I do have a couple of issues with Solar Ash that prevent it from truly being great, however, including its repetitive nature, performance, and replayability.
But it also reinforces the feeling that there’s not very much to see in this world-that it’s pretty but ultimately flavorless.In my preview of the game, I discussed how excited I was for it because of its unique and intriguing design, fast-paced traversal, and intense combat. Overall, I really enjoyed this game and it lived up to my expectations. In one sense, this approach frees you from needing to always be on guard to grab some arcane collectible that you might need later. The deposits of plasma you may find are only good for repairing your shield, and you only need to stop and look around the environment for some hidden nook when you spot the glowing sigil that signals a nearby Voidrunner cache. Platformers figure heavily into Solar Ash’s DNA, but the game takes a surprisingly restrained approach to the genre’s typical collect-a-thon design.
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Boss battles function the same way, albeit in much more cinematic fashion as you platform across the skin of a giant monster that patrols the area. The game is acutely aware that movement is its strength, as the ooze-encrusted eyeballs you must destroy to progress are always confronted in miniature time trials where you have to skate, climb, and jump around an area while swatting at weak points that lead to a final finishing blow. But where those games and many action games in general opt to let characters perform their most complex actions in moments of minimal control that might as well be on autopilot (if they’re not done entirely in cutscenes), Solar Ash locates a middle ground to ably split the difference between pure velocity and player control.
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Where the gravitational quirks of the level design recall the Super Mario Galaxy games, the clearest antecedent for Rei effortlessly bounding through the ruined world is the Sonic the Hedgehog series and its emphasis on speed. Similar to the equally pretty and derivative The Pathless, Solar Ash somewhat distracts from its most laughably trite elements with a propulsive, invigorating system of movement. The environments may be little more than video games’ standard-issue wreckage of civilization, but Solar Ash’s later areas in particular are striking to behold, spread out across a sea of strange blue clouds that Rei can move across just like solid ground. The inscrutable nature of the Ultravoid manifests as a lot of floating platforms and winding paths twisted by gravity, taking Rei along walls and ceilings to new areas that let players observe the landmasses that they just navigated a few minutes prior from dizzying new angles. As Rei awakens, though, she realizes that there’s not much of a “they” anymore, as she’s seemingly the only Voidrunner left, all alone except for one of those AI companion characters who makes reference to “logic circuits” and has trouble understanding colloquialisms. You play Rei, who’s part of a team of Voidrunners sent into a black hole called the Ultravoid to activate the Starseed that will keep their home planet from being swallowed up. The giant stab-able eyeballs, colossal boss monsters, and oodles of bad black ooze are all but self-explanatory, even without the rote sci-fi lore and proper nouns tying it all together.
Even a passing familiarity with video game conventions is enough to ensure that you’ll know what to expect from Solar Ash, the second game from the makers of Hyper Light Drifter.