Hardcore Gamers Look Set For a Promising Adventure in Of Ash and Steel
Ready to get your ass kicked?
It feels like we’ve had a huge amount of cozy games and roguelites over the past couple of years, and very few in terms of harder RPG-style games. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve had our fair share of soulslikes, but what I mean is that we haven’t had many of those somewhere-in-between games.
Of Ash and Steel is one of those, straying closer to soulslike than cozy, with challenging combat and very little guidance. If that sounds like something you’d enjoy, here’s the quick breakdown.
Made for Gameplay
I didn’t get to spend a great deal of time with Of Ash and Steel, but my first impressions were a little rough. It looks like something that belongs in 2013, not 2025 – but there is a certain nostalgic charm that kept me playing through the overly long intro.
The intro also features some pretty sub-standard acting, but then we’ve also been spoiled with AA and AAA releases that have taken acting in gaming to a whole new level.
This first sequence of the game is uninspired, if you ask me, but once you’re through it, the world opens up a fair bit. I’m not sure if I had just gotten used to the style or not, but the first NPC I met after the intro already seemed better in quality than what had come before.
And so, you’re thrust into the world with very little guidance. There are no map markers – in fact, you don’t even start with a map at all. So it’s a little tough finding your way around. It’s obviously intentional, but for those who don’t like this quirk, a mod maker will likely give us something for this before we know it.
And then there’s the combat. Your character can swing a sword, and that’s about it. You aren’t a sword-slinging superhero; you aren’t the mighty Kratos, no. You’re just a cartographer with arms like noodles and an unwieldy piece of steel.
My first solo fight was also my last, as the giant bug made me look like the amateur I am. At least I managed to slay a few rats, though. Like a lot of more hardcore games, it’ll be tough to get into this one, but once you are, it’ll keep you busy for countless hours.
It was made to emulate the old-school RPG, so if you were around for the original Oblivion and enjoyed that era of gaming, Of Ash and Steel will take you straight back to the late 2000s and early 2010s. And it will kick your ass all the way there.
That is, at least, until you find some better gear and level up those stats a bit.
