Ashen (2018) is More Than a Souls-Like

When I first heard of Ashen, I wasn’t expecting much. Most of the early reviews I saw dismissed it as nothing more than a copy of the Souls formula with some bells and whistles both removed and added. To make things worse, Aurora 44’s title was also subject to an exclusivity deal with Epic Games, who claimed it to their store, exclusively, for a time, leaving a bad taste in some people’s mouths.

So, when I saw its cover sneak its way on GOG after the exclusivity period wore out, the faceless characters and vague title drew me in for a peak. Reviews on the site at the time of my gazing were close to 3/5 stars, which, for me, is a golden indicator of something that I’d probably like; 6/10 is pretty mixed, and it’s in this territory you’ll often find hidden gems.

Deliberate Design

One of the first things that struck me after my first bundle of hours on this game was the lack of both swords and bows from the weapon pool. There’s a heavy emphasis on the split between blunt and bladed weaponry, and javelins are the primary means of combat from afar. Because of the way weapons scale to their move-set and size, however, even the simple spiked club at the start of the game can be end-game viable, provided you stick with it and continue to apply upgrades as you can. Blunt weapons attack slowly with high base-damage and stun, but no chance of inflicting critical hits, while bladed weapons have low base-damage and stun, but strike quickly with anywhere from a 15-25% chance of doing double damage for any given attack. One handed weapons do less damage than their two handed counterparts, but let you carry a shield or a lantern, and absolute necessity when dungeon delving.

The way A44 captures and uses contrast between light and darkness in all aspects of the game tie the narrative along the exploration and combat nicely. Many mechanics revolve around light and dark; for instance, a potion named “Dwale” will cut damage taken in half while you are in the dark, but leave you blind while you swing madly into the shadows. Certain enemies will flee your presence when you shine your lantern near them, and others will take that light as a sign to engage you. Merely holding a lantern prevents the use of two-handed weapons, vastly higher damaging than single-handed ones, but the ability to place your lantern on the ground creates interesting combat scenarios, where it becomes beneficial to plan out your attack by providing light to an area a safe distance away from ledges or nearby hostiles, only to lure the distant creatures back toward your position for a face-full of axe!

I wish Dark Souls did this; the only place I can recall a torch being necessary in a Souls game was the pirate cove in Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin (and no, for some reason, Dark Souls II’s original DirectX 9 release doesn’t even count, as the global illumination there killed the need for one; thanks, bad design). Even the darkest of dungeons in Souls had torch sconces littered about, and if a location did happen to be too dark, it was typical to place a small ring of light around the player to alleviate the problem, instead of making it part of the gameplay experience.

Ashen takes advantage of everything A44 programmed, wasting nothing. Side missions entice exploration at the world map’s edges, and the scarcity of armor forces the player to explore a little if they want the best of the best. At times, it can be a drag, however, when it places common items, such as Sapient Moss (titanite shards in Dark Souls), in hard to reach areas, making some places not worth looking at. Still, the scenery and environment design, alone, were enough to keep me going; every location feels unique and feeds you a little hint of what’s to come next. In many ways, the environment, itself, told the story better than some of the NPC’s, and I think that’s for the better.

Expect Resistance

It wouldn’t be a Souls-like if it wasn’t hard in the slightest. Ashen is not as punishing as Souls if you’re a seasoned veteran of the genre; enemy attacks are generally pretty easy to avoid if you’re paying attention, but it’s not like you’re going to automatically win like everything it too easy, either. Some fights are unfair for the player who enjoys going Rambo, but for the patient, all fights are straightforward; sidestep or roll away from attacks until you see a pattern of telegraphed openings, then strike when you cannot be struck.

Equipment plays a role in how you fight. Some weapons have unique attacks, such as the front-flip overhead strike provided by a particular hatchet, or a multi-spin heavy-hitter for a certain two-handed club. How you prioritize health/damage resistance to stamina regeneration/cost is up to you; heavy armor will provide big bonuses to how much damage you can resist, but slow you down, while mere rags will have you running circles around your foes, but on the ground in a pool of blood after one mistake. It’s a nice balance that should provide enough variation to keep you interested as you progress.

Speaking of progression, there are no attributes or leveling-up present. Your skill and the equipment you carry are the sole arbiters of how efficient you’ll be slaying foes, and how long you’ll stay alive for. This is a neat concept in principle, but it totally kills your will to replay the game, as nothing changes from run-to-run, and there is no new game plus or boss rush mode to extend the fun, which is a bummer.

Soak in the Atmosphere

The primary way in which Ashen distances itself from the crowd would most definitely be in its unique presentation and atmosphere. The biggest factor that contributes to both is the excellent soundtrack by Eric Hillman, which masterfully captures elements of strife, hope, friendship, and starting anew. He creates these moods by nearly eliminating all traces of melody, instead focusing on creating a unique soundscape. It’s an interesting philosophy, to say the least, and the only other title off the top of my head that does this would be Rain World, with its dynamic somber, industrial and perilous tunes.

At times, the color palette, music, and creatures in the world meshed together to create a feel similar to a Studio Ghilbi film, which I definitely wasn’t expecting. The voice acting of the world’s subjects is done very well, considering A44 isn’t a very large studio, and the way the soundtrack dynamically adjusts to your location in the game world, progress within it, and relationships with the various characters is genius. I wish more games would take the time to align their music with their themes as tightly as A44 did.

Feel is hard to describe in words, though. I will say that the sounds alone were enough to immerse me in the world of Ashen, and re-engage me after breaks. Nothing felt out of place; it all felt “just right.” Couple this with Ashen’s addition of a jump/climb button, the exploration is taken to a whole new level. Whereas a souls game is mostly about horizontal traversal, Ashen has many locations that emphasize verticality, and a certain mid-game ability allows traversal through teleportation, opening up travel to certain areas at the start of the game that were previously hard or impossible to reach, getting you some new items along the way. It reminded me of a metroidvania, but there weren’t quite enough of these elements that I would consider it to be so. Dark Souls placed a much higher emphasis on shortcut discovery and efficient route-running compared; Ashen is more akin to an open-world game in that it has specific main and side missions for you to check out based the characters you meet.

Verdict

Story: [79 / 100] - Much of what is here is very similar to the souls formula; darkness takes over, you’re tasked with trekking out to give a few big boys in the evil industry a beating, then get a promotion when things are all said and done. The lore stays consistent enough throughout that you’re never taken out of Ashen’s world, and that alone made it worth replaying at least once for me.

Gameplay: [82 / 100] - Movement is crisp, attacks feel powerful, controls are extremely responsive, and combat is difficult yet fair, if you take the time to learn it. Nothing strikes me as being incomplete or not well thought out, and there’s enough here to keep you going for 20+ hours of fun.

Presentation: [90 / 100] - This game reeks of polish and every element feels deliberate. I don’t understand how someone can straight up trash this game or give it a low score, as the presentation alone is outstanding and makes you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.

The models and overall aesthetic is heavily stylized in a good way. Some sections of the game feel like they come right out of a Studio Ghibli film, and others are more reminiscent of Dark Souls. There’s a good blend of nature to man-made environments for you to check out, and the music ties the story, environment, and characters together masterfully.

Score: 84 / 100

After you put these core ideas together, Ashen becomes a solid entry level game to get people’s feet wet when it comes to Souls games. In many ways, it’s more a Souls-Lite, as apart from combat, most other elements allow the title to come into its own. Everything is polished to perfection, and every aspect of the game has been touched and taken care of in a way that it feels alive, despite its dreary grey skies and faceless inhabitants. What more can you ask for from a game? It’s solid, and I highly recommend it, even at full price.