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

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.

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 than I had expected, even with it's flaws. I do recommend it.

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.

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.

Really enjoyed and highly recommend! The game gets a little same-y by the end, but it's such a competent souls-like game and the coop, while a little finnicky, worked well :)