It’s been over a week since Ashen launched and over that time we’ve watched hundreds of hours of streamers playing Ashen and received thousands of messages from you telling us about your experiences in the world we spent so long creating. It has been wonderful to say the least.
To hear so many stories from you about meeting strangers and going on epic adventures together to protect the light, is exactly what we hoped for with Ashen. Our social media feeds have been filled with your incredible screenshots from throughout Ashen's world and we’ve been impressed by the amount of players jumping immediately into our hardcore mode Children of Sissna, looking for a new challenge.
The critical reception to Ashen has been incredible too, with several outlets praising our tight gameplay, the vibrant sprawling regions of our open world and the passive multiplayer which takes players on unique, intimate journeys with other wanderers playing simultaneously. Check out some of the review impressions of Ashen so far below.
“Ashen establishes its own identity by delivering an experience that focuses on creating a sense of community and trust with those you meet.
The relationships you forge define your adventure through Ashen, and helping your new friends is a powerful motivator that drives you forward through the game's beautiful world.” - 9/10 GameSpot
“Ashen takes liberally from Dark Souls when it comes to combat and progression, but it’s a very good take on the formula that delivers satisfying, strategic combat and progression that rewards careful play. Thanks to a gorgeous, varied open world and neat, passive cooperative features, Ashen comes into its own wonderfully.” - 8.5/10 IGN
“There's genuine satisfaction to unraveling its reinventions and departures - identifying the places where it sheds a little more light on Souls at large, and the places where it lets the darkness close in.” - Recommended Eurogamer
“...Ashen echoes the core mechanics of Dark Souls, but it does so with such finesse that it hardly matters. Its passive co-op features offer new insights into the genre, and the variety of its beautiful world is an absolute joy.” - 85/100 PC Gamer
“Ashen strikes the perfect balance between being attractive to veterans of the genre thanks to its immaculate execution, but also being welcoming to newcomers…” - 8/10 Gaming Bolt
“...Ashen presses exactly the same keys that have made Dark Souls legendary, achieving a challenging, mysterious experience with an audiovisual charm difficult to reject. We will closely follow the work of A44 from now on.” - 87/100 HobbyConsolas
“Ashen is one of those independent jewels that come to us from time to time to value a segment of the video game industry that has been living for a few years in a particular golden age.” - 9/10 SomosXbox
“Ashen is simply breathtaking, rising above its gaming influences to achieve something wholly original and something for other indie and AAA developers alike to look to for an example of gaming at its finest.” - 4/5 ScreenRant
“An inspired approach to co-op and non-player characters turns what could’ve been just another Dark Souls clone into one of the most interesting action adventures of the season.” - 8/10 Metro UK
"Ashen is unique in that it borrows liberally from the Souls-like genre, but doesn’t feel beholden to it. Adventure game fans and Dark Souls fans alike definitely won’t want to miss out on what Ashen offers." - 8/10 GameCrate
“I've never seen a world quite like Ashen's, and I consistently felt drawn in, wanting to know and see more.” - 4/5 GamesRadar
"...the presentation in Ashen is nothing short of incredible, and the mechanics, while not exactly original, are both finely-tuned and engaging, resulting in a very satisfying and enjoyable action RPG — so long as you don't mind a challenge.” - 4/5 Windows Central
"Even with so much of the experience feeling similar to something else you’ve played, Ashen delivers a great sense of wonder in its world, and ends up being a fun journey to undertake." - 8/10 GameInformer
"Ashen is a quality Soulslike with a nice art style and some great ideas about seamless and anonymous online co-op. The dungeons are memorable, the evolving town is awesome, and the increased focus that quests provide is a nice touch.” 8.5/10 TechRaptor
“...this is why I think Ashen is going to be a hit. Its gameplay is familiar and fun, but its world is like nothing you’ve ever seen. You have to work to see it all, and you’ll want to.” - 86/100 COG Connected
If you are looking to team up with friends in Ashen, be sure to check out our multiplayer FAQ and if you want to learn more about the lore and story behind our debut game have a read of our first lore blog post about the story leading up to the start of Ashen.