Microsoft’s 90 minute conference at E3 was crowded, that’s for sure. One game that really stuck out to us here at B3 however was the musty and worn looking world of Ashen – and the characters and creatures that live within it. As such, we’ve gathered together everything we can find about the upcoming title.
Ashen, developed by New Zealand based studio Aurora44, is an Unreal Engine powered action RPG set in a fallen, post-societal world inspired by The Road. Player’s control a faceless character as they make their way through a dangerous open world trying to survive against the odds. The game features a passive mutliplayer mode wherein you are anonymously matched with others, ensuring that trust through skill and reliability is a keen theme in the game.
The world is filled with strange, otherworldly creatures and lands, requiring a quick mind, and solid timing, in order to best the flora and fauna of its world.
Ashen was originally announced for ID@Xbox back at Microsoft’s 2015 E3 stage show – you can watch that here. The 2015 presentation certainly told a darker tale, one of death around every corner, and opportunity only after great strife.
There is, of course, hope to be found. Those other, faceless, adventurers can both aid you in combat, or -once they’ve disconnected- they can join up to be a part of your settlement as an NPC -if you invited them to do so while they were online. This was detailed in an interview between Windows Central and game director Derek Bradley
“If you take someone else to your town, they disconnect upon entering – becoming a permanent NPC. Those NPCs provide services, character progression, town progression and story insight.”
Derek had also discussed how the game would handle character progression,
“Character progression in Ashen can be found in our Talisman system. Talismans that can be found or crafted, unlocking character perks. These Talisman perks are very much story driven. They will do simple things like increase your carry weight or give you access to more complex things like an animal companion.”
Ashen will be launching -once it’s ready- for both Xbox One & Windows PC.
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