Of Ash and Steel

About

Of Ash and Steel is a single player role playing game. It was developed by Fire & Frost and was released on November 24, 2025. It received neutral reviews from both critics and players.

Of Ash and Steel offers over 45 hours of story-driven gameplay set on a vibrant, open-world island with diverse biomes to explore. Players choose between two factions, each with unique quests and rewards, while mastering a deep combat system featuring three battle stances, various weapons, and active skills. Alongside challenging battles, players can develop professions like blacksmithing, alchemy, fishing, and hunting.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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55%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,289 reviews

story111 positive mentions

stability138 negative mentions

Captures the classic Gothic RPG feel with immersive exploration and character progression.
Engaging story and quests that reward curiosity and exploration.
Strong atmosphere and world design, reminiscent of the Gothic series.

Numerous bugs and glitches that can break quests and hinder progress.
Lack of a map and vague quest descriptions lead to confusion and excessive backtracking.
Combat mechanics can feel clunky and unbalanced, especially in the early game.

story
994 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
82%
7%
The game's story is rich and engaging, set in a gothic world filled with quests that allow for significant player choice and exploration. However, many players find the quest design frustrating due to vague descriptions, a lack of quest markers, and numerous bugs that can lead to broken quests and lost progress. While the narrative has potential, the execution suffers from technical issues and unclear guidance, making it a challenging experience for those who prefer more structured gameplay.
- “This game puts you on a fantasy island called Grayshaft, and it is story-rich and full of adventures.”
- “You are quite free to find your own way, but that also means there is not just one path to follow, and your choices matter significantly towards the quests and progression of the story.”
- “The storytelling is a major highlight, evolving quickly from a simple start into an epic quest like the one I'm on now to rebuild the entire, flawed knights of the seven order; this game demands patience and strategic play in exchange for a deeply rewarding and atmospheric adventure.”
- “The quest descriptions are often just incorrect, leading to the wrong location where you're left wondering if it's the quest that's broken or if it's another incorrect description.”
- “The lack of a map is bleeding horrible, especially when I believe every single damned direction or journal hint is completely wrong or missing lines of directions.”
- “You will spend hours trying to find a person or a quest objective due to poor directions from your quest giver.”
gameplay
239 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
70%
15%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players highlighting a significant number of bugs that can hinder progress and disrupt the overall experience. While the core gameplay loop offers engaging exploration and character progression reminiscent of classic RPGs, it is marred by poorly implemented mechanics, frustrating combat systems, and a lack of quality-of-life features such as a map or intuitive navigation. Despite these issues, some players appreciate the game's potential and immersive atmosphere, suggesting that with further patches and improvements, it could evolve into a more polished experience.
- “The gameplay loop itself is solid, but you need to choose your difficulty level at the start of the game and it's not possible to change it afterwards, so keep that in mind.”
- “The core gameplay systems show real promise, and when everything clicks, the experience is genuinely engaging.”
- “I do enjoy this game because it offers tons of exploration, and the gameplay is amazing.”
- “But the biggest thing for me are the bugs I've encountered during gameplay, that either cause the game to crash or hinder progress altogether.”
- “The mechanics are janky, there's no navigation system and it's full of bugs.”
- “The gameplay is awkward and the combat is hard, not because it's just hard, but because the flow and mechanics of combat are poorly designed.”
stability
143 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The stability of "Of Ash and Steel" is widely criticized, with players reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that significantly hinder gameplay. While some users note that recent patches have improved the situation, many still experience game-breaking bugs, unresponsive NPCs, and frustrating quest-related glitches. Overall, the game is considered a "buggy mess" that feels unfinished and requires further polish before it can be fully enjoyed.
- “Runs great at 140-150 fps without DLSS and settings at max, on a 4070 Super.”
- “Runs great.”
- “After a recent patch, the game launches and runs great.”
- “Of Ash and Steel has the ability to be a really great game but is currently bogged down by numerous bugs, glitches, and awful combat.”
- “While this game is conceptually right up my alley, it is an absolute broken, buggy mess with some gameplay design choices that are truly head-scratching.”
- “The game is a buggy mess... that I'm not okay with.”
graphics
103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
59%
18%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the art direction and world design as visually appealing, while others criticize character models and animations as outdated or poorly executed. Performance issues, such as stuttering and memory leaks, detract from the overall experience, and many players note that while the environments can be stunning, the character visuals often fall short. Overall, the graphics are seen as a blend of commendable effort and significant flaws, reflecting a need for further polish and optimization.
- “The atmosphere, the character progression, the graphics are superb.”
- “Wandering off-path has already uncovered cool loot in shipwrecks and caves, and the island's biomes (forests, swamps, ruins) look stunning with that painterly art style and moody lighting.”
- “From the start, the quality stands out: the world design, the graphics, the characters, the dialogue, and the choices all show an impressive level of craftsmanship.”
- “Graphics are sub-par and just terrible overall gameplay.”
- “The graphics are laughably bad.”
- “The visuals of the game, while very much commendable for the scope of the project, unfortunately boast the most horrible character faces I've seen in a long while.”
optimization
79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
58%
33%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, particularly in urban areas, including stuttering, long load times, and memory leaks. While some patches have addressed major bugs, significant optimization improvements are still anticipated in future updates, as current performance remains a major barrier to enjoyment. Overall, players express hope that ongoing developer support will eventually enhance the game's stability and performance.
- “Around version 1.10, we expect to begin implementing the first major optimizations affecting RAM and VRAM usage.”
- “If the devs keep working on this and focus on polish and performance, this game could be something special.”
- “I fully expect this will be a really great game once it's optimized and I will come back and change my review if the devs do so.”
- “This game is unoptimized af, it uses like 13GB of RAM from my 64GB and nearly 14-15GB of VRAM from my 7900XTX.”
- “Performance in the city is awful; even at low settings, I get less than 30 FPS in many areas, while I was able to get stable 60 FPS in Dragon's Dogma 2 cities on high settings.”
- “The game is full of quest-breaking bugs, and despite my RTX 3060, the stuttering in the big city is so huge, it is not enjoyable.”
grinding
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players finding it excessively tedious due to repetitive fetch quests, vague objectives, and a lack of fast travel options until late in the game. While some enjoy the challenge and skill-building opportunities that come with grinding, others feel that the time spent running back and forth detracts from the overall experience, leading to frustration and a sense of wasted time. Overall, the game is seen as having potential, but its current grind-heavy design can be off-putting for many players.
- “Quests… there are tons of them, some are really cool and engaging, but unfortunately most are 'go to point A and come back.' That’s fine, but every character keeps changing location, so later trying to find the quest giver is a nightmare—extremely tedious and irritating.”
- “The game is very slow, very grindy, and you will waste most of your time trying to find quest objectives and then trying to backtrack to the original quest givers.”
- “Leveling demands excessive, minimal-reward fetch quest grinding that doesn't keep pace with the game's brutal level difference scaling.”
atmosphere
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
43%
7%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its strong gothic influences, immersive world design, and evocative music, which together create a captivating environment that encourages exploration. Players appreciate the handcrafted environments, the sense of danger, and the rewarding gameplay, despite acknowledging some technical issues and rough edges. Overall, the game successfully captures the essence of classic gothic RPGs, appealing particularly to fans of the genre who value atmosphere and depth in their gaming experience.
- “I've played only about five hours so far, not rushing the main quest at all — just wandering around the map and enjoying the atmosphere.”
- “Its world feels thoughtfully crafted with an atmosphere that pulls you in and encourages exploration.”
- “This game oozes atmosphere and personality, something you will never find in the washed-out realm of the AAA RPG scene.”
- “So 'atmosphere' in certain contexts is underwhelming and possibly will be that way further in the game.”
- “This game is rough, buggy, and clearly needs more polish - but the heart, atmosphere, and vision behind it are something we almost never get anymore.”
- “Play if you like to go from zero to hero, with an atmosphere that is very rough and unfriendly at first but opens up as you become stronger and respected.”
humor
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it unintentionally funny due to rough edges, glitches, and quirky dialogue. While some moments elicit genuine laughter and showcase creative writing, the humor can become repetitive and annoying over time. Overall, the game offers a blend of dark and light-hearted humor, with memorable characters and amusing interactions, but is often overshadowed by its technical issues.
- “Parts are rough around the edges, but the developers obviously loved the game; some genuinely funny dialogue and great characters.”
- “The characters you interact with are great, and the devs love to troll here and there. I find myself maniacally laughing at the clever writing at 2 AM while the rest of the house is asleep.”
- “I love the jank and the sometimes humorous voice acting bloopers they kept in.”
music
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
55%
9%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its strong resemblance to the Gothic series, effectively creating an atmospheric and nostalgic experience. While some tracks are described as beautiful and well-executed, others criticize the music for being repetitive and unoriginal, noting that it often feels like a direct copy of Gothic's soundtrack. Overall, the music enhances the game's environment but may not stand out as unique or innovative.
- “The music is beautiful, very much in the style of Gothic and creates a great atmosphere.”
- “The music also deserves praise; it strongly evokes the atmosphere of Gothic and Risen, which adds to the nostalgic yet fresh feel of the game.”
- “Everything between city, forest, and combat music is excellently executed.”
- “I won't be changing this review ever, and I hope the developers and the producers get what they deserve for unabashedly cribbing gothic soundtracks and baiting the fans into buying this scam of a broken anthill kind of game that takes the name of gothic in vain.”
- “The game clearly tried to create a gothic-like feeling, but apart from the music, which is partially copied from gothic, it doesn’t even come close.”
- “Some sound effects are badly balanced, and the combat music pops up too aggressively and gets annoying.”
replayability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the meaningful choices and faction diversity that enhance replay value, others criticize the lack of distinctiveness among factions and technical issues that hinder enjoyment. Many hope for future updates to improve the game's playability and overall experience.
- “There are meaningful choices, branching outcomes, and enough depth to suggest strong replayability for those willing to invest the time.”
- “The ability to join different factions adds depth to the narrative and significant replayability.”
- “Factions add replay value: order & free hunters, plus smugglers, graverobbers, and bounty hunters.”
- “No magic, factions are similar, no replayability.”
- “If they could just actually describe the quests correctly, then this game would be even more playable.”
- “If the developers manage to fix the game's technical problems, then in a few months it might be in a more playable state, but so far even just the crashes are a little too painful.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
38%
Players express a mix of nostalgia and frustration regarding the emotional impact of the game. While some appreciate the heartfelt ambition and old-school charm, others feel burned out and annoyed by certain gameplay elements and a lack of timely updates, leading to a somewhat disappointing overall experience. The storyline is also criticized for being unengaging, detracting from the emotional connection.
- “It’s been a long time since a game made me feel this way.”
- “So when a team of fifteen people comes out of nowhere and attempts something this ambitious, this heartfelt, this unapologetically old-school, I truly believe that deserves support - not blind praise, but support.”
- “Everything else up to that point was great, it really made me feel like I was playing Gothic again.”
- “The storyline felt pretty boring and failed to evoke any real emotions.”
- “I didn't connect with the characters at all; their struggles felt superficial.”
- “The emotional moments seemed forced and didn't resonate with me.”
character development
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
Character development in the game is highlighted through rewarding exploration, skill trees, and attribute increases, which contribute to a classic RPG experience. Players appreciate the depth of character growth, particularly with characters like Tristian, despite some criticisms regarding game mechanics and character design. Overall, the game offers a robust system for character progression intertwined with crafting and combat elements.
- “RPGs that reward exploration feature character development through attribute increases and skill trees, along with crafting and combat that requires skill to survive against multiple enemies or high-end foes.”
- “All the great ingredients for a classic RPG: character development (skills, perks, attributes, etc.), quests (of course!), and a deep gathering/crafting system... and I'm only 10 hours into gameplay.”
- “Tristian is a character with great character development.”
- “There's a lot of 'it's gothic!' rhetoric going on, but it is only attempting to be gothic-like. There are questionable game mechanics, not just bugs and performance issues, along with some hideous character designs.”
- “RPGs that reward exploration have character development via attribute increases and skill trees, but the execution feels lacking and doesn't provide a satisfying progression.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is criticized as a potential cash grab, with users expressing disappointment over the lack of updates and communication from developers. Many recommend against purchasing the game at full price until significant improvements are made.
- “Updated review - as there is still no new patch and things haven't further improved, I do not recommend the game in its current state (or at full price). I might change my review after a 1.1 patch where they hopefully clear most of the issues. However, as developers have been pretty silent since the new year, it feels like a quick cash grab. Too bad, as it could be a great game!”
- “Total cash grab.”