Solar Ash Reviews
If you have a few hours to spend and want to play something that is unlike anything else this year, then Solar Ash is absolutely worth checking out. Anyone who is a fan of the action-adventure genre will no doubt enjoy this memorable experience.
An endearing experience with a well-integrated narrative, Solar Ash trades the action of its predecessor for speed-based platforming. It's a compelling play, but it feels a little light.
Even with some rough edges, Heart Machine's latest is an endearing 3D platformer with its own unique hooks, carried by some strong lore, level design and aesthetics.
Solar Ash does a lot of things right but it still lacks some much-needed depth to make it a complete package. It may have come later than expected but Solar Ash is a hidden gem that shouldn't be missed by gaming enthusiasts.
If you’re looking for an exciting platformer with a stellar style and fast-paced action, Solar Ash will scratch that itch and more. Its puzzle-solving and exploration are hefty enough without overstaying its welcome. It’s not without flaws, but despite all of them, the mobility in Solar Ash is unrivaled, making it one of my favorite platformers in recent memory.
Solar Ash does not hide his influences, moreover, he becomes strong in them. Do not expect an indie of those who seek to revolutionize classic proposals, rather it is the opposite. It is a title that knows how to mix with success some of the most interesting ingredients of the video games that serve as inspiration. But most of all, it's a remarkable three-dimensional platformer, and that's always good news.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
By making Solar Ash radically different from Hyper Light Drifter, Heart Machine has avoided boxing themselves into a niche while being able to continue and build a universe they clearly care for. It wears its influences on its sleeve and comes together as a cosmic mix of a few games held dear by many, and as long as they continue to do this, I'll eat it up until I am far beyond full.
Solar Ash is at its best when you can skate a line perfectly and enter that satisfying flow state where nothing can stop you. The only thing Solar Ash asks of you is to fall into its groove and fall in love with its style, and if you can do that, you will have a wonderful time.
An excellent sci-fi platformer with exquisite art design and sublime traversal mechanics, which finds distinctive ground among its obvious inspirations.
Solar Ash plays as well as it looks with a strong story at the heart
Solar Ash has the audiovisual style of Hyper Light Drifter, the clashes against titans of Shadow of the Colossus, the scrolling mechanics of Jet Set Radio and the level design of Super Mario Galaxy. Is there really more to say?
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Anyone who likes fast-paced platformers with a gorgeous sense of style will enjoy Solar Ash. Who knows - maybe fans of a certain blue hedgehog can play a good 3D game for once.
I’ve fallen in love with Solar Ash. It proves to be one of the best recent action-adventure games with a stunning sci-fi world, rich with bits of lore and worldbuilding to unravel. It may have come just under the wire in terms of 2021 releases, but it’s still a game that’s a must-play. Step on in and you have an experience with none of the fat and all of the glory. Gameplay that feels fluid and satisfying, moments and cinematography that feel like paintings of art, a story that resolves in an impacting way… this game has it all. Heart Machine you’ve bloody done it again.
Solar Ash combines complex ideas with simple and exciting gameplay in a way that few games are able to, and the final product is nothing short of remarkable. The visual style and soundtrack create the atmosphere, and the excellent writing of Rei and her journey use it to tell a story of grief, and how we can use it to build something better. Heart Machine's passion is clear, and Solar Ash is a triumph that manages to be incredibly fun despite its deeply emotional core. The game's world may be cold and unfeeling on the surface, but that'll only make you want to connect with it more. Solar Ash is an example of Heart Machine's exciting, compelling, lightning-in-a-bottle brilliance, and more than deserves to be considered among 2021's greatest games.
Solar Ash is a spectacular achievement and a worthy successor to Heat Machine’s previous release. The fast and fluid movement makes exploration a delightful dance through the absurd. Although the structure is a little repetitive, the moment-to-moment gameplay is thrilling. Large and intense boss battles are the highlight of the game, creating jaw-dropping sequences that will leave you yearning for more.
Solar Ash is a neon dream that will not fail to delight fans of Hyper Light Drifter and beyond.
That emptiness only becomes harder to ignore when the story foregrounds itself, pulling you back for chats with your AI partner or scattering insipid post-apocalyptic lore documents all over the levels. For all of Solar Ash’s sense of genuine, thrilling speed in its mechanics, the game fails to muster any sense of accompanying narrative momentum, content to warm over imagery and ideas from Anno Hideaki’s Neon Genesis Evangelion, Shadow of the Colossus, and countless media inspired by each. Solar Ash reaches for awe and splendor somewhere beyond its overall poverty of imagination, succeeding occasionally yet also suggesting that the wordless storytelling of Hyper Light Drifter had been the right way to go.
Solar Ash was a bit of a mixed experience, with not all aspects meeting the high quality of its core features. The first-rate visuals and the fluid movement system do lots of heavy lifting and do still outweigh the negatives to provide a world worth exploring in a way that will be hard not to enjoy.
As maddening as it is beautiful, Solar Ash's gorgeous aesthetic is thoroughly undermined by traversal mechanics that are neither fun nor intuitive.
While I would have liked a bit more variety, what Solar Ash gives is a beautiful, vivid, technological adventure that drips with style. Its fluid traversal, combat and puzzle-like sections are a joy to navigate, as are its hulking bosses. Solar Ash is like nothing else on the market at the moment and that alone is enough for me to recommend it. What more could you want than a stunning, fluid, unique game? Not much, I reckon.