Ashen

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.

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.

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

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.

Honestly, this game is a gem. It was gifted to me by a friend, and I've been captivated by its charm ever since. The music is enchanting, the landscapes are breathtaking, and the combat is simply exhilarating. It's an easy 9.5 out of 10 in my book.
However, there are a couple of drawbacks:
The multiplayer feature seems to be currently down, which is a bit of a letdown because I was looking forward to exploring it with friends.
There's been talk circulating that the game has been abandoned, which is really disheartening considering its potential.
To the developers: I want to extend my heartfelt thanks for creating such an incredible experience. Despite the setbacks, "Ashen" remains a standout title that has left a lasting impression on me.

A souls-like game with unique visual style and a world that changes as you progress through the game. Music on the other hand was not very memorable. The story didn't interest me enough to keep following it so I ended up skipping majority of it. Therefore, I can't say much about the story of this game. Played the entire game as a duo co-op and the game was very easy (even for someone who doesn't really play souls-like games). Only boss that took more than 1 try was the very first one and that was because the arena was so dark that we couldn't actually see the boss for most of the fight. Game runs very well, did not encounter any bugs, glitches or frame drops. There were however, problems with the AI companion that you can summon - the AI was very stupid and the NPC would just stay behind as you make your way through the level and didn't even engage in combat half the time. The game has some fun parkour sections and also has cool co-op mechanic where you can boost each other over higher walls. The biggest issues for me was the lack of enemy variety and the bosses being very easy. Running through the dungeon and clearing all the enemies to get to the boss was harder than the boss itself. Lastly, the gear system was not ideal as well. You can find new weapons but majority of them drop at level 1 so you need to level them up a lot if you want them to be better than your currently used weapon. This wouldn't be a problem if the level upgrades weren't as expensive as they were. Overall, 6/10, I recommend it if you want a chill game to play with a friend.

A Charming Disappointment. The gameplay is fun, except for some really long dull runs back to boss doors. What sucks is the loot. It's nearly all the same 5 items. Also, the trailer for coop is nothing like what you will experience. Coop is a joke, good luck getting it to work - it's random at best of times. If this had proper coop and just more rewarding exploration it would have been a top tier game. As it is, it's worth playing through once. Forget the DLC.