Ashes of Oahu
- August 13, 2019
- smiegt
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"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.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and beautifully designed open-world setting inspired by Hawaiian culture, with a large map and interesting quests.
- Despite its flaws, the game offers a deep skill tree, weapon customization, and the ability to transform into animals, providing a variety of gameplay options.
- Players have noted that the game has a certain charm and potential, with engaging dialogue and choices that can affect the story and faction relationships.
- The game suffers from numerous technical issues, including janky controls, frequent crashes, and a lack of voice acting, which detracts from the overall experience.
- Many quests are bugged or poorly designed, leading to confusion and frustration for players trying to progress.
- The absence of autosave and long load times can result in significant loss of progress, making it difficult for players with limited time to enjoy the game.
- story14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as having potential with a variety of quests and faction dynamics that influence gameplay, but it suffers from execution issues such as confusing quest icons and bugs. While the narrative and character development are appreciated, the overall storytelling lacks depth and polish, reflecting its indie status. Players who enjoy open-world RPGs with meaningful choices may still find it engaging despite its shortcomings.
“There are 5 factions in the game, and for 4 of these, your actions and the missions you complete will determine how they feel about you; the final faction, the raiders, 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.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- -33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics have received mixed reviews, with some players expressing disappointment over technical issues and a lack of polish, while others appreciate the beautiful cell-shaded art style and detailed textures. Although the game world is well-defined and visually appealing, bugs and crashes detract from the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are considered decent but not groundbreaking, with room for improvement.
“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, and 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.”
“I am very upset that the graphics are not as advertised.”
“The visuals are disappointing and lack the detail shown in the promotional material.”
“The graphics feel outdated and do not meet modern gaming standards.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game faces notable optimization issues, requiring players to lower settings significantly to achieve smoother performance and reduce technical glitches. While some users report that medium settings can enhance performance without sacrificing visual fidelity, others experience stuttering and increased GPU temperatures even at the lowest settings.
“It's a good game; it has a few optimization issues, likely causing your GPU to warm up.”
“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.”
- gameplay3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally enjoyable and set in an amazing world, but it suffers from significant issues such as inconsistent pacing, lack of customization options like a field of view slider and remappable keys, and frustrating bugs that can hinder progress. Despite these problems, players find the game finishable.
“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 development2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is praised for its depth, featuring extensive skill trees, factions, and weapon customization, which contribute to a rich gameplay experience. However, as an indie title, it shows some limitations in execution due to budget and time constraints, preventing it from reaching the polish of a AAA game. Overall, players appreciate the effort put into crafting a large play world with meaningful character progression.
“I enjoy the character design and mana abilities.”
“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.”
“The character development feels shallow and lacks the depth that I was hoping for, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
“While there are many options for character customization, the actual development of the characters throughout the game is disappointingly minimal.”
“I expected more from the character arcs; they seem rushed and underdeveloped, leaving me feeling disconnected from the story.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 200 % negative mentions
The game experiences some technical glitches that can lead to frustration, but players find it rewarding once they adjust settings to medium, which significantly improves performance without sacrificing visual quality.
“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.”
- music1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users express frustration with the music aspect, noting that there is only a single sound bar for all audio, preventing them from turning off the music despite dissatisfaction with the graphics.
“I'm very upset that the graphics are not as advertised, and there's 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 stay engaged with the game.”
“I found the soundtrack to be uninspired and forgettable, which really detracted from the overall experience.”
