Solar Ash Reviews
Despite its strengths, Solar Ash fails to skate free from the gravity of its influences.
Despite the comparisons it might draw to Shadow of the Colossus, Jet Set Radio or Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash delivers a wholly unique experience that combines a smooth, unparalleled sense of speed, incredible level design, and a gorgeous art style. Even if the same can't be said about its narrative or controls, Solar Ash skates in at the last minute to become one of the year's most interesting games.
Controlling Rei in Solar Ash's beautiful world is an absolute joy, with fluid, precise, and simple controls as well as a diverse set of challenges to overcome. Unfortunately, there are more than a few moments where the normally excellent level design suddenly becomes tedious and annoying.
Solar Ash is an emotional game with a lot of heart. It’s a feast for the eyes, with an incredible movement system, and a world built around your core moveset. The story isn’t as consistent but still wraps up nicely.
[T]his 3D action platformer is as good as it gets. Definitely a speedrunner's delight, if you're into that sort of thing. And if you love unfolding stories with that personal touch injected with high concept sci-fi, Solar Ash's tale will delight alongside its mesmerizing visuals and score.
Solar Ash is one of the best games of the year. It looks gorgeous, its story is pretty unique and surprising, and its set-piece moments get really intense, as you might expect from skating along the back of a black goo and bone dragon. It's a nice surprise to end the year with that any "skating combined with combat and gigantic monsters" enthusiasts, which is definitely already a thing.
Solar Ash defines the new standard for open-world indie games by providing an absolutely lovely world to traverse, with a beautiful soundtrack to listen to. From the flow of movement and smooth platforming, to the giant colossi and heartwarming story, I had to step back to discover I was playing a fine piece of art.
Solar Ash is a non-stop roller-coaster of pulse pounding gameplay and intriguing narrative. A must-play!
Solar Ash is repetitive and short, but that doesn't take away from how fun the core gameplay is. The developers have nailed Solar Ash's traversal system, making it genuinely fun to explore and complete the various platforming challenges. The art style is striking, the bosses are impressive, and while it may not have the same lasting impact Hyper Light Drifter did, Solar Ash is still worth checking out for fans of Heart Machine's work and the 3D platformer genre in general.
In its lesser moments, it comes off as a singular presentation looking for a more involved game underneath, better combat and better bosses which could more effectively serve these assets. It still remains a worthwhile quest to see through to the end, but games like Solar Ash are frustrating in that they could have been so much more.
A compelling game, which loses a few shots due to a narrative that is not quite up to par.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Solar Ash is a little more ambitious than Hyper Light Drifter with its jump to 3D, but it has traded ambition for quality. The gameplay puts up the impression that it wants to be a kinetic platformer, yet it’s a shallow imitation of one that repeats a depressing number of times before it hits credits. Like a solar flare, Solar Ash hits players with a sharp burst of energy as it opens with some promising, speedy mechanics. But that energy quickly dissipates as it loses momentum right after its initial explosion as it trudges from level to level and never picks back up.
When you want to get rid quickly of level bosses just so you can get back to running down ramps and trampolines, there is something amiss with the balance of the game. And this is exactly the issue with Solar Ash: common enemies aren't a big threat and boss battles break the flow, and not a in a great way. Exploring the game's bizarre worlds, on the other hand, is extremely fun, and requires above average amounts of skill and timing. If you are looking for a fast-paced 3D action platformer that also offers a good story, Solar Ash is a solid choice.
Review in Italian | Read full review
This unquestionably beautiful game about saving a planet from an encroaching black hole boldly goes where few have remained awake
Solar Ash just managed to make it out in 2021 but it instantly became one of my favorite games of the year. It has an interesting story that got its hooks in me from the get go and the visuals and art direction are jaw dropping. Even though you spend a lot of the time doing a lot of the same things over and over the gameplay never got old to me as the fast and fluid movement system is so darn thrilling as are the towering boss fights. Solar Ash is a lot different from Hyper Light Drifter but it’s another must-play from Heart Machine.
Solar Ash is another hugely stylish venture from Heart Machine, though it’s not terribly long. Exploring any area to its fullest ran me about two to four hours and the whole thing ran about 11 hours for me when it was all said and done. Nonetheless, the graceful feel of movement, platforming, and combat in this game can’t be denied, and it’s accompanied by a lush and interesting mix of neon, natural, and industrial landscapes caught up in Solar Ash’s Voidspace. There’s a little jank in the controls here at here, but generally, for such a quick game, Solar Ash glides like a cosmic dream.
Solar Ash has a strong core gameplay loop, but its weak story and heavy repetition make it tough to recommend.
Where Solar Ash goes from an intriguing ambient platformer to one of the year’s most fascinating releases is in its fixation on living as an act of being stuck.
Solar Ash is a beautiful adventure across worlds. While it can feel rather empty pacing-wise and overly ambitious to a fault, it’s still worth playing for people who love colour-filled skies and a huge expanse to skate across. Just don’t expect the combat to blow you away or the story to give you an existential crisis.