Ashen

I have no idea why this has a mixed rating, well maybe a couple, first your AI companion is pretty dumb but kind of a meat sponge too, you learn to deal.
Multiplayer is not set up great for randoms.
Get passed all that and you have one of the best souls like games.
Exploring is encouraged and rewarded with the same pay off as Dark Souls
Where it does things a little different is as you do npc side and main quests you actually get
to recruit them back to your main village to finish buiding the village and to become proper vendors.
The in game currency functions the same as souls like if you died and can not make it back to your body you lose it.
But in Ashen you get to buy pots that store currency with a fee,want to save 250 it going to cost you 300 but you
will not lose it.
Also there is fast travel about a third into the game, not every post can be traveled to, but most can.
Combat is a little different, but when you get it, is rewarding, having a companion whose quest you are on go
with you is pretty cool too.
Is it worth full price, I would say yes, but there are always sales on GMG or Fanatical for 75% off then it's a steal.
Don't get me wrong the game will piss you off at times, but it worth pushing through to see it's greatness.

if your game crashes instantly (or within 5 minutes of launching) it's because of an old intel bug related to OpenSSL 1.2, which is used by the unreal engine version that this game runs on. It occurs when you have a 10th or 11th gen intel cpu.
From what i could find there's no permanent solution for this, however i did find this workaround that fixes it:
Step 1. Open "Control Panel" by searching for it in Windows search bar, by pressing the Windows button or key.
Step 2. Go to "System & Security"
Step 3. Go to "System"
Step 3. Press "Advanced system settings"
Step 4. Press "Environmental Variables"
Step 5. Create a new "System Variable" (NOT USER VARIABLE)
Step 6. Enter the following into the Variable name box: OPENSSL_ia32cap
Step 7. Enter the following into the Variable value box: ~0x20000000
Step 8. Now press OK.
you may need to restart your system for the changes to take effect.
From what i can tell this doesn't affect your system at all, as you simply add another variable.
In case you do want to check up on this however, you can check the following intel article that goes into the specifics
Game is pretty good btw :^)

I've played all From Software games except Sekiro. Ashen isn't Dark Souls by any means but it's still a great game. There is no way to say that it is objectively a bad game, as some describe in their negative reviews. It's a "souls-like" no "Dark Souls".
Due to the mixed reviews, I almost didn't buy the game and in hindsight missed out on a really special, immersive and atmospheric experience. In fact, I'm willing to think that, in my opinion, Ashen is one of the most underrated titles on Steam.
Don't let the mixed Steam reviews fool you.

If you are looking for a game with deep mechanics and exhilirating boss fights, like sekiro or bloodborne, do not buy this game. But if you are looking for a game with some of the best ambiance, beautiful visuals and a unique artstyle, then you have found what you are looking for. Also, its kind of like mini elden ring in some ways.

This is a tricky one. Many aspects of this game are absolutely amazing, but there are certain things that drag it down a peg.
I'll start with the good stuff:
Visually this game is amazing. probably my favourite visual style I have ever seen. It's consistent, yet still varied, beautiful yet haunting, and there are moments that made my jaw drop and I just sat in awe.
The soundtrack is also one of the best I have heard. It steers away from the usual european orchestral sound and nails it, creating a truly unique, haunting and beautiful sound, that perfectly emphasises important moments and adds a subtle drum track when you enter combat, in a way that feels perfectly natural.
Combat generally feels good, but is dragged down by the AI companion (which I’ll get to).
And the few bosses there are, feel good, but not exceptional. There is a wide array of weapons, even if none feel drastically different from the rest.
Now to the bad stuff:
The AI companion is a questionable decision. At the best of times it’s a nice helping hand, but most of the time is just a distraction that lessens the flow of combat. It can be turned off, but there are certain ledges you can’t climb and certain doors you can’t open without the AI companion, and since the game is balanced around the companion being there, turning it off is not really a viable way to play for most people on their first playthrough.
There are also way too few bosses, and about half of the few there are, are just beefed up versions of standard enemies. Two of them are genuinely good, even if one of them is made a little worse by spawning in little minions in the second phase. Enemy variety is also bad, with most enemy movesets being reused for most areas. Weapon variety is also not that great, while they do feel pretty good, every weapon is just a variation of hammer or axe, two handed or one handed.
The game is also too long. It adds an extra area at the end. right after one of the best areas in the game that felt like it led up to the a climactic end, the game just keeps going, adding an annoying swamp area that halts the pace right before the end.
TL;DR
The game is good. Really good. Even if its only true strengths lie in its presentation, with the gameplay leaving a bit to be desired, it manages to a successful and unique take on the soulslike genre.

+ Coop
+ World has multiple biomes with different atmosphere and is interessting
+ "Building" the Base
+ the lamp is great in dungeons for atmosphere (without total darkness)
+ all weapons are usable. Take what you like.
+ exploring is rewarded with loot
~ Coop connection is wierd but works (just sending an invite to a friend would be to easy I guess)
~ all weapons are kinda the same, just different movesets
~ lock on can be wierd
~ not alot of playtime
~ always with a bot/other player is fun (can be deactivated)
- very basic combat moves not much to learn (light, heavy, loaded heavy, shieldbash (nearly useless), block, throwing spears)
- boring bosses
- two handed weapons not useable in dungeons because you need the lamp
- dodging is weak (low i-frames)
- the chest is too small for storing all equipment and putting it on the ground removes it for the whole run
A good game for two when it's on sale.

This is another Dark Souls style of game. Reminds me alot of the game Absolver because of its Aesthetics.
It is so much fun to play with a friend. There are tons of quests and its a solid co-op Story experience that you feel really excited to keep on playing and beating new challenges on the way.
The only problem about this game is the fact that here on steam, u might have trouble to get the game to launch. But I can help you solve this problem, just comment down below and i'll talk to you!
A SOLID 9.0/10