Review for Ashen. Game for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 07/12/2018
In the now very distant 2009, thanks to the genius of the Japanese team FromSoftware and his dad, Hidetaka Miyazaki, was giving life to what, from then on, would become a real "vein", appreciated, followed and which ended up becoming a videogame genre in itself.
We are talking, in case you have not yet understood it, of the so-called "soulslike" genre, that is to say the kind of games that draw their source of inspiration, especially as regards the strictly playful side, to works such as Demon's Souls, Dark Souls e Bloodborne. Being huge supporters of the work of Miyazaki, of course, we can only be happy with this thing. Seeing other software houses groped to replicate, with mixed success, the work done by the Japanese company is always a great pleasure, and every time the expectations are always very high, even if only for the hunger to "die", now inherent in our person since the time of the first such title. For this reason, when Ashen arrived, our reaction was at the same time happy, hopeful but, deep down, scared of a potential disappointment.
Once tried, the brave creature of the New Zealand team A44 did nothing but make sense of all three sensations we were talking about above. Let's clarify an important concept immediately: net of all its shortcomings, Ashen is among the titles that have managed to come closest to the first "soulslike", perhaps even more than titles with a more important media connotation, such as The Surge, Nioh and others. .
A soulslike for all tastes
Undoubtedly, the “familiarity” factor makes Ashen's fortune. Once the game has started, in fact, it is really impossible not to notice the enormous similarities between the various Dark Souls starting with fundamental elements, such as the combat system and the management - albeit, the latter, with the due differences - of the inventory. .
The title of the boys of A44 offers a scheme of commands impossible to miss: heavy and light attacks (assigned by default to the right lats), the possibility of wielding a weapon in one hand, perhaps accompanied by a shield in the other, or a heavy weapon with two hands, a button for running / dodging, for jumping and, of course, the one for interacting with the environment and the various NPCs present. Also in this respect Ashen proves to be very close to the works he is inspired by, with a game world full of hidden objects, ambushes, traps, environmental "flaws" and secrets to be discovered, all accompanied by a level of challenge that is actually more than satisfactory. with some "peaks" of difficulty in some easily noticeable situations. Even under the profile of the introduction to what is the underlying plot, everything is very reminiscent of that of the first Dark Souls, unfortunately, without being able to replicate the same style offered by the narrative sector created by FromSoftware. In all likelihood, this is precisely one of the points where Ashen fails most, bringing to the screens a very "flat" narrative, without ever taking off and without that epic, that solemn atmosphere, that only the "soulslike" can offer.
Where Ashen manages to fully convince is, however, the characterization of the NPCs we were talking about a little while ago. And it is not only their narrative background that is pleasant and convincing, but more generally their management and their effective use within the game mechanics.
Welcome to the Asylum of the Drifter
Also this time, we are faced with something already seen in other productions of the genre. As for Dark Souls, Demon's, Bloodborne and so on, also in Ashen there is a central "hub", in which the various NPCs that accompany our protagonist in the adventure will reside, both from the beginning (in some cases) and subsequently , upon discovery and "unlock" on our part, of course.
Once you meet the NPC on duty, in fact, he will greet you and reach the so-called Asylum of the Drifter (the one which is the equivalent of the Hunter's Dream) and so on. These NPCs, once they reach the hospitable and peaceful place, in addition to providing us with secondary missions - called “Quests” - will also be fundamental because they will unlock new functions for the player. There is the NPC that will give you the possibility to upgrade the flask, the one that will help you to forge objects such as seals (the equivalent of Runes) to enhance some aspects of the character or the "simple" blacksmith who will be essential to enhance the your weapons. Furthermore, almost all the NPCs on duty can accompany you on the mission, following you closely and fearlessly challenging the many threats scattered across the lands of the vast game world.
NPCs are characterized by an artificial intelligence that is sometimes deficient, which often and willingly gives rise to truly inexplicable behaviors on the part of our travel companions. The "online" discourse is also closely linked to them: if you decide to play in a game "open" to the public, the game could replace one of the NPCs with a human player, or more precisely with his avatar. "Direct" cooperation is not possible: while we play on our own, our avatar could easily end up in someone else's game - a bit like what happens with drivatar in the automotive series Force - in a completely autonomous way and without any repercussions / advantages for us. More generally, however, it seemed easier to play in the company of one of the NPCs, also due to the discussion we previously made on the mechanics that gradually become unlocked by becoming familiar with them.
The desire to explore and try to connect as much as possible with the vast game world - strictly open world in nature - always rewards the player, greatly facilitating their progression within the adventure. Given that the exploratory component of every self-respecting soulslike is clearly one of the predominant ones, anticipating any discoveries would take away much of the fun and for this reason we prefer not to delve too deeply into the issue in order to avoid spoilers.
A derivative but still authentic style
Net of the enormous similarities shown, Ashen maintains a completely autonomous nature, detaching itself heavily, on some important aspects, from the founders of the genre.
A huge difference is due to the presence of a game map, complete with indicators for NPCs, respawn points and various mission objectives. We certainly do not intend to say that Ashen is an easy video game to approach or that it does not represent a demanding challenge, but the presence of the map is, in all likelihood, an important and not negligible simplification, which however works. Also for the map, there are points where you can refill the care flasks, - the equivalents of the Estus - another factor that, it seemed to us, helps the player a lot. In all likelihood, the New Zealand team preferred to opt for a lighter approach, partly to test the degree of appreciation of the player community.
A technical sector of varying success
If the title defends itself more than well in terms of exploration and the combat system, the same cannot be said for other aspects of the production, either by choice, or by the obvious structural limitations, being the title, basically, an indie.
For example, the choice to limit the progression of the character and its statistics to a state that is nothing more than embryonic, limited and almost barely mentioned, is not successful. It is not possible, in fact, to personalize your alter-ego too much, and this heavily affects the general enjoyment: no "build" then, and consequently limited replayability. Another factor of dubious success is the aesthetic / technical one: if the game well hides the nature of a low-budget project, with an overall pleasant graphic rendering on Xbox One X - version we tested - the same cannot be said of the environmental variety, which has always been an important factor in the evaluation of a “soulslike”. Although pleasant, the settings are often too anonymous, offering the player the feeling of being inside a world that is too bare and almost superficially created.
All this, however, always remembering that it is an independent production, but that it is sold at a price that is not exactly accessible (39,99€) and which could discourage those less convinced of the purchase. It must be said, however, that Ashen is included since day one in the library of Xbox Game Pass titles, and therefore, it is available for free for all those in possession of a subscription to the aforementioned service. Under these conditions, if you are passionate about the genre, you absolutely cannot miss the opportunity to try it.
Ashen is, in no uncertain terms, one of the best exponents of the "soulslike" genre: probably the best among the "imitators" of the original material. With a familiar and complex combat system, a level of challenge that is always convincing and never disappointing and a good longevity, the work of the young New Zealand team A44 is a respectable product, a must for all fans of the genre. It also turns out to be a good starting point for those wishing to approach the genre thanks to some "simplifications" made on the game formula, such as the map and indicators of the objectives to be achieved. Too bad for a bland and completely devoid of epic story and for a splendid visual sector, but only half exploited. We like to think, however, that this experiment is perfectly successful and that this Ashen may have in the future, perhaps a "spiritual" successor, as happened a bit with Dark Souls after Demon's Souls, capable of elevating production to a higher level, without the fear of competing with more important jobs.
► Ashen is an Adventure-RPG game developed and published by A44 for PC and Xbox One, the video game was released on 07/12/2018
