Developer: Heart Machine
Avaliable on: Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, Playstation 5
My first impulse buy of 2022 was Solar Ash. One look at the trailer and one glance at its ratings online were enough for me to make the $40 purchase.
Solar Ash is basically Shadow of the Colossus if Shadow of the Colossus took place in a colorful, vibrant world and the main character was an astronaut on speed.
The movement of the game is reminiscent of Sonic games. Our hero, Rei, has access to skates that allow her to move much more quickly but with less control. Her momentum is maintained at pretty much all times, even when she’s attacking. Also at her disposal is a grappling hook that allows her to fling herself into the air. The movement in the game is very smooth and satisfying.
Rei’s home planet is on course to colliding with a black hole. To address this, Rei and a group of her fellow “voidrunners” travel to the edge of the universe to find the star seed, a device supposedly capable of destroying black holes. Standing in her way is a series of “anomalies”. Clearing anomalies involves undergoing a series of relay races of sorts where you have to hit a number of these crystal-looking objects in time.
The game sadly follows a predictable and repetitive pattern. In each major area, there are 5 anomalies that must be cleared. Once that happens, a “massive anomaly” appears, and you do a few more of these relay races, only this time on the body of a giant monster.
It’s fun and it’s backed up by a great soundtrack, but after the 4th iteration or so, it gets kinda old. The game does introduce new mechanics it goes on, like surfaces that hurt you if you’re not moving fast enough or mushrooms that generate a grind rail in the direction you hit it, but ultimately none of these serve as the breath of fresh air the game needs.
You know what’s not fun? Mind-numbing searches. Unfortunately, that’s what every single side quest in the game entails. While the world is beautiful and zipping around in it is fun, searching every nook and cranny in it proves to be nothing more than a chore. The worst part is most of the game’s lore is within these side quests. Although the overarching plot is complete regardless, getting the full story means going through these boring scavenger hunts.
The story is good for the most part. Like an increasing number of games it seems, it deals mainly with the anxiety of impending doom. The dialogue is a bit rough at times, but it’s never cringeworthy. The voice acting is not bad, but it’s not necessarily great either.
The grind it takes to get to the end of the game proved to be worth it though. Its ending is beautiful, and it made my first impulse buy of the year one that I did not regret.