Ashen subverts expectations. It manages to take the Souls genre, deconstruct it and make it feel originally its own. From the art style to the lovingly-crafted areas you venture through, you can tell that this was a passion project for the development team at A44. Slight performance issues aside, Ashen is a wonderful action role-playing game that respects the player’s desire to explore. It’s some of the most fun I’ve had with my Xbox One this year and well worth the time of anyone who is a fan of the genre, as well as a great entry point for those who are curious – a true independent gem.

The relationships you forge define your adventure through Ashen, and helping your new friends is a powerful motivator that drives you forward through the game's beautiful world.

With an amazing art design and a polished and clean atmosphere, Ashen is far more than a basic Dark Souls clone. It has a more friendly universe and game philosophy, but sometimes fails to be fun, especially when it comes to AI cooperation or online multiplayer.

An inspired approach to co-op and non-player characters turns what could’ve been just another Dark Souls clone into one of the most interesting action adventures of the season.

Ironically, although Ashen is one of the better Souls-like games, its strengths emerge the more it deviates from the template. With a distinctive art style and approach to co-op, base-building and character interaction, Ashen suffers in those areas in which its Souls model outshines it: fluid and varied combat being the most obvious area. Taken apart from its inspiration, though, Ashen is still an entertaining and elegant experience.

Ashen won’t light the world on fire, but it’s a decent RPG with a mysterious setting. While it follows a well-known formula, it has worthwhile side quests, and the larger spaces are enjoyable to explore. Though it may never come close to the heights of the games that it takes inspiration from, Ashen is still an entertaining expedition overall.

Ashen now holds the dubious honor of being the first game I couldn’t bring myself to finish before posting a review. Well done, Ashen — you broke me. It’s just a shame you didn’t do it in a more interesting or cleverly-designed manner.