Ash of Gods: Redemption

Ash of Gods: Redemption looks and sounds the part; it's a beautiful thing to behold, easily matches its most obvious inspiration in this regard and will obviously be very tempting to fans of the genre – and especially The Banner Saga – as a result. However, beneath this shiny surface, it's a mess. A combination of badly implemented and nonsensical mechanics, a poor story, terrible (and often juvenile) writing and a constant desire to stomp its players into the dirt make it a real pain to struggle through. It's a hugely punitive game, which would be fine if it played by the rules – but it doesn't. Combat here relies too much on luck and uncontrollable aspects which rob you of the opportunity to use actual skill and savvy to overcome the tough tests you'll be put through. If you want to make your game tough, fine, go for it, but you need to ensure the systems that underpin that toughness are up to serious scrutiny and, unfortunately, here they really aren't.