![]() We’ve seen countless great examples of sci-fi trying to examine what lies beyond the unknown, and some of the strangest and hardest hitting successes are the ones that frame seemingly impossible concepts against the comfort and familiarity of life and reality as we know it (I’m looking at you, 2001 and Interstellar). ![]() The game tells a story of sacrifice and loss using exploration as its primary device, and traversing the void to uncover its secrets (and hopefully save your planet) is an utterly sublime experience. From its striking first moments of staring down the business end of a beautifully rendered accretion disk and plunging straight into the Ultravoid on your interstellar skates, Solar Ash is oozing with style, grace, and all of the neon-drenched sci-fi trappings you can handle. The publisher provided a game code for the purposes of this review, and it was reviewed on a PlayStation 5.Skating across the strata of ruined wastes of planets long ago pulled across the event horizon, leaping between outcroppings and weaving through ruined civilizations against the backdrop of impossible geology, you can’t help but wonder how you’ve never played anything like this before. Solar Ash is available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC. It may not be quite the masterwork that Hyper Light Drifter was, but it's still likely to stick with you after the credits roll. That said, the video game world could do with more ambitious, imperfect works like Solar Ash and fewer safer bets. There are a few too many flaws to overlook, and it's hard not to compare it to the masterpieces it hoped to emulate. For me, it is a game that I wish I loved, but only liked, and I fear that will be the most common experience. It's also hard to deny the game's visual splendor. It has a singular artistic vision and a strong enough message that, for the right person at the right time in their life, it's going to ring true in a way that will resonate with them, perhaps like no other work of art. I feel comfortable saying that Solar Ash is going to be someone's favorite game. It's possible to interpret it as being dour, even fatalistic or defeatist, but it's more about growth in the face of loss and an uncertain future than accepting defeat. But late in the game, the narrative takes a turn and becomes a much more meditative and reflective tale about acceptance and moving forward despite failure. At first, it seems another entry in the growing oeuvre of stories about fighting a climate disaster, fixing that which self-interested establishment leaders could or would not. ![]() There are also surprising themes that emerge as players progress through Solar Ash's story. ![]() There are moments - albeit too rare and too brief - when everything does come together, and there's an adrenaline rush as Rei stabs at the eye of another gooey anomaly or burdensome boss. Rei's speed betrays that idea even as the game's camera's inability to keep up with her frustrates the player's attempts to pull off the game's most complex challenges.īut Solar Ash does have its thrills. Shadow of the Colossus created an epic feel by leveraging its grip mechanic and the slowness of the main character, making him feel small when cast against the scale of the colossi. It brings to mind classic extreme sports games like the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series, Jet Set Radio, and SSX Tricky.įighting the game's massive bosses can sometimes be frustrating. The player's ability to pull off quick tricks with Rei's skill is put to the test every time she needs to clear out one of the anomalies blocking her from getting the Starseed back online. Equipped with footwear that functions like futuristic rollerblades, Rei glides over solid terrain and cosmic dust alike and grinds on the most precarious railings. Rei doesn't move like a typical 3D video-game adventurer. The players must control Rei as she attempts to power the Starseed back up and maybe discover what happened to her fellow voidrunners along the way. Despite embarking on the mission as part of a small team, she finds herself alone, and, to make matters worse, the Starseed, the device meant to destroy the Void and save her planet, isn't active. Rei awakens inside the mysterious, all-consuming realm called the Void at the beginning of the game, rendered in neon hues similar to Hyper Light Drifter's palette. She's a voidrunner on a final Hail Mary mission to save her doomed world.
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