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Ashwalkers

Ashwalkers is an inventive survival sim that puts the story centre stage. Whilst managing resources and the survivor's physical and mental health is important, the choices you have to make are where it's at its most inventive.
Ashwalkers Game Cover
61%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
music, replayability
61% User Score Based on 56 reviews
Critic Score 62%Based on 16 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchPCWindows
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Ashwalkers Game Cover

About

Ashwalkers is a single player survival management game with horror, mystery and post-apocalyptic themes. It was developed by Nameless XIII and was released on April 15, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

A survival adventure in a post-apocalyptic world with a strong narrative. Every choice has consequences : where will yours take you? ​

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Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
Ashwalkers screenshot
+3
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61%
Audience ScoreBased on 56 reviews
story12 positive mentions
stability3 negative mentions
  • Atmospheric and evocative post-apocalyptic setting with a unique minimalist art style and strong worldbuilding.
  • Narrative-driven gameplay featuring meaningful moral choices and multiple branching endings that encourage replayability.
  • Simple but effective resource management and survival mechanics that create a tense, contemplative experience.
  • Gameplay can feel slow and repetitive, with long stretches of walking and limited interaction, impacting engagement.
  • Story and characters lack depth and development, making emotional investment and variety limited.
  • Some technical issues such as UI clunkiness, occasional bugs, and lack of polish detract from the overall experience.
  • story
    53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of Ashwalkers centers on a post-apocalyptic journey undertaken by four survivors searching for sanctuary, offering a branching narrative with multiple endings and thematic depth. While some players find it compelling and appreciate its introspective atmosphere and meaningful choices, others criticize the plot as generic, shallow, and lacking character development, with minimal impact from player decisions. Overall, the story appeals more to fans of narrative-driven, text-based survival experiences but may feel slow or uninspired to those seeking stronger character engagement or action.

    • “The story follows a team of four survivors venturing out from a bunker in search of a rumored sanctuary known as the “dome of domes.” Each member of the group—Petra, Sinh, Kali, and Nadir—represents a distinct worldview and personality, contributing to the tension and nuance of group dynamics.”
    • “The game manages to tell a compelling story without any voice acting; it’s also one of the few games out there where it feels like all of your choices matter.”
    • “There is a great story being told about the world and your characters, a story you want to keep coming back to learn more, and as an ex-DM and D&D player I really enjoyed the whole tabletop vibe I was getting from the text-based descriptions, text-based decisions, and even text-based combat.”
  • gameplay
    39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is simple, slow-paced, and centered on decision-making, resource management, and survival with minimal mechanics reminiscent of classic titles like Oregon Trail. While it offers a thoughtful narrative experience with branching choices and emotional weight, many find the gameplay repetitive, easy, and lacking in depth or engagement. It appeals primarily to players who appreciate story-driven games with survival themes, but others may find it shallow and unvaried.

    • “Rather than focusing on action-heavy mechanics or combat systems, the game centers on decision-making, resource management, and the emotional strain of survival.”
    • “Gameplay unfolds as a combination of overland exploration and event-driven storytelling.”
    • “The interplay between personal conviction and collective survival adds emotional weight to even small decisions, reinforcing the narrative focus over mechanical complexity.”
    • “The gameplay loop is just not compelling enough to keep me; the low-effort visuals and predictable narrative are cries of biased unpolish and lack of creative writing.”
    • “The gameplay tends to be repetitive, and the story rarely strays from being formulaic and familiar.”
    • “While Ashwalkers has an interesting art style and atmosphere, it does little to capitalize on its survival mechanics and choice-based narrative, and is far too easy for what it wants to be.”
  • graphics
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics in Ashwalkers feature a minimalist, desaturated, and often grayscale art style that effectively conveys a bleak and somber atmosphere, contributing significantly to its unique aesthetic and worldbuilding. While many appreciate the visual mood and distinctiveness, issues like character clipping, draw distance problems, and a lack of polish detract from the experience. Overall, the art style is praised as a key strength that enhances the game's atmosphere despite some technical shortcomings and a slow progression.

    • “Visually, Ashwalkers adopts a stark, often desaturated art style that emphasizes the lifelessness of the environment.”
    • “The graphics look very cool and I like to make all those decisions.”
    • “That game while short does its best to make the time spent feel much longer than it is between the unique art style of both the world and its inhabitants, and the survival mechanics of the game which help add a needed sense of weight to the smaller choices.”
    • “The gameplay loop is just not compelling enough to keep me, the low effort visuals and predictable narrative cry of biased unpolish and lack of creative writing.”
    • “You can have 40+ different endings but once you have played the game 2-3 times, you'll be bored to death with the white and dark graphics and the slow progression.”
    • “Grayscale art style can feel dreary, resource management can feel stressful.”
  • atmosphere
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in Ashwalkers is consistently praised for its oppressive, somber, and post-apocalyptic tone, strongly enhanced by its music, sound design, and art style. While the gameplay is slow-paced and simple, it effectively complements the mood, creating a reflective and immersive experience. However, some find the narrative and interactions lacking depth, which slightly undermines the overall atmospheric impact.

    • “The scarcity of resources reinforces the game’s oppressive atmosphere, as every choice feels weighted by potential consequences.”
    • “Ultimately, Ashwalkers stands as a somber and introspective survival experience that prioritizes storytelling and atmosphere over action.”
    • “Outstanding ambience: the sound design and music really drive home the atmosphere.”
    • “The music, atmosphere, and art style almost make up for the shallow and unimaginative story, dialogue, and gameplay.”
    • “[Slow gameplay, limited interactions, audio detracts from atmosphere]”
    • “Atmosphere is depressive and sad.”
  • music
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music is widely praised for its atmospheric and unique quality, significantly enhancing the game's ambience and overall feel. While some find the soundtrack phenomenal and a standout feature, a few consider it less impressive compared to the environment. Overall, the music is a strong positive aspect that elevates the game's experience.

    • “The soundtrack is absolutely phenomenal.”
    • “The music, atmosphere, and art style almost make up for the shallow and unimaginative story, dialogue, and gameplay.”
    • “Outstanding ambience: the sound design and music really drive home the atmosphere.”
    • “It's really boring, especially that the environment is very bland and the music is meh.”
    • “The music, atmosphere, and art style almost make up for the shallowness and unimaginativeness of the story, dialogue, and gameplay.”
    • “The music contributes to an overall bland and uninspired experience.”
  • replayability
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Ashwalkers offers high replayability through numerous endings, varied moral choices, and alternative perspectives on the journey. However, its slow movement and frequent micromanagement can make some gameplay segments feel tedious, slightly detracting from the overall replay experience.

    • “With dozens of possible conclusions, Ashwalkers encourages replayability by offering alternative perspectives on the same journey.”
    • “It offers a crazy number of endings and, needless to say, offers a lot of replay value and different choices to make.”
    • “With the variety of choices and how they can influence future encounters and endings, a lot of replayability is potentially available here.”
    • “Unfortunately, the slow walking speed and fast decay of the characters' needs mean that moving between landmarks involves a lot of boring walking and tedious micromanagement, hampering replayability.”
    • “The replayability comes from purposefully playing out those scenarios differently.”
    • “+ a lot of available choices keeping replayability high”
  • emotional
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game emphasizes emotional depth through decision-making and resource management, highlighting internal conflict and emotional endurance alongside survival challenges. Small choices carry significant emotional weight, strengthening the narrative focus over action-based gameplay.

    • “Rather than focusing on action-heavy mechanics or combat systems, the game centers on decision-making, resource management, and the emotional strain of survival.”
    • “As they trek across desolate terrain, their journey becomes as much about internal conflict and emotional endurance as it is about surviving environmental hazards.”
    • “The interplay between personal conviction and collective survival adds emotional weight to even small decisions, reinforcing the narrative focus over mechanical complexity.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is generally stable with no major bugs or glitches, though some users experienced minor issues like occasional audio glitches, crashes, and bothersome camera angles. Overall, stability is solid enough not to significantly impact enjoyment.

    • “[Camera angles can be bothersome, a few audio glitches and crashes]”
    • “Overall, despite some minor bugs and glitches and the short length, I enjoyed my time with this game, and if you like making choices that have real consequences, this game is for you.”
    • “No bugs or glitches that I noticed.”
  • character development
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Character development is criticized for being minimal and dull, partly due to unconventional character designs lacking faces and voices. The absence of meaningful progression and a risk-reward system further diminishes engagement.

    • “But even with that aside, the lack of character development and a risk and reward system makes for a very dull experience.”
    • “I believe that given character designs are not popular choice, since they have no faces nor voices.”
    • “Mostly because of character design and story setting, which is surprisingly similar to one I've written a couple of years ago.”
  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game shows poor optimization overall, requiring specific launch parameters for better performance. Despite these tweaks, the optimization remains subpar and contributes to a less convincing experience.

    • “For better performance, use the command: -force-d3d12 -force-clamped -screen-width 2560 -screen-height 1440 -window-mode borderless -screen-quality fantastic.”
    • “Poorly optimized and unconvincing plot :(”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game is hindered by slow walking speeds and rapid decay of character needs, leading to tedious micromanagement and monotonous travel between landmarks that negatively impacts replayability.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Unfortunately, the slow walking speed and fast decay of the characters' needs mean that moving between landmarks involves a lot of boring walking and tedious micromanagement, hampering replayability.”
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62%Critics’ scoreBased on 16 critic reviews
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Frequently Asked Questions

Ashwalkers is a survival management game with horror, mystery and post-apocalyptic themes.

Ashwalkers is available on Nintendo Switch, PC and Windows.

Ashwalkers was released on April 15, 2021.

Ashwalkers was developed by Nameless XIII.

Ashwalkers has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked Ashwalkers for its story but disliked it for its music.

Ashwalkers is a single player game.

Similar games include The Pale Beyond, Yes, Your Grace, Insurmountable, The Alters, Chernobylite and others.