ASHWALKERS Review for Nintendo Switch

When it comes to game design, a lot of developers attempt to place as much content as possible in their titles. Whether its massive open worlds, a score of serene, epic sounds, or gameplay mechanics that come with their own player’s handbook. In this vast, competitive sea, where so many different games are trying to grab your attention, Ashwalkers takes a different approach. Publisher Plug In Digital and developer Nameless XIII take a “less-is-more” approach with their grayscale survival journey and reinvent The Oregon Trail in a simple, yet interesting way. 

Story

Ashwalkers is a survival journey across a variety of lands where your party of 4 vanguards brave certain death, in order to find the single bastion of hope that will shelter and save your dying civilization from the toxic world they inhabit. With 34 different endings, your choices and actions matter, and there will be many choices that you have to make. Along the way you meet other rogue Ashwalkers and monsters alike, all fighting for the same goal as you: survival.  

Gameplay & Mechanics 

Gameplay in Ashwalkers is a choice-based walking simulator where the story unfolds, as your decisions are made. Traveling the world of Ashwalkers is slow and steady. Resources are scarce and cost precious stamina to harvest along the way. With limited inventory space, you have to manage your collections carefully. There is a fine balance between keeping your team healthy, fed, warm, and rested. If any of these vital stats run low, you will quickly lose health and succumb to the world around you. As you traverse through the wastes, events will present themselves where you must choose how you wish to proceed. Each event will change the course of your story from small ways, such as your party taking a bit of damage or gaining an item, to large ways such as your party living or dying to an encounter.  

Aesthetics & Sound

Nameless XIII takes a unique approach to their world. A dull, desolate wasteland covered in a deep, ever-expanding gray is all you see as you travel along your path. The only color your eyes are treated to are the bloodied wounds of your team as they resist the dangers of the world. The sounds are quiet and somber; a crackling of your camp’s firewood and the thoughts of your companions are the only things to accompany you. That, and the call of the wild creatures that lurk around every corner. Ashwalkers does a great job capturing the ambiance of the sullen expanse. 

Summary 

Ashwalkers is an interesting story-based game that gives you a variety of choices and a bunch of hidden achievements to collect. After your first journey, Nameless XIII rewards you by allowing you to select which chapter you’d like to pick up from. This gives you a quick access point to try something new and see how your story evolves. There are some small issues with how the camera does not freely move, and can teleport to awkward angles, making it difficult to enter or exit rooms. There are also some issues where it’s hard to tell what terrain is passable, and you may find yourself stuck on an invisible wall unable to move.

Overall, Ashwalkers is a quick and easy game to pick up, with an average expedition being around 3-4 hours.  

7 / 10 

For more information, please visit: https://dearvillagers.com/project/ashwalkers/

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Sean Threatt

As the (self-proclaimed) King of Casuals, I'm always seeking out new titles to play and experience across all platforms. Eventually, I have ambitions to take the many different styles of this medium to create titles that will wow the masses in fresh, innovative ways.

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