You need to play the most underrated ‘Elden Ring’ precursor ASAP

Inverse Recommends Only the community can save you in Ashen . by Robin Bea Updated: Feb. 20, 2024 Originally Published: June 20, 2022 A44 games

Soulslike games tend to have a certain aesthetic. Grim, lonely, hopeless worlds make sense in games about dying repeatedly for an uncertain goal. Cold Symmetry

A44 Games One of the best Soulslike games challenges that convention, making community and hope core to the experience while still featuring brutal, rewarding combat .

A44 games Released in December 2018, Ashen is the first game from developer A44 Games .

A44 Games If that name sounds familiar (aside from being easy to confuse with film production company A24), you may have seen A44’s next game, Flintlock , during Summer Game Fest .

A44 Games From the looks of it, Flintlock will be a very different experience, but you can see the roots of its combat in Ashen .

A44 Games Ashen ’s combat may feel a touch less precise than Dark Souls , but the basics that made FromSoft’s combat legendary are all there with some interesting twists .

A44 games There aren’t as many unique weapons in Ashen , but each weapon type (from colossal two-handed axes to swift swords) feels completely different . Switching weapons is often enough to overcome even seemingly unbeatable enemies.

You’ll need that variety to deal with all of Ashen ’s diverse monstrosities, from screen-filling bosses to creepy-crawly spiders. A44 games

A44 games So Ashen ’s combat is great, but what makes the game special is everything surrounding that combat .

Unlike the lonely Dark Souls , you almost never have to venture out alone in Ashen . A44 games

A44 games While its open world (more Elden Ring than Dark Souls ) is filled with monsters and bandits, it’s also dotted with potential friends .

A44 games As you venture through dank caves, lush forests, and a glittering city, you’ll meet a cast of colorful characters who you can interact with in a hub area and even bring with you into the open world.

These NPC companions can hold their own in combat, and sharing in death-defying adventures with them helps bring the characters to life. A44 games

Sometimes, they may seem a little too alive. A44 games

A44 games That’s when Ashen has swapped out the NPC AI for a human player .

Any time you’re out exploring, your AI partner can be seamlessly replaced with another player in the same area. They keep the NPC’s appearance, but you’ll know it’s another player by how they move and interact with the world. A44 games

A44 games There’s no real way to communicate with these transient comrades-in-arms; You just work together on a common goal and go your separate ways.

A44 games That feeling of truces forged of necessity and community forming in the dark permeates everything in Ashen .

A44 games As you recruit NPCs, they join your fledgling village, which starts as a rocky clearing but grows into a home .

A44 games Fittingly named Vagrant’s Rest , your town is where you gather the scattered travelers eking out a living in the wasteland. You give them new homes and a new purpose.

Dark Souls and its ilk are about doomed attempts to save dying worlds. In Ashen , the world is just coming back to life after a calamity. A44 games

A44 games Your job isn’t to conquer this awakening world, it’s to make it safe for those who want to rebuild together .

If you’re waiting for Flintlock ...now is the perfect time to check out Ashen on PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, or PlayStation 4 (where it’s part of the new PS Plus ). A44 games

You need to play the most underrated ‘Elden Ring’ precursor ASAP

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