Ashes of Oahu

About

Ashes of Oahu is a single player role playing game with a violence theme. It was developed by smiegt and was released on August 13, 2019. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Ashes of Oahu" is an open-world, action-adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic Hawaii. The player must survive by scavenging for resources, crafting weapons and tools, and building a settlement. Along the way, they'll encounter factions vying for power and make choices that will shape the future of the island.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

45%

Audience ScoreBased on 44 reviews

story6 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game features a unique setting with a large open-world map that is visually appealing and colorful, reminiscent of games like Far Cry.
There is a depth of gameplay with a variety of quests, character development, and a skill tree that allows for customization and strategic choices.
Despite its flaws, the game has an intangible charm and interesting dialogue that can keep players engaged, especially those familiar with the Hawaiian culture.

The combat is clunky and frustrating, with technical issues such as glitches, poor enemy AI, and a lack of polish that detracts from the overall experience.
There is a significant absence of voice acting, which makes the game feel lifeless and can lead to a lack of immersion in the story.
The game suffers from optimization issues, including long load times, crashes, and a confusing user interface, making it difficult for players to enjoy the experience fully.

story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
68%
11%
The game's story features a large island with numerous quests and five factions, where player choices impact faction relationships and progression. While the narrative has potential with engaging dialogue and character development, it suffers from bugs and a lack of polish, leading to confusion in quest navigation and a feeling of being railroaded. Overall, the story is considered decent but not exceptional, reflecting the indie nature of the title.
- “There are 5 factions in the game, and your actions and the missions you complete will determine how they feel about you; the raider will always hate you, as they are your main enemy.”
- “Lots of dialogue to progress the story, and choices will affect your faction progression.”
- “It is not really open world, as there are sometimes baffling invisible walls to keep you on the rails they want to keep you on. The RPG is okay, but the controls are bad, the UI is bad, and the story is lacking in most every way.”
- “As soon as I got to the first town, 'the village' I believe it was called, the on-screen quest giver icons and the quest icons were just jumbled up and very confusing.”
- “While some of the quests are bugged, the graphics and storyline are great.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
83%
17%
The graphics of the game receive mixed feedback, with some players appreciating the beautifully cell-shaded visuals and detailed textures, while others express disappointment over technical issues and crashes that detract from the experience. Although the game world is well-defined and the character models are decent, many feel the graphics do not live up to the initial advertising, leading to frustration among users. Overall, while the graphics are not considered terrible, they fall short of being exceptional.
- “The graphics are beautifully cell shaded with mostly very detailed textures. The characters have nice models, if lacking in some detailed animation. The animals feel good enough and like they belong in the world (until they run into a building and get stuck). The buildings look as you would expect in the post-apocalyptic world the game is set in; it feels like a well-defined game world.”
- “While some of the quests are bugged, the graphics and storyline are great.”
- “Story, graphics, and combat were all good, but no voice acting was throwing me off.”
- “Very upset at the fact that the graphics are not as advertised.”
- “The graphics are disappointing and do not match the promotional material.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The game faces notable optimization issues, requiring players to lower settings significantly to achieve smoother performance and reduce stuttering, often without a noticeable loss in visual fidelity. While some technical glitches can be frustrating, many users find the experience rewarding once these adjustments are made.
- “The game is rewarding once you get past some technical glitches. I only lost some major frustration once I dropped my settings to medium and saw no loss in fidelity, but major increases in performance.”
- “It's a good game; it has a few optimization issues, likely causing your GPU to warm up.”
- “I had to put the settings on as low as they go and disable some settings altogether in order to even play without it constantly stuttering.”
- “But stick with it you must -- the game is rewarding once you get past some technical glitches. I only lost some major frustration once I dropped my settings to medium and saw no loss in fidelity, but major increases in performance.”
- “I had to put the settings on as low as they go and disable some settings altogether in order to even play without it constantly stuttering.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The gameplay is described as enjoyable and set in an amazing world, despite some significant issues such as inconsistent speed, lack of a field of view slider, non-remappable keys, and a frustrating bug that can cause character immobilization. Overall, players find the game finishable but marred by these gameplay-related problems.
- “No matter the glaring problems, to me the game is totally finishable, and again, amazing world, and gameplay, beautifully enjoyable.”
- “The gameplay slows and speeds up at a constant frequency on any setting above low.”
- “No FOV slider, no remappable keys, and a bug that made my character stuck after 3 minutes of gameplay.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Character development in this indie title is praised for its depth, featuring extensive skill trees, factions, and weapon customization, which contribute to a rich gameplay experience. However, some reviewers note that the limited budget and time constraints are evident, impacting the overall polish of the character development aspects.
- “As I said, it’s not perfect and you should not head into the game expecting a huge AAA budgeted title. It is an indie title but feels like it’s sat between the two camps. The developers have lovingly crafted a large play world with deep skill trees, factions, weapon customization, character development, and a ton of missions to do, but they clearly have a limited amount of time and budget to get everything done, and this shows in a few areas.”
- “The character development feels underwhelming, as if the developers had grand ideas but couldn't fully realize them due to time and budget constraints.”
- “While the game offers a large world and various systems, the character development lacks depth and fails to engage players meaningfully.”
- “Despite the presence of skill trees and factions, the character development feels rushed and incomplete, leaving players wanting more.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the humor in the game's portrayal of Oahu, particularly noting that the exaggerated inaccuracies of the map add a comedic element. This lighthearted take resonates well with players familiar with the actual location.
- “As a born and raised resident of actual Oahu, the butchering of the map is actually pretty funny.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The game experiences technical glitches that can hinder stability, but players report improved performance by lowering graphics settings without sacrificing visual quality. Overall, perseverance through these issues is often rewarded with a satisfying experience.
- “The game is rewarding once you get past some technical glitches. I only lost some major frustration once I dropped my settings to medium and saw no loss in fidelity, but major increases in performance.”
- “There are frequent crashes that disrupt the gameplay experience, making it hard to enjoy the game fully.”
- “I encountered several bugs that caused the game to freeze, which was incredibly frustrating during critical moments.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Users express frustration with the music aspect of the game, noting that there is only a single sound bar for all audio, preventing them from turning off the music. This limitation has led to disappointment, particularly in light of unmet expectations regarding graphics.
- “I am very upset that the graphics are not as advertised, and there is only one sound bar for everything, so you can't turn off the music.”
- “The music is repetitive and lacks variety, making it hard to enjoy the game for long periods.”
- “The soundtrack feels out of place and doesn't match the game's atmosphere, which detracts from the overall experience.”