Ashen

I love Ashen and have played through it several times on Epic Games, hence the few hours on Steam at time of writing.
Elephant in the room, Ashen seems to get bad rep for two main reasons:
1) It looks like Absolver, but it is nothing like Absolver. This is true, but nothing about the game's promotion would lead you to think otherwise?
2) It looks like Dark Souls, but it is not much like Dark Souls. For one, unlike FromSoft games, it is designed specifically so you and your friend can play through the whole thing in one go, instead of having to constantly bonfire back and forth. It 100% benefits from being played that way, as opposed to playing it on your own and bumping into people at tough spots as one might be inclined to do.
This decision seems to me to compliment another essential difference; in the Game of Thrones/Dark Souls era of grim-dark "actually all options are bad, you idiot, you fucking buffoon, and being anything other than cynical makes you a moron", Ashen dares to have a heart.
Think of it as if Dark Souls was inspired by Shuna's Journey instead of Berserk.
Understandably disappointing if you are looking for Absolver's unique fighting system or Souls' series sense of oppression and desperation.
Excellent, one of a kind game if you're looking to share a wondrous journey with a friend or significant other.
There's nothing else quite like it out there, save maybe Outward, and what it strikes out to do it does wonderfully.

A step more clunky than Dark Souls, but the art is so beautiful and the world really is a joy to explore. It's also not gonna obliterate you like DS. Prepare to just have some good fun with some tough bosses that will take you several tries, but not several hours worth of trying.

Fun game to play in co-op. Family that get frustrated together stays together, when your adventure is going smoothly there's something bound to happen just at the corner of some doors or walls Peek-a-boo! you're dead and have to redo all the running and fighting again until you reach the next checkpoint... After 5 years, some checkpoints are just way too far xd
Recommended to get on sale ^-^//
P.S Me and my friend got saved by a Hyena from 4 giant rock (crabs?), that Hyena fought bravely protected us until it died, It didn't have to do so since most creature was hostile but that one fought for us. I couldn't just let it go with me that our hero was nameless, so I named him Barry, Barry the Brave. This Review will be his tombstone and his epitaph reads "Here lies Barry the Brave, the savior of the Ashen's Guardians."

Honestly, this is a great game if you take it for what it is. Yes, the combat is not as refined compared with From Software games. Yes, the devs made the idiotic decision to have this game be a timed exclusive on Epic. However, the game on its own is pretty great. The combat is pretty simplistic, the music and sound design are great, art is gorgeous, story is decent, some of the mechanics are also great, exploration is great and rewarding. Some moments truly made me feel at like I felt in the original Dark Souls. For example: I was deep in a dungeon very low on resources, npc companion dead and kept wandering through the dark corridors trying to find the boss. Then when my need was highest, my companion respawned. I've never been so happy to see an npc in a video game.
TLDR: if you don't compare it with other souls games and judge it as its own thing, you'll discover a great little gem by playing this game. Worth giving a shot.
PS: while I enjoyed the dark dungeons, I did so only because a larger part of the game took place in the open world. The devs nailed this aspect. If they would have added more dungeons and caves, then they wouldn't be as enjoyable. The way they did it though, they didn't overstay their welcome.

If your cpu is 10th gen or newer, it will keep crashing so do this to fix it:
Co-op does work but it takes a bit to work. I think its a great game but I would recommend getting it on sale.

I found it quite fun, though it does have it's downsides. Playing solo is not the greatest, playing with a friend is a lot more fun, and quite a bit easier. But getting co-op to work is a bit confusing at first.
The game it self looks good, with a quite unique art style, maybe lacks a bit of character customization, but it's not too necessary. A lot of different weapons, with a lot of different attack animations, so do try every single one you come across to find the one you like the best. Bosses are few and quite far away from each other, but they are fun to fight and not too difficult, me and my friend found it more difficult to get to the bosses, rather than bosses themselves. Stamina is very limited, and fighting and navigating in the dark is annoying, not being able to use a two handed weapon and a lantern was frustrating. The world has some very different looking areas, which makes it more enjoyable to explore. Also it's very nice to see the main base area expand and flourish as you progress through the game.
As a whole, a lot more fun that I had expected, even with it's flaws. I do recommend it.

8/10
Great For co-op. Not so good for single. Some minor problems, but over all a great game. Well recommended.