Ashen Review: Is It Worth Playing?

What is Ashen?

Ashen is an action role-playing game developed by New Zealand studio A44 and published by Annapurna Interactive. It launched in December 2018 for PC and Xbox One, with later releases on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

The game belongs firmly to the “souls-like” subgenre, borrowing core structural DNA from FromSoftware’s Dark Souls series. This includes a bleak, post-apocalyptic setting, deliberate and punishing melee combat, a stamina-based dodge and block system, and a bonfire-equivalent checkpoint mechanic.

The Metascore of 83 reflects a broadly positive critical consensus at launch. Reviewers praised its atmospheric world-building and distinctive co-op twist, while noting that it does not substantially reinvent the formula it draws from.

Story and Setting

The narrative is deliberately sparse. You play as a wanderer in a world where a great ash cloud has blotted out the sun, and civilisation exists only in scattered, fragile settlements.

The story is told through environmental detail, brief character interactions, and item descriptions rather than traditional cutscenes. The central quest involves seeking out a “Bird” – a mystical figure who can supposedly restore light – and along the way you recruit NPCs who populate your home base.

Each NPC offers side quests and services. This structure is familiar to anyone who has played a souls-like, but Ashen distinguishes itself with a softer, more hopeful tone than many of its peers. The world is grim, but not nihilistic; the emphasis on building a community gives the narrative a distinct flavour.

Gameplay

The combat is the heart of Ashen, and it is immediately recognisable to genre veterans. You have a light attack, a heavy attack, a dodge roll, and a block, all governed by a stamina bar that depletes with every action.

Enemy attacks are telegraphed, and the game punishes button-mashing with swift death. The weight and timing of strikes feel solid, though the hitboxes are occasionally less precise than those in the games that inspired it.

No Lock-On Targeting

There is no lock-on targeting, which is a notable departure from the Dark Souls norm. Instead, you aim your attacks manually using the right stick. This system takes time to adjust to, and the lack of lock-on makes fighting faster, more mobile enemies frustrating, particularly in tight corridors or when fighting multiple foes.

Passive Co-Op System

The most distinctive mechanic is the passive co-op system. You are accompanied by an AI-controlled companion for most of the game, and this companion can be replaced by a human player in online sessions.

There is no traditional multiplayer menu; instead, other players appear in your world as your companion, and you appear in theirs. Communication is limited to simple emotes.

Some praised the system for creating a sense of shared struggle without the toxicity of conventional online play. However, the AI companion is often unhelpful in boss fights, frequently failing to dodge area-of-effect attacks and dying quickly. The AI’s behaviour was patched several times post-launch, but it remains a mixed experience: sometimes it holds its own, sometimes it stands in fire.

Exploration and Progression

Exploration is rewarded with upgrade materials, new weapons, and consumables. The world is interconnected, with shortcuts that loop back to earlier areas, and the map is hand-crafted rather than procedurally generated.

Side quests are simple – fetch and deliver, or kill a specific enemy – but they serve to expand your settlement, which in turn unlocks new vendors and crafting options. The difficulty curve is steady for the first half of the game, but several late-game bosses require either heavy grinding or summoning a human partner. There is no difficulty slider, which is standard for the genre.

Who is Ashen for?

Ashen is squarely aimed at players who already enjoy souls-like games and are looking for a shorter, more approachable entry in the genre. The core loop of exploration, combat, and gradual character building is intact, but the game is considerably less opaque than its primary inspiration.

• Quests are clearer and the map is easier to read.
• The story is more legible than in most souls-likes.
• Solo players benefit from the constant AI companion, as the game is fully playable offline.
• Players who bounced off Dark Souls due to its cryptic nature may find Ashen more forgiving, though it is by no means easy.

Conversely, players who are looking for deep build variety or complex magic systems will be disappointed. The skill tree is modest, and magic is limited to a few throwable items and a single staff weapon. There is no character class system at the start; instead, you allocate points into four attributes as you level up.

The game’s length – roughly 25 to 30 hours for a completionist run – is shorter than most genre peers. If you are seeking a 100-hour epic with extensive multiplayer, this is not it. The passive co-op system also means there is no PvP invasion mechanic, which some players may consider a relief and others a missed feature.

Graphics and Performance

Visually, Ashen employs a distinctive low-poly, matte-shaded art style. Characters have flat, featureless faces, and the colour palette is dominated by greys, muted blues, and pale yellows.

This aesthetic choice is effective in conveying a world drained of warmth, and the lighting engine, which uses a dynamic day-night cycle, is the game’s strongest technical feature. Sunlight filtering through ash clouds, and the glow of campfires in dark caves, create memorable scenes.

The art direction is more impressive than the raw technical fidelity; the game runs on Unreal Engine 4, but texture resolution is modest and character models are simple.

Platform Performance

• Xbox One and PlayStation 4: Stable at 30 frames per second in most areas, with occasional dips during heavy combat or when multiple particle effects were on screen.
• PC: Ran well on mid-range hardware of the era, with uncapped frame rates and a field-of-view slider.
• Nintendo Switch: Longer loading times and a lower resolution in handheld mode, though it remained playable.
• Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5: Runs via backward compatibility with improved loading times, but there is no dedicated next-gen patch that raises the frame rate above 60 frames per second.

The game is not a graphical showcase even by 2018 standards; the artistic direction carries it.

Value for Money

At its original launch price of £34.99 / $39.99, Ashen offered reasonable value for a 25-hour single-player experience with a novel co-op mechanic. However, the game is now frequently discounted, and it is included in some subscription services such as Xbox Game Pass.

At a sale price of around £10-15, the value proposition is strong. The base game includes no paid DLC, though a free update added a “Nightstorm” mode, which increases enemy density and difficulty, and a “New Game+” option. These additions extend replayability for those who enjoy the combat loop.

User reviews on Steam and Metacritic are broadly positive, with a common sentiment being that the game is “a good souls-like, but not a great one.” Many players note that they received exactly what they expected: a competent, atmospheric take on the genre with a unique co-op hook.

The lack of build variety and the occasionally frustrating AI companion are the most common criticisms. If you already own the game via a subscription service, it is absolutely worth your time. If you are paying full price today, you would be overpaying, as the game is no longer a new release and its technical limitations are more apparent against newer titles in the genre.

Verdict

Ashen is a competent, atmospheric souls-like that succeeds on the strength of its art direction and its unusual passive co-op system, but it does not reach the heights of the games it emulates.

The Metascore of 83 is a fair reflection of critical consensus: this is a solid, well-made game with a clear identity, but it is also one that will not change your mind about the genre.

If you have exhausted the major souls-likes and want a shorter, more hopeful take on the formula, Ashen is worth playing, especially at a discounted price. If you are new to the genre, there are better entry points. For everyone else, it is a pleasant, if unremarkable, journey through the ash.