- Publisher: Dear Villagers
- Release Date: Apr 15, 2021
- Also On: Switch
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Apr 15, 2021Ashwalkers is an inventive survival sim that puts the story centre stage. Whilst managing resources and the survivor's physical and mental health is important, the choices you have to make are where it's at its most inventive.
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Aug 31, 2021By no means is Ashwalkers an action-packed survival adventure sim, but the story and importance of the journey was compelling enough to have me on the edge of my seat through my playthrough. I cared about Squad Three and wanted them to succeed, and for a narrative-driven game such as this, isn't that all you can ask for? If postapocalyptic survival games are your jam, Ashwalkers is worth its very reasonable $12 price tag and offers a different spin on the genre that you know and love.
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May 6, 2021Ashwalkers promises a dreary trek across low-poly wastelands—and it delivers. It also seems to promise a tale rife with moral dilemmas and unassailable camaraderie—which it doesn't hit hard enough. The biggest dilemmas are often too big to comprehend on a human scale. And the human interactions left me cold and calculating when they should’ve had me digging in my heart of hearts for the answers.
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Apr 19, 2021Ashwalkers toes a fine line between survival and story and does a great job of it. The storytelling is just enough to tease out a unique ashy apocalypse without getting burdened by too many specifics, while the survival aspect is stressful but not impossible to overcome. While playing, I found myself invested in not only the Squad’s survival but the fate of those 250,000 souls back in the Citadel, only satisfied once I got an ending with a hopeful note. If you enjoyed the scouting section of Frostpunk and wanted to see that mechanic expanded upon, look no further than Ashwalkers.
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Apr 15, 2021Ashwalkers tells an open-ended story the right way, mixing equal parts agency and powerlessness, hope and despair. From its bleak, monochromatic world to one of our own that can be just as unkind to the downtrodden, Ashwalkers leaves a memorable message to take away from this ambitious game.
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CD-ActionDec 7, 2021An interesting, quite easy and simple survival game that puts emphasis on atmosphere, storytelling and decision-making rather than action. Overall, it’s like a dish with too little salt in it, not amazing, but still tasty. [07/2021, p.52]
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May 19, 2021In the end, Ashwalkers is a decent game. It’s simple in nature and there’s a nice reason why. This is a storytelling game above all else. It does a decent job here and offers up some different play styles when it comes to choosing the story the player wants to see. It’s not going to knock anyone’s socks off, but I did enjoy my time with the game even if it did have a few moments where it frustrated me. This one is for the story fans. Not actually the survival players. If you’re looking for a choice driven game, you’ll get it here. If you’re looking for a post-apocalyptic survival game, you’ll need to look elsewhere.
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Apr 15, 2021Ashwalkers has a few good ideas that it executes well. The problem is that the development team wants to make the game seem to be more than it actually is. If everything moved faster and with clearer decisions then it would be worth an extended time investment. As it stands after a first completed expedition I had no desire to try another. The characters stay the same and the management element never adds new twists. The end screen for each playthrough shows quite a few possible conclusions to work towards but the world never feels interesting enough to try and get them all. Unless you truly love slow, moody stories and choice-focused titles avoid Ashwalkers unless updates deliver a tighter, faster version of the experience.