

The same goes for combat in Solar Ash, which is a bit of a letdown. Grappling is a big mechanic in Solar Ash and can only be done in particular spots.ĭuring Anomaly fights a lot of the points I needed to hit were grapple spots, and that just consists of spamming the right bumper, ultimately taking away any real sense of challenge in place of a visual feast. My only gripe with some of the fights is that a few of them felt more cinematic and less like I was the one doing the work. Smash each one on your way across to be able to deliver a decisive blow to the Anomaly.

Every fight is a race against the clock presented as needles across the Anomalies back. The other half is perfecting your platforming at high speeds across the backs of these creatures. Learning the quirks and tricks of each Anomaly is half the battle. Much like Shadow of The Colossus, you’re tasked with making it to the weak point and stabbing it multiple times to defeat it, but the real thrill is in the hunt. The Anomalies have a heavy presence when awakened, roaming around the area just waiting for you to grapple on and begin the fight for dominance. Each one is more bombastic than the last, I couldn’t keep my eyes off the beauty and sheer terror each one presents. This is coupled with the Anomaly fights themselves.

Seriously, Solar Ash just feels incredible to play when you nail the movement. When you’re gliding across broken landmasses and the ocean of connective tissue between spots, it feels fantastic.
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On more than one occasion, it took me multiple tries to understand that I couldn’t just brute force my way through a section but had to learn how to move around the environment with precision. Frequently, it will require you to think about the way to level is laid out and what tools you have at your disposal for mobility. This time trails aren’t just a race against the clock.
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Once you’ve found them, it will require completing a time trial that ultimately ends in your stabbing the eye with your needle and removing the corruption from an area. These eyeballs are found all of the areas, often requiring precise platform and puzzle-solving to reach. Boost off a ledge and then double jump to get some distance for hard-to-reach ledges, or maybe use your Timeslip ability to help extend the reach of your grapple.Īs you explore each environment in Solar Ash, you’ll have to remove a set number of eyeballs from the area to awaken the Anomaly to defeat. Every puzzle is designed around combining your movement abilities and options. You’re tasked with exploring the Ultravoid and taking out the giant Anomalies scattered across the color and broken landscape in front of you. It isn’t about unlocking upgrades, skill trees, or powering up. Rei’s entire traversal toolkit is given to you at the beginning of the game. Rei, the main character is a race known as the Voidrunners when her planet is hurling into the Ultravoid, it’s up to her to activate a device known as the Starseed and protect her race and planet from destruction. Instead of worrying about grip meters and being methodical, you are put on a timer and forced to perfect your platforming and high-speed skating across the bodies of these large beasts, also known as Anomalies. Solar Ash, the latest game from developer Heart Machine, is Shadow of the Colossus, but fast. Sometimes, the elevator pitch for the game does it the most justice. Stringing together a cascade of adjectives and witty metaphors to convey your points. Sometimes, when you’re trying to describe a game, you don’t want to sound reductive or sell a game short.
