Ashen

Ashen is a quietly captivating entry in the Soulslike family, blending the punishing combat and exploration of FromSoftware’s formula with a minimalist art style and a refreshing emphasis on co-op companionship. While it doesn’t reinvent the wheel, it refines the core experience into something uniquely meditative and subtly emotional.
Combat in Ashen is deliberate and tactical, emphasizing stamina management, timing, and positioning. Enemies hit hard, and your attacks feel weighty but fair. Unlike some Soulslikes, Ashen tends to keep things a bit slower and less frantic, encouraging players to read enemy patterns and strike with patience.
Weapon variety is decent, ranging from light spears and swords to heavy two-handed axes. Each weapon has unique movesets and attack speeds, and the dodge-roll mechanic is reliable, making evasion rewarding. The absence of shields or heavy armor choices nudges players toward a more mobile and reactive playstyle.
Where Ashen truly distinguishes itself is in its open-world design. The landscapes are vast, sprawling, and marked by muted earth tones and stylized, cel-shaded visuals that feel both timeless and painterly. There’s a quiet melancholy to the world, a place where ruins stand as silent witnesses to forgotten civilizations.
Exploration is non-linear, with hidden caves, ruins, and NPC encounters scattered throughout the environment. The game’s minimalist HUD and narrative style encourage players to interpret the world on their own terms.
A standout feature of Ashen is its emphasis on companionship. NPCs you meet can join your journey as AI-controlled allies, assisting in combat and exploration. Additionally, the game supports seamless online co-op, where players can summon friends or strangers to help tackle tougher challenges.
This sense of shared struggle creates a rare and meaningful social dynamic in a genre often associated with isolation. Moments of silent cooperation add warmth to an otherwise stark and desolate world.
The story is deliberately vague, revealed through environmental storytelling, brief NPC dialogue, and item descriptions. Themes of survival, legacy, and connection run quietly beneath the surface. The game trusts players to piece together its lore without overt exposition, which may frustrate some but rewards careful attention and exploration.
Ashen offers a distinctive take on the Soulslike formula—one that replaces gothic horror with open skies, and loneliness with companionship. It’s a thoughtful, atmospheric journey that’s as much about the people you meet as the enemies you defeat. While some may find its combat less deep or its story too sparse, those drawn to quiet exploration and subtle emotional beats will find a hauntingly beautiful experience.
Pros:
-Unique cel-shaded art style with stunning environments
-Seamless co-op and AI companion system enrich gameplay
-Balanced, tactical combat rewarding patience
-Open-world design encourages exploration
-Minimalist storytelling adds mystery and depth
Cons:
-Combat can feel slower or less varied than other Soulslikes
-Sparse narrative may leave some wanting more
-Some technical hiccups and occasional camera issues
-Limited weapon and armor variety
Ashen is a Soulslike for those who prefer companionship over solitude and open horizons over claustrophobic castles. A quiet, beautiful, and often moving adventure worth experiencing.
Rating: 7/10

Easily one of my favorite games of all time. It's beautiful, sounds amazing and the difficulty is just the right amount of tough. Paired with co-op, you're bound to have a wonderful time with a friend. Of course there's a couple things I don't like or wish were different but overall it's a 8/10 for me. Some of these reviews are complaining it's "not a real souls game" or something ridiculous like that and I'm glad. The souls community is one of the most toxic communities in gaming. Give the game a try and if you don't like the first 2 hours of it then refund. Easy. Enjoy the ride, enjoy the scenery, take on all the quests and be awed by inspiration.

Ashen looks like a dark souls type of game.
Reality is slightly different. The maniability is close. But game design and art direction are not a from software game.
Devs removed complex stats or hidden mechanics. Quests are simple and straight forward. Some people here are complaining about this. Probably because they think everything has to be painful and super challenging.
And I think this is why ashen is great. Not looking like a dark fantasy we have seen 400 times. Simplified build and combats. The game can be finished in 20h without rushing. The coop is great and very easy to access. I have done the whole game like this and we enjoyed a lot.
To sum it up, it is a very good game when you have a dark souls overdose or to make discover the genre to someone with a nice difficulty curve without frightening them.
It is an excellent choice during sales.

This is a very fun game with many intricate systems, fun yet challenging combat, and is easy to play. I would recommend the game to anyone even people who don't usually like souls like game. My only complaint is there is a glitch where If your computer runs on 11th gen intel then you won't be able to play the game. It crashes immediately or after a minute. This issue has been present for at least 3 years since 2021 and still has not been fixed. Luckily there are multiple fixes that work to subvert this problem that are very easy and take almost no time. Just look up the fix and spend like five minutes setting it up then enjoy hours of fun.

if you can ignore the broken online functionality on Steam version, then it is a must play game for dark souls fan, however... do keep in mind that:
1. there are no parry
2. no usual stats allocation, your character growth is largely affected by completing side quest
3. input buffer is worse than dark souls 3, so do not attempt to button mashing
otherwise is one of the unique dark souls clone that encourage coop play, offline? you got AI companion! though they play exactly like fromsoft NPC AI

If you want to play the souls like games on easier mode rather then the Dark Souls or Elden Ring - than that's your choice!
The game is pretty perfect for playing together with your friend. But the only thing that's triggering both of us, is the synchronization - when you just need to wait to see your friend. Overall the game is funny but in the end you will notice that you actually don't care about the enemies and you go through just to finish the boss finally... or else +5 hours for killing each mob.
I'll give +1 for the atmosphere that the game is giving - great experience in my opinion.
8/10

This is super chill souls. So damn chill, and I appreciate that feeling.
I feel like I am playing a 3D version of Deaths Door mixed with Dark Souls and a splash of Breath of the Wild.
We shall see how this turns out....
Update 13 Hours : So the game is more about the journey than the bosses for sure. The bosses have been easy for me at least (3 so far), I did not die once to bosses, but I died countless times getting to some of them. Loving the journey and the world just oozes ambient atmosphere.
Update 30 Hours: The Journey has been fun, I do see some holes with the AI in the last boss and the DLC Boss... Getting them there alive is a real chore, but possible.
Update 40 Hours: I thought I might try for the last 2 achievements (replaying entire game and beating the last 2 bosses in hard mode called Children of Sissna.) Good luck if you try this. The AI is just not cut out for it and you will constantly get 1 shotted It's a slog that is clearly built for a multiplayer in mind.
I avoided this first because it was epic exclusive then forgot about it. Then I avoided it because of the mixed reviews, but if you have played all the main souls games and are looking for more. This is a great time on a steam sale.