difficulty, compounded by the AI swimming issue I mentioned above. I turned the co-op back on to find that players online were struggling with this boss even more than I was and I ultimately prevailed with the cheese strategy of wait-wait-poke. Another bonfire or enabling the AI to swim would have done a lot of good for this under-cooked final boss.

    In spite of some glaring flaws, I loved Ashen. Between its more engaging exploration and environment traversal and its streamlined combat and RPG mechanics, Ashen feels like what you'd get if Nintendo made a souls-like out of the Zelda franchise. It offers a vibrant world with tons to see and do, and the combat checks all the souls boxes, even if it never transcends them. I enjoyed this more than every Souls clone I’ve played (Nioh, s&s, etc), simply because it nails the exploration, even if the combat is a tad weaker. Again, if you’re in the exploration camp of souls fans, check this out    … Expand
  26. pcapinheiro
    Aug 11, 2022
    8
    Um Souls contemplativo, que te engana com uma atmosfera relaxante até você ter seu crânio esmagado por uma machado de pedra.

    Pontos Positivos: + Arte gráfica, ambiente e som, tudo muito legal; + Desafiador, mas justo; + História simples, mas curiosa, as side quests são interessantes; + Mapa aberto, mas sem gorduras. Pontos Negativos: + Queria ter mais clareza sobre o uso de    Um Souls contemplativo, que te engana com uma atmosfera relaxante até você ter seu crânio esmagado por uma machado de pedra.

    Pontos Positivos:
    + Arte gráfica, ambiente e som, tudo muito legal;
    + Desafiador, mas justo;
    + História simples, mas curiosa, as side quests são interessantes;
    + Mapa aberto, mas sem gorduras.

    Pontos Negativos:
    + Queria ter mais clareza sobre o uso de alguns itens e seus upgrades;    … Expand
  27. nichi
    Feb 8, 2022
    8
    32 horas de jogo:
    Um ótimo jogo com inspiração SoulsLike e que incentiva bem o coop.
    Os chefes são muito legais e bem feitos, joguei inteiramente coop e platinei com um amigo, foi bem maneiro e gostaria que os jogos da Fromsoftware incentivassem mais o coop assim como esse jogo. Vi pouquíssimos bugs, coisa comum como corpos de inimigos atravessando algum objeto como um muro assim    32 horas de jogo:
    Um ótimo jogo com inspiração SoulsLike e que incentiva bem o coop.

    Os chefes são muito legais e bem feitos, joguei inteiramente coop e platinei com um amigo, foi bem maneiro e gostaria que os jogos da Fromsoftware incentivassem mais o coop assim como esse jogo.

    Vi pouquíssimos bugs, coisa comum como corpos de inimigos atravessando algum objeto como um muro assim como ocorre em Dark Souls, mas bem raro, nada demais.

    Acredito que o único problema técnico no PC seja alguns cenários com mal otimizados, os quais do nada consumem muito da GPU sem motivos...
    Além disso, pra ser nota 10 só precisam melhorar um pouco a forma em que a história é contada, você fica muito curioso sobre aquele mundo e no fim do jogo continua sabendo tão pouco sobre.

    Dificuldade: 9/10.
    Gráficos/Arte/Design: 10/10.
    Trilha Sonora: 7/10.
    Narrativa/História: 7/10.
    Gameplay: 9/10.
    Requisitos: 10/10.
    Duração: 10/10.:
    BUGS/Otimização: 6/10.
    Conquistas: 10/10.
    Interface: 10/10.
    Preço: 8/10.
    Diversão: 9/10

    Média: 8.75    … Expand
  28. The_Eleatic
    Apr 16, 2019
    9
    I write this as I am very nearly finished with the game, currently practicing to take on the final boss. That tells you two things: 1) as with other "souls-like" games, it takes some practice and some patience to do well in combat, especially with bosses, but 2) this game is rewarding enough to make it worth the practice.

    First to the rewards of playing: the world of Ashen is gorgeous,    I write this as I am very nearly finished with the game, currently practicing to take on the final boss. That tells you two things: 1) as with other "souls-like" games, it takes some practice and some patience to do well in combat, especially with bosses, but 2) this game is rewarding enough to make it worth the practice.

    First to the rewards of playing: the world of Ashen is gorgeous, and the underlying story is one of hope for renewal. It may take a little time to get used to the stylized visuals, but the aesthetic is consistent and carried out with clear intention on the part of the developers.

    The game rewards exploration; I wouldn't call it an open-world game, but there are a number moderately sized regions, each with a distinct look and feel, to wander around in, as much to take in the sights as to collect items that may be useful later.

    The crafting mechanic is not very deep, but it does offer some flexibility in weapon choice, combat style, and various tweaks to player stats.

    While the combat is technically demanding, it also flows very well: the controls are tight and responsive, the enemies varied in their behavior and attacks.

    I have to confess at this point that I've never played Dark Souls or any other souls-like game, though I have played one game - Kingdom Come: Deliverance - that has a stamina-based combat mechanic. If you're looking for comparisons, I would say the combat in Ashen is not as difficult - and doesn't require nearly as much practice as - combat in KC:D . . . though that may not be saying much.

    And now, for that last boss . . .    … Expand
  29. svonton
    May 26, 2019
    8
    so this game is good part of souls-like games, yea it`s indie and it feels (small variations of weapons and their movesets, some troubles with connections if u try to play coop with your friend) but, BUT game looks good (yeah it`s lowpoly but as for me looks pretty nice), game sounds good and it tell simple but interesting story about unusual world.
  30. ZEDFRA
    Oct 29, 2019
    9
    First, I want to say this. Ashen is one of my favourite games ever, and I was shocked when I saw the user score here of 5.8. It really doesn't deserve 5.8, it deserves a 9.

    OK, first thing's first. Ashen is a beautiful game, it's basically a masterwork piece of art. Everywhere you go has stunning visuals, from it's canyons, to the streams, to the grasslands, to the palace of Lathyrus    First, I want to say this. Ashen is one of my favourite games ever, and I was shocked when I saw the user score here of 5.8. It really doesn't deserve 5.8, it deserves a 9.

    OK, first thing's first. Ashen is a beautiful game, it's basically a masterwork piece of art. Everywhere you go has stunning visuals, from it's canyons, to the streams, to the grasslands, to the palace of Lathyrus and even down in the darkest dungeons. Adding to this is just one of the most fantastic soundtracks I've heard in my life, I sometimes even listen to it when I sleep. If ever I'm asked if "are games art?" I point to Ashen. I love the design of this game, the devs nailed it 100% I've never played anything more beautiful and gorgeous than this.

    Combat is great too, it basically plays like dark souls. It's solid, with a good sense of difficulty that can be tweaked through adding or removing your companion. It can be a bit awkward to position yourself and getting used to the pace of combat when you start, but you'll quickly get used to it. You can use either a two handed weapon, or a one handed weapon with a shield or lantern. I really like the lantern mechanic, you need to equip it when you go into a dungeon or cave so you can see. This adds a real sense of journeying into the unknown and it feels really well with the themes of the game. I love it. However, this is where I dock a point on this game. Ashen has a combat system that is too limited. You can't dual wield, there's no option for a pure ranged build and there's no magic. More options for players to utilise in combat was needed, and it's a definite negative, the lack of options in combat can lead to the game feeling a bit repetitive sometimes. Each weapon in ashen has its own set of moves and attacks which helps null the sense of repetitive combat, it's fun to experiment with weapons and find one that suits you. Accompanying the combat are various items you can use, you have your standard healing item amongst other various items and you can also craft potions which might boost your offense or defense. As an aside, there are no swords in this game, the devs said in an interview this was because they wanted to create an atmosphere of a world on the edge, and since swords are hard to make, they wouldn't be made in a world like this. But that's just bollocks, I would've really liked rocking a cool sword or katana in this. Swords should have been in the game devs come on. Also of note is the lack of fashion. Armour sets come in one piece, why? There's no reason and it just limits player options, the devs really missed out here on fashion ashen or FASHEN. I came up with that. This isn't to say that you're going to look like **** for your play through, there are some pretty cool looking armours here for you to enjoy.

    I really loved the lore and story of the game, I found myself intrigued and wanting to discover more about the world through it's characters and various items. The story may not be the most original, but I'm not docking any points because it never really bothered me, and it does it's own thing enough so that it can't be called a rip-off. HOWEVER, I realise that my opinion might not be shared by everyone, and you might feel that the story here is a bit already done,but it never felt like that for me.

    Unlike many souls game, Ashen has co-op, you can play with a friend or randos online or with an ai companion offline. The online stuff worked fine for me and my mate and I encountered no issues with it. The ai companion is solid aswell and I had no issues with 'em. Just as an aside there is no pvp.

    I prefer the mission structure of Ashen to dark souls aswell. Missions and side quests are clealy laid out in the quests menu, and you don't need to spend time looking on the wiki to see what npcs to talk t when and where to find them and how to do their quests. Here, you get given a mission, it's clearly laid out to you and you do it. It's simpler but it's better. Also, there's a main hub area of the game, called Vagrant's Rest, it's sort of like Firelink shrine, but what's cool is that as the game goes on and you encounter more characters, the hub grows with new people, buildings and crafting stations for you to use, so that's pretty cool.

    Next, we come to the game's bosses. I've seen complaints that there aren't enough, but I almost prefer it like this, you won't encounter bosses often true, but when you do, it feels like much more of a grand and epic moment, each boss in the game is a big deal, there are no ****ty or filler bosses here.

    In conclusion, Ashen is a fantastic game, and although it has flaws, ultimately it overcomes them. I think this is A44 games' first ever game too. They've really made something special here, especially considering their smaller budget. Even if you've never played a souls game, this is something I can recommend. I'll say it again, this is one of my favourite games. I love this game.    … Expand
  31. Game0fLife
    Jul 31, 2022
    9
    + Beautiful art style and good view
    + Interesting map design
    - Little weapon variety with similar move-set - Unsatisfied ending - Some imbalanced boss fight in the late game where it would require you to use boring cheese tactic to win. -Artsy and boring souls-like storytelling copycat. The story makes no sense, makes me feel like looking at weird modern art at the museum. Edit:    + Beautiful art style and good view
    + Interesting map design
    - Little weapon variety with similar move-set
    - Unsatisfied ending
    - Some imbalanced boss fight in the late game where it would require you to use boring cheese tactic to win.
    -Artsy and boring souls-like storytelling copycat. The story makes no sense, makes me feel like looking at weird modern art at the museum.

    Edit: Edit: It sounds bizarre, but the more I play Elden Ring, the more I miss this game, in which the developer of Ashen did a few things even better than the Fromsoft; Intuitive control (for keyboard & mouse), good PC optimization, better jump mechanic, lively central hub, convenient quest log, and most importantly no permanent missable (except 1 item in the starting area).

    Too bad this game doesn't have a proper PvP system, otherwise I would be addicted to this game for at least 300+ hours.    … Expand
  32. edwardsalazar99
    Aug 30, 2021
    9
    Gran juego, buena dificultad, hecho para los amantes del género soulslike, hermosos gráficos. Recomendado
  33. Ignis_z
    Jan 29, 2023
    8
    Toda una sorpresa con este juego, si te gusta el reto y el estilo de lucha Tipo Zelda o souls no te defraudará, buena ambientación, buen sistema de combate y una historia interesante. Eso sí, no debes esperar de él un juego como Dark Souls o Zelda, no olvides que es indie con un presupuesto mucho más bajo, pero he jugado todos los zeldas y souls y sé de qué hablo. Muy recomendable.

    Peca    Toda una sorpresa con este juego, si te gusta el reto y el estilo de lucha Tipo Zelda o souls no te defraudará, buena ambientación, buen sistema de combate y una historia interesante. Eso sí, no debes esperar de él un juego como Dark Souls o Zelda, no olvides que es indie con un presupuesto mucho más bajo, pero he jugado todos los zeldas y souls y sé de qué hablo. Muy recomendable.

    Peca en un punto donde te dan una explicación muy escasa y puedes quedarte atascado y es verdad que el.NPC puede dar problemas.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

48
#48 Best PC Game of 2018
48
#48 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 21 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 21
  3. Negative: 0 out of 21
  1. Games.cz
    Feb 28, 2020
    70
    Are you still striving to gather enough courage to enter the unforgiving world of Dark Souls? Try Ashen instead. It’s a natural beginner’s choice in the genre of brutally difficult action RPGs.
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  2. Worth Playing
    Apr 26, 2019
    85
    Ashen is a great title. The Souls formula may be adapted nearly wholesale, but the art style gives the game a different vibe. The presence of co-op at all times makes each run feel feasible, since the odds rarely feel impossible to overcome, and the presence of a community to grow gives you a real sense of progression and purpose. Unless you're completely burned out by the formula, Ashen is an adventure that's well worth checking out.
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  3. The Games Machine
    Jan 17, 2019
    70
    Ashen is a souls-like game with a particular focus on the co-op multiplayer. Sadly this feature rarely works as intended, but despite its flaws, the game developed by A44 is still an enjoyable variation to the formula created by Miyazaki and From Software.
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