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Solar ash12/12/2023 ![]() All I know is every time you defeat a boss you wind up in the palm of a giant, ethereal goddess who berates you and then crushes you to dust, and like, mommy? Sorry. Your quest, spoken of in grand, purposefully vague terms, goes wrong at the start, leaving you trapped in a time loop zone trying to break out. Every boss you defeat lights up a section of a tower, with this eventually building to the final encounter, but things are deliberately left open to interpretation. I haven’t spoken much about the story, but that’s because I’m not especially sure what’s going on. ![]() The art design does a fabulous job of keeping consistent motifs - the black ooze, the red eyes, the bubblegum blue ocean - while adding flourishes to each new locale to help them feel fresh and distinct. In fact, part of the reason the obstacles at the start of each level and the irritating bosses at the end stand out so much is because of how smooth everything in between is. But in the end, Solar Ash is polished and pretty, but could have been so much more if its levels and gameplay were more complex.This should not take away from the raw vibes of Solar Ash, however. It's greatly helped by how beautiful its environments are complemented with a soundtrack of electronic and ambient tracks that make Solar Ash an artistic and musical treat. At its heart, Solar Ash is a deeply personal project with excellent voice performances that prompts reflection on how to accept tragedy when it comes, and finding the right ways to press on from those experiences instead of fixating on things that cannot be changed. ![]() Since there are audio logs to collect that unlock new outfits with passive bonus effects, players will find it hard to resist these optional objectives that unveil more storytelling and goodies to collect. Were very excited to announce were providing VFX support for Solar Ash Kingdom, the second game from Heart Machine, creators of the award. ![]() Players will search out the Remnants in a large open world divided into several locations. The level design introduces foils to navigation with guard rails to grind on, and poisoned floors that must be sped across quickly, but they don't alter the core gameplay in any meaningful or exciting ways.Įxploration is the most engaging aspect of Solar Ash. While it's understandable that combat isn't the focus, the presence of enemies feels arbitrary since they're basically pests with singular attacks rather than fun, challenging foes to fight. On top of this, the game never adds any new mechanics to the initial moves, and starts to feel the same from beginning to end. The controls are simple, and gameplay feels slick and tight, but there's an undeniable slipperiness and unpredictability to movement that rears its ugly head with frequent frustrating falls. In Solar Ash, players glide across the ground and in cloud-like oceans with futuristic skates to complete a slew of obstacle courses and races against time. This 3D action title features exploration and exchanges combat for platforming, but its repetitive and simplistic play holds it back. There's some graphic yet cartoonish gore present in a couple areas, as well as some mild language with "bastard" and "hell" used no more than a few times. Exploration is the name of the game with expansive environments that encourage thorough investigation, as well as interaction with other characters, audio and text logs. As players explore the hauntingly gorgeous and strange ruins of the world, they will encounter colossal infestations and monsters made of bone plating and black ooze, which must be destroyed by racing across their forms while attacking a series of weak points in quick succession before time runs out. Her friends who were supposed to have fulfilled the mission have gone radio silent, so it's up to her to discover what happened to them and whether or not she can still save everyone. It follows the desperate mission of Rei, a Voidrunner tasked with activating a device designed to destroy a black hole that's slowly dragging her home planet toward destruction. Parents need to know that Solar Ash is a downloadable 3D platformer for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and Windows (exclusively on the Epic Games Store).
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