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Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store/PS4/Switch/PC) - Gamespot 9.

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:59 am
by Monkey Man
Image

ALONE, YOU WILL BE CONSUMED BY DARKNESS. TOGETHER YOU MAY THRIVE IN THE LIGHT.

Set in a sprawling open world, Ashen is a tight, 3rd person, skills-based action RPG about guiding your wanderer through a newly lit world. Fight alongside others, forge friendships and defeat the creatures of shadow determined to cast the world back into darkness.

Explore mysterious dungeons, fight epic bosses and explore diverse regions filled with gorgeous vistas and mythical creatures. Meet characters along the way who will join you on your journey and turn your home into a lively town. In this new era of light, you must protect the Ashen and destroy the hungering shadows once and for all.

http://www.ashen-game.com/

Developer: A44
Publisher: Annapurna Interactive.
Platform: Xbox One/Epic Games Store/PS4/Switch/Steam/GOG.
Release Date: 7th December 2018 on XB1/Epic Games Store. 9th December 2019 on PS4/Switch/Steam/GOG.
Genre: Action role-playing game.
Players: 1 player but you can team up with another player (Random or Friend) or an AI. A bit like Journey.
Price: £35.99 but it's Free with Xbox Game Pass.

https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/ashen
https://www.epicgames.com/store/en-US/p ... ashen/home
https://www.facebook.com/a44games
https://twitter.com/A44games
https://ashen.gamepedia.com/Ashen_Wiki



Features

PASSIVE MULTIPLAYER
While exploring and completing quests for characters, you’ll come across other players in the wilderness. You can choose to work together on a quest, tackle dungeons or go your own way. It’s up to you.

OPEN WORLD EXPLORATION
Ashen is filled with sweeping, hand-crafted environments waiting to be explored. From rugged coastlines to dark intricate caverns and sprawling cities from civilisations past, each region is unique and will reveal more about the lost history of the world.

STAMINA-BASED COMBAT
Each encounter has the potential to end in disaster. Discover unique weapons and equipment during your journey which will let you develop your own play style to defeat the shadows. But knowledge of the land and patience are as valuable as any weapon in Ashen.

THE TOWN
In Ashen you’ll have a settlement where characters you encounter on your adventures will return to and make their home. As you complete their quests, they will expand their own dwellings and provide you with services to help you on your journey.


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Reviews

“Ashen establishes its own identity by delivering an experience that focuses on creating a sense of community and trust with those you meet.

The relationships you forge define your adventure through Ashen, and helping your new friends is a powerful motivator that drives you forward through the game's beautiful world.” - 9/10 GameSpot

“Ashen takes liberally from Dark Souls when it comes to combat and progression, but it’s a very good take on the formula that delivers satisfying, strategic combat and progression that rewards careful play. Thanks to a gorgeous, varied open world and neat, passive cooperative features, Ashen comes into its own wonderfully.” - 8.5/10 IGN

“There's genuine satisfaction to unraveling its reinventions and departures - identifying the places where it sheds a little more light on Souls at large, and the places where it lets the darkness close in.” - Recommended Eurogamer

“...Ashen echoes the core mechanics of Dark Souls, but it does so with such finesse that it hardly matters. Its passive co-op features offer new insights into the genre, and the variety of its beautiful world is an absolute joy.” - 85/100 PC Gamer

“Ashen strikes the perfect balance between being attractive to veterans of the genre thanks to its immaculate execution, but also being welcoming to newcomers…” - 8/10 Gaming Bolt

“Ashen is one of those independent jewels that come to us from time to time to value a segment of the video game industry that has been living for a few years in a particular golden age.” - 9/10 SomosXbox

“Ashen is simply breathtaking, rising above its gaming influences to achieve something wholly original and something for other indie and AAA developers alike to look to for an example of gaming at its finest.” - 4/5 ScreenRant

“An inspired approach to co-op and non-player characters turns what could’ve been just another Dark Souls clone into one of the most interesting action adventures of the season.” - 8/10 Metro UK

"Ashen is unique in that it borrows liberally from the Souls-like genre, but doesn’t feel beholden to it. Adventure game fans and Dark Souls fans alike definitely won’t want to miss out on what Ashen offers." - 8/10 GameCrate

“I've never seen a world quite like Ashen's, and I consistently felt drawn in, wanting to know and see more.” - 4/5 GamesRadar

"...the presentation in Ashen is nothing short of incredible, and the mechanics, while not exactly original, are both finely-tuned and engaging, resulting in a very satisfying and enjoyable action RPG — so long as you don't mind a challenge.” - 4/5 Windows Central

"Even with so much of the experience feeling similar to something else you’ve played, Ashen delivers a great sense of wonder in its world, and ends up being a fun journey to undertake." - 8/10 GameInformer

"Ashen is a quality Soulslike with a nice art style and some great ideas about seamless and anonymous online co-op. The dungeons are memorable, the evolving town is awesome, and the increased focus that quests provide is a nice touch.” 8.5/10 TechRaptor

“...this is why I think Ashen is going to be a hit. Its gameplay is familiar and fun, but its world is like nothing you’ve ever seen. You have to work to see it all, and you’ll want to.” - 86/100 COG Connected

Re: Ashen (XB1/PC) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out on Friday?

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 11:00 am
by Photek
It's had several leaks now that it is indeed out tomorrow.

Re: Ashen (XB1/PC) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out on Friday?

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 5:39 pm
by HSH28
Liked the look of this since it was announced, will definitely be giving it a go.

Re: Ashen (XB1/PC) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!!

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 1:11 am
by Monkey Man
Out now on XB1/Epic Store, Free with Game Pass or £33, 6.61GB.


Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!!

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 10:33 pm
by Monkey Man
Put a few hours in tonight, loved it, its basically Dark Souls but not quite as hard with some extra MP & exploration.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!!

Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2018 10:41 pm
by Monkey Man
Reviews

Gamespot - 9

Ashen does more than enough to differentiate it from other Souls-like games. Although its combat utilizes the same stamina-focused mechanics, the inclusion of features that promote a sense of community with the game's characters makes for a wholly different experience. It's frustrating to spawn and see that your computer-controlled partner has a weapon that doesn't complement the one you're using. However, even when playing with NPCs, your allies' efforts to assist you in battle cause you to care about the fates of the colorful cast of people you meet on your journey. The relationships you forge define your adventure through Ashen, and helping your new friends is a powerful motivator that drives you forward through the game's beautiful world.

https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/ashen- ... 0-6417053/

Gamesradar - 4/5

Ashen is a faithful homage (for better or worse) to the games that inspired it, and it executes on those existing principles soundly. Ashen's own contributions to the formula waver between exhilarating highs and frustrating lows, but the former greatly outweigh the latter, and even if it's not the most original journey you've ever been on, it's one well worth taking. There's a lot to love about Ashen, even if you've loved it before.

https://www.gamesradar.com/ashen-review ... uls-clone/

Eurogamer - Recommended

Still, it's a robust and often mesmerising piece of craftsmanship that serves as a gentle introduction to the Souls subgenre, though it's definitely no substitute for Journey. And to a veteran of Lordran, there's genuine satisfaction to unravelling its reinventions and departures - identifying the places where it sheds a little more light on Souls at large, and the places where it lets the darkness close in.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018 ... hen-review

Metacritic - https://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-one/ashen
Opencritic - https://opencritic.com/game/6979/ashen

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2018 12:09 am
by Photek
It’s very good alright.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:16 am
by Tafdolphin
Yeah, hearing some super positive stuff about this on twitter. Most have called it a Soulslike with others saying more specifically that it's a 3D Hollow Knight. I had real problems with the latter game there, but might give this a whirl regardless.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:29 pm
by Photek
It’s definitely more like dark souls...

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 8:11 pm
by Monkey Man
IGN - 8.5

Ashen takes liberally from Dark Souls when it comes to combat and progression, but it’s a very good take on the formula that delivers satisfying, strategic combat and progression that rewards careful play. Thanks to a gorgeous, varied open world and neat, passive cooperative features, Ashen comes into its own wonderfully.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/12/12/ashen-review


Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:27 pm
by Mafro
Gonna try this out on Game Pass since Austin Walker was gushing over it.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:45 pm
by Saint of Killers
It looks smashen.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 5:56 pm
by Mafro
Hope it's not gashen.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:30 pm
by Tafdolphin
RPS' 'Contrary' John Walker, surprise surprise, doesn't like it:

John, renowned wimp, is not a fan: “It was just so boringly hard. I don’t get the entertainment of having a lumberingly slow character who’s no good at hitting things, being asked to hit millions of fast, capable enemies.”


https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/1 ... un-wonked/

He's since gone on a twitter rant about how boring the legacy of Dark Souls is, and has been mobbed by a twitter band including the quite, quite awful Ian Miles Cheong. Which is a bit much, but he was being intentionally confrontation. As always.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:35 pm
by Mafro
I saw that miserable banana split going off on one about Dark Souls this morning on Twitter and assumed this had something to do with it.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 6:39 pm
by Tafdolphin
The irony is that it's Walker himself who's become boring. Save a few specific genres, his reviews always seem to start from a position of negativity, where he needs to be convinced a game is good rather than simply playing the game and judging it as it comes. In fact, the inference from his writing is that he's a bit bored with all this modern game stuff and would rather be writing about something else.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:49 pm
by Photek
Ian Miles cheong is legitimately one the dumbest banana splits in the world.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 7:57 pm
by Tafdolphin
Oh yeah. Walker's annoying but Cheong is...a parody of a human being.

EDIT: Oh God, I just spent 2 minutes looking at his Twitter feed and Christ that is one stupid dude.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:01 pm
by Saint of Killers
Never heard of him. Seems like a dick hole. Blocked him.

Re: Ashen (XB1/Epic Games Store) - Souls-like with a Journey-esque MP system. Free with Game Pass. Out now!!! Gamespot 9

Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2018 10:48 pm
by Monkey Man

twitter.com/A44games/status/1075150156255834114



Rock Paper Shotgun - They like it.

As I prepare to go bumbling back through the glimmering palaces of the (maybe) final section, I know that the Capra Demon’s curse is still there. I must inevitably compare this to Dark Souls itself. And in doing that, Ashen has already come away poorer than it ought to. But if we think of it another way, maybe we can circumnavigate the curse. So let’s compare it to other Souls imitators. Because when I think of The Surge or Nioh or Hollow Knight, I’d rather be enjoying this gorgeous panorama of a game, climbing to the top of its mountains, lurking through its deep caves, or returning to my gentle hometown to see how it’s grown while I’ve been away. In short, I’d rather be playing Ashen. A lighter souls, yes. But not a lesser one.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/1 ... en-review/

Gameinformer - 8

Even with so much of the experience feeling similar to something else you’ve played, Ashen delivers a great sense of wonder in its world, and ends up being a fun journey to undertake.

https://www.gameinformer.com/review/ash ... to-friends

Screen Rant - 4/5

Ashen is not only a revelation for indie games, it's an example of the uniquely creative worlds and stories that game developers can craft when passion and love for the medium are used in equal measure. Aurora44 has easily crafted one of the best games of the year, one that's far better than anyone back in 2015 - when the game was revealed at E3 - could have predicted. Ashen is simply breathtaking, rising above its gaming influences to achieve something wholly original and something for other indie and AAA developers alike to look to for an example of gaming at its finest.

https://screenrant.com/ashen-review/