Misplaced Pages

Ashen
Developer(s)	A44
Publisher(s)	Annapurna Interactive
Engine	Unreal Engine 4
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Xbox One Nintendo Switch PlayStation 4
Release	Windows, Xbox One December 7, 2018 Nintendo Switch December 9, 2019 PlayStation 4 December 12, 2019
Genre(s)	Action role-playing
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Ashen is an action role-playing game developed by New Zealand studio A44 and published by Annapurna Interactive.

Gameplay

The game is set in a sunless world and tells the story of a character seeking a home. Gameplay is described as including open-world exploration, co-operation or competition with other players, and combat with in-world monsters. The game is presented in a third-person view, with a muted cel-shaded graphics presentation.

The game follows the Dark Souls-style mechanics and combat. Both combat and exploration in an open world were key design elements of the game. Multiplayer elements include interactions with other players, which are incorporated into the game as providing traditional RPG elements such as crafting. Combat includes ranged and melee weapons.

Character growth is primarily dominated by equipment, rather than player 'stats'; "Talismans", either found or crafted, are used to upgrade character abilities or provide other in-game perks.

Development

Initial publicity material for the game was released mid-2014. During Microsoft's E3 2015 press conference, Ashen was revealed as an Xbox console launch exclusive being developed by Aurora44 (now A44) under the ID@Xbox independent developer program. Initially released 2014 design elements of the game included survivalist elements and elemental effects, such as the wind as a help or hindrance. The world's geography and ecosystems were intended to be realistically modeled, to play into intelligent play styles within survival mechanisms; additionally, natural geography was intended to be based on an underlying geology. One in-world game element is an enemy known as the "Gnaw", which has the ability to erode the environment "like a searing acid". Much of the background, setting, and feel of the world was influenced by Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road. Combat was described as similar to the Dark Souls series, being high risk, with stamina being a major factor in combat.

Multiplayer elements were described as 'passive', meaning that playing with a partner(s) is not mandated, and entirely optional, though certain situations require cooperative play; AI (computer controlled) allies were also to be implemented. The 'passive' multiplayer element included the conversion of a human player companion into an AI controlled non-player character (NPC)s if they could be escorted to the home town of the main adventurer; however such AI controlled NPCs were not guaranteed to be entirely benign. Art style influences were cited as initially including Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP, Shadow of the Colossus, and The Legend of Zelda series. Developers also stated they had been influenced by the emergent multiplayer storytelling found in the video game DayZ.

Release

While initially listed on Steam, Ashen was later announced as an Epic Games Store timed exclusive but was also later listed as a Microsoft Store and an Xbox One title as a timed exclusive as well.

Reception

Ashen was rated 9/10 by GameSpot, and 4/5 by GamesRadar+. Eurogamer also praised the game, awarding it the "Eurogamer Recommended" mark. The game was noted through multiple reviews to hold similarities to the Dark Souls series, specifically Dark Souls.

Awards

References

1. North, Dale (June 19, 2015), "The best Unreal Engine games of E3, selected by GamesBeat", VentureBeat
2. Thang, Jimmy. "A44 Games explains how they designed the beautifully haunting world of Ashen". unrealengine.com. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
3. Blake, Boston (June 2015), "E3 2015: 'Ashen' Revealed for Xbox One With Debut Trailer", Gamerant
4. Ogilvie, Tristan (June 15, 2014), "E3 2015: Ashen Announced for Xbox One", IGN
5. "Ashen on Xbox Daily", YouTube (video interview), June 26, 2015
6. Corden 2016, Q.Jez: In the trailer, we can see players wielding melee weapons, is Ashen a strict melee combat affair? Can players control their gameplay style in any way?.
7. Billcliffe 2015.
8. Corden 2016, Q. Jez: How does Ashen handle character progression?.
9. Smith, Graham (July 8, 2014), "Ashen Looks Beautiful: An Open World RPG About Friends", Rock Paper Shotgun
10. McWhertor, Michael (June 15, 2015), "Ashen is a new open-world role-playing game for Xbox One", Polygon
11. ^ Priestman 2014
12. Tic Podcast 2015, 14min04sec - 15min15sec.
13. Shoptaw 2015.
14. Corden, Jez (December 7, 2018). "'Ashen' will still hit Xbox Play Anywhere for PC and 'other platforms' in the future". Windows Central. Retrieved July 29, 2019.
15. "Ashen for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
16. "Ashen for Xbox One Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved May 17, 2019.
17. "Ashen for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
18. Zawodniak, Melanie (December 24, 2019). "Ashen (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
19. O'Reilly, PJ (December 30, 2019). "Ashen Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
20. L'avis de (December 13, 2018). "Test Ashen : plus qu'un clone de Dark Souls ?". Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
21. Reiner, Andrew (December 15, 2018). "Ashen Review – Turning Strangers Into Friends". Game Informer. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
22. Carter, Chris. "Review: Ashen". Destructoid. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
23. Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (December 7, 2018). "Ashen review - a soulful journey through a sublime ruined world". Eurogamer. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
24. Donnelly, Joe (December 18, 2018). "ASHEN REVIEW". PC Gamer. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
25. Petite, Steven (December 11, 2018). "Ashen Review". IGN. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
26. Ramée, Jordan (December 6, 2018). "Ashen Review - Relationship Souls". GameSpot. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
27. Prell, Sam (December 7, 2018). "Ashen review: "Ashen is a Dark Souls clone - but it's a really good Dark Souls clone"". GamesRadar+. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
28. Evans-Thirlwell, Edwin (December 7, 2018). "Ashen review - a soulful journey through a sublime ruined world". Eurogamer. Retrieved December 10, 2018.
29. "Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2017 (2017 Nominees)". Game Critics Awards. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
30. "Winner list for 2018: God of War breaks record". National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers. March 23, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
31. Trent, Logan (February 11, 2019). "Here Are Your 2019 SXSW Gaming Awards Finalists!". South by Southwest. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
32. "Golden Joystick Awards 2019". GamesRadar+. Archived from the original on September 28, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.

Sources

• Shoptaw, Ryan (July 1, 2015), "Interview: Aurora44 Talks Ashen, Their Influences, and The E3 Experience", GamingConviction.com
• Plunket, Luke (July 17, 2015), "Ashen Is A Very Pretty Video Game", Kotaku
• Priestman, Chris (July 14, 2014), "Ashen is the sprawling, low-poly Dark Souls of our nightmares", Kill Screen
• Billcliffe, James (July 15, 2015), "Ashen is Shaping Up to be a Much Darker, and More Ambitious "Journey" on Xbox One and PC", OnlySP, archived from the original on March 7, 2016, retrieved March 4, 2016
• "On The Red Carpet with Ashen", Tic Podcast (Interview), YouTube, July 11, 2015
• Corden, Jez (January 19, 2016), "Q&A: Join us for a look at Ashen's dark RPG world, on its way to Xbox One, Steam and Windows 10", www.windowscentral.com

External links

• Ashen, archived from the original on August 1, 2015, official website

• 2018 video games
• Action role-playing video games
• Dark fantasy role-playing video games
• Indie games
• Multiplayer and single-player video games
• Open-world video games
• Video games developed in New Zealand
• PlayStation 4 games
• Nintendo Switch games
• Windows games
• Xbox One games
• Unreal Engine 4 games
• Annapurna Interactive games
• Soulslike video games