Ashen is a Souls-like game released last year for Windows and Xbox One, set in a fantasy world much like Dark Souls but with much more of an artistic undertone, and despite its difficulty, is a very serene experience due to its music and art. Critics loved it, and now it has come to the Nintendo Switch. But does the Switch do it justice? For the most part, yes.
Ashen is a great RPG that has you exploring its world and conquering beasts big and small — not calling it a Dark Souls clone is a denial. But it does set itself apart from its inspiration with little things — it introduces an AI companion that can change as you progress through the game, and the progression is much more simplified than From Software’s rendition. It makes for a slightly easier experience, in a good way. Ashen is by no means a cakewalk, but these quality of life improvements as I would describe them make the game less frustrating and victories feel more won with skill rather than luck.
On the technical side of things, across the board Ashen’s AI is not great. Many times my companions could not keep up with me or take forever to appear once I left my home base, leaving me by myself in a game meant for two. I was screwed over multiple times simply because the AI was nowhere to be found. But overall the Switch version runs well. The game seems to run at standard resolution, with a noticeable dip in FPS in handheld mode. It felt like 30 FPS, but I could be wrong. It felt noticeably less smooth playing in handheld, but not to the point where it became unplayable. It just takes some getting used to if you are planning on switching back and forth between docked and handheld, comparable to something like DOOM on Switch. Occasionally, I would also encounter bugs, like the map not properly loading and some FPS dips. However, these are few and far between, and never severely impacted my gameplay.
The game itself plays great across all ways to play. Like I implied, docked is definitely the best way to play as it can better handle Ashen’s open world, but handheld works fine, too. While the Joy-Cons work fine enough, if you are a real fan of these tough RPGs, I would definitely get a Pro Controller or some other gamepad if you have not already. The bigger buttons just make the experience easier, as this game depends a lot on quick reaction time, and fumbling over tiny buttons will just make the game even harder.
The game’s story is a lot like Dark Souls — very simplistic — but fans of the genre shouldn’t care. The core gameplay is solid, and the progression moves smoothly. It’s a fairly short game by Souls standards, clocking in around 20 hours, but for a game from an independent studio, it’s a marvelous achievement. The art style is crisp and unique, the gameplay is solid, and the story is serviceable enough. Besides the technical hiccups, there honestly isn’t anything specifically done wrong about this game, which will make any Souls fan happy.
Verdict
While Ashen tries to make itself stand apart from its clear inspirations, it does share a lot of similarities to popular RPGs. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing though. With crisp art, fun gameplay, and just the right amount of challenge to reward players for their hard work, Ashen is a well-made independent game that continues to shine on Switch. While it may run better on other platforms, and taking this on the go may not be the best way to play, you can still have Ashen anywhere you are, and it works fine enough. This is an easy recommendation to any fan of the Souls games itching for more death.
Final Score: 8.3/10 – Great
Check Out the Ashen Trailer:
For more information, please visit: https://www.ashen-game.com/
Nintendo Switch Review
I am an obsessive gaming nerd that definitely spends way to much money on games. I like to consider myself a well-rounded gamer; while RPGs have my heart, if it's a game, it's my cup of tea.
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