Ashen Review: Is It Worth Playing?

Ashen is absolutely worth buying for fans of atmospheric, challenging action RPGs. Its strengths lie in its stunning, minimalist art direction, a compelling passive co-op system that creates spontaneous alliances, and a satisfying sense of progression as you rebuild the town of Vagrant's Rest. While the combat can feel derivative of Souls-likes and the pacing is deliberate, the unique world-building and emotional payoff of its quiet narrative make it a memorable experience, especially for indie and genre enthusiasts.

A standard playthrough of Ashen's main story takes approximately 15 to 20 hours. Completionists looking to uncover all secrets, complete every side quest, and fully upgrade their gear and town can expect to spend 25 to 30 hours. The game's length is well-paced, with exploration and challenging boss encounters accounting for a significant portion of the time. There is no New Game+ mode, but the journey offers substantial content for its price point.

Ashen features a unique passive multiplayer system, not traditional matchmaking or invites. You journey with an AI companion that is seamlessly replaced by another online player's character when they are in the same area. You cannot directly invite a specific friend; cooperation is organic and anonymous. However, you can increase the chance of pairing by using a multiplayer filter called 'Journey Code' to match with someone using the same code, allowing for planned co-op with a friend.

Ashen was released on PC (Epic Games Store, later Steam), Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch. There is no announced plan for a native PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X|S version, but it benefits from backward compatibility. Ashen was previously featured on Xbox Game Pass but has since been removed. Its availability on subscription services can change, so it's best to check the current Xbox PC Game Pass or other service libraries directly.

Ashen is heavily inspired by Dark Souls, sharing stamina-based combat, bonfire-like checkpoints, and a high difficulty curve. However, it carves its own identity. The art style is minimalist and bright rather than gothic, and its core theme is community-building, not hollowing. The passive co-op makes companionship central, contrasting with Souls' often solitary struggle. While its combat and enemy variety are less deep, Ashen offers a more accessible and narratively hopeful take on the formula, focusing on rebirth and connection in a dead world.