Three and Out – ‘Ashen’

On its surface, Ashen is a collection of inspired mechanics. There will be, and already have been, countless comparisons to Dark Souls – with many of those comparisons being warranted. There is slow, calculated combat and a punishing death system that left all collected currency at my grave. Not to mention, large and intimidating bosses that towered over my character as I desperately rolled around to avoid their attacks. Even some of the items share the exact same mechanical purpose. Still, I couldn’t help but shake off the feeling that the two games didn’t feel the same at all. While mechanically similar, there is one substantial difference between the two games that is deeply rooted at Ashen’s core: this isn’t a world meant to be conquered alone.

Ashen utilizes wordless communication between online players to develop its theme of companionship. There are only a handful of moments in the game where I found myself traveling alone. The game paired me with an online companion (or a very helpful offline NPC if I chose to turn off online play) to travel and help wherever I went. For all of these instances, their appearance takes the form of one of the game’s primary side characters. As I completed missions for these NPCs, they accompanied me on my travels. The most enriching thing about this mechanic is that it works seamlessly: I play as another player’s companion while they play as mine. We both exist in our own individual worlds while simultaneously existing in each other’s. Boss fights and long dungeon explorations were impossible alone, yet the game ensured there was joy in having to rely on someone else who had the exact same goal that I did. It was frustrating at times, sure. But it speaks to the complexity of both the mechanic and the game’s central theme that when it clicked, it felt like I just won the science fair or a tag-team race with a friend. Ashen doesn’t want you to be alone, because all of its greatest moments happen when in the company of others.

It took me a handful of hours to notice, but in Vagrant’s Rest (Ashen’s hub area), the various NPCs I had encountered up to that point were building a city together. Brick by brick, small houses and an interconnected shelter were being built. Inside of it, I purchased equipment upgrades and learned useful skills. Most importantly, I met characters that sent me on quests that grew deeply personal as they went on. It took a little while for me to get invested, especially because a handful of the early missions feel very much like fetch quests, but as the game developed, so did the character’s and their quests. The overarching narrative of reaching a beacon of light before evil could felt disjointed, and ultimately less compelling than the rest of Ashen’s writing. Just like in its gameplay, I felt much more invested when personal connections began to develop. Ashen is a small game and feels like it, so only when it attempts to overreach does it feel lackluster.