Solar Ash

90%
Game Brain Score Based on 774 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
Solar Ash Game Cover
Solar Ash is a platforming playground that never loses steam, and it hides a memorable story of unfathomable tragedy.
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"Solar Ash" is a fast-paced 3D action-adventure game set in a surreal, visually stunning world. As the agile Voidrunner, players will dash, jump, and grind through a vast, interconnected world to save their home from a destructive black hole. Along the way, they'll battle mysterious creatures, solve environmental puzzles, and uncover the devastating truth behind the collapse of the universe.

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Cloud
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
  • Xbox Game Pass
  • x_box_cloud_gaming
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

90%
Audience ScoreBased on 774 reviews
story169 positive mentions
optimization11 negative mentions
  • The visuals are stunning and create a breathtaking atmosphere throughout the game.
  • The movement mechanics are fluid and satisfying, making traversal enjoyable.
  • The story, while simple, is engaging and has emotional depth, especially in the ending.
  • The combat system is basic and lacks depth, making encounters feel repetitive.
  • The game can feel short, with many players completing it in under 10 hours.
  • There are performance issues, including frame rate drops and camera control problems during boss fights.
  • story431 mentions

    The story of "Solar Ash" has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its emotional depth and themes of grief and acceptance, while others find it predictable and lacking in engagement. Many highlight the importance of exploring side quests and collectibles to fully understand the narrative, which can feel fragmented or underdeveloped at times. Overall, while the visuals and gameplay mechanics are praised, the story's execution varies, leaving some players satisfied and others wanting more depth and coherence.

    • “The storytelling connects by veiling themes of anxiety, grief, and the general emotional self-destructive inability to let go with Hyper Light Drifter-style sci-fi urgency and abstraction.”
    • “The story is very deep in a way I wasn't expecting how close to real life it would be.”
    • “The movement feels smooth and slick, and the story is interesting.”
    • “The story is bland and predictable, but could've worked better if it was a much shorter experience with less filler.”
    • “The plot here is obscure; I couldn't follow the story.”
    • “The story is trying to be this weird, cryptic narrative about what's happening with this world, but it's pretty uninspired.”
  • gameplay280 mentions

    The gameplay in "Solar Ash" is characterized by its fluid movement mechanics and visually stunning environments, offering a fast-paced platforming experience reminiscent of titles like "Shadow of the Colossus" and "Jet Set Radio." While many players appreciate the smooth traversal and engaging boss fights, some criticize the repetitive gameplay loop and lack of depth in combat mechanics, leading to a sense of monotony as the game progresses. Overall, the game excels in style and atmosphere, but its gameplay may not satisfy those seeking more complex mechanics or challenging combat.

    • “Gameplay-wise, the movement is buttery smooth and satisfying, the animations are fluid, and the level design is fun.”
    • “Super fun and smooth gameplay with stunning visuals and music to top it off.”
    • “The gameplay is so fluid and so good, the combat while simple is effective and the way this game designed its levels and worlds is top tier in my opinion.”
    • “The gameplay is uncomplicated and easy to get the hang of, but it is very repetitive in a way that does not serve the story well.”
    • “While the core gameplay elements are fairly simple, the game's star of the show is the environment design and scenery - gravity itself is all over the place and you'll frequently find yourself upside-down or on what you thought was a wall.”
    • “The gameplay loop does get a little stale after a while as you're basically just going from point A to B doing timed platformer runs, a platformer boss fight, and onto the next zone.”
  • graphics190 mentions

    The graphics in "Solar Ash" are widely praised for their stunning visuals and unique art style, often described as a vibrant evolution of the aesthetic seen in "Hyper Light Drifter." Players appreciate the game's beautiful environments, fluid animations, and captivating color palettes, which create an immersive experience. While some critiques mention minor performance issues, the overall consensus highlights the visuals as a standout feature that enhances the gameplay and atmosphere.

    • “The visuals are gorgeous and it's one of the most stylistic games I've seen in general.”
    • “The world consists of various levels that seem to be made in their signature neon-colored cyberpunk art style, which lends a great look to the world and feels like a lot of fun to look at and explore.”
    • “The visuals are impeccable, with the store screenshots completely failing to do it justice.”
    • “If you're going in expecting Solar Ash to be HLD 2 then you are going to be disappointed; while the visuals, music, and narrative all feel the same (and are set within the same universe), they are completely different in their focus.”
    • “Game lags way too much, turned the graphics down from ultra to low and there was barely any improvement; if there's any fixes people have for this I'd love to hear them, but otherwise it's annoying enough to make me not want to play.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game performs quite poorly on deck, has minor graphical glitches, and does stutter seemingly due to a compatibility layer bottleneck of some kind.”
  • music135 mentions

    The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its atmospheric and immersive qualities, often described as haunting, beautiful, and perfectly complementing the visuals and gameplay. While many reviewers praised the soundtrack for enhancing the overall experience, some noted that it lacked memorable tracks compared to previous titles by the same developers. Overall, the combination of sound design and music contributes significantly to the game's emotional depth and exploration vibe, making it a standout feature despite some criticisms of inconsistency.

    • “Sound design and music was a great blend between the wonder of discovery and the sadness of isolation.”
    • “The art style is gorgeous, the music is out of this world and even the sound effects really set this cosmic eerie tone of the game, especially at the end.”
    • “The music is phenomenal but purely atmospheric.”
    • “The music is subdued, intentionally I'm sure, but doesn't leave much impression as a result.”
    • “Most of the tracks are forgettable, and the game is lacking enough grand musical flourishes that accented the vistas and set pieces of Hyper Light Drifter.”
    • “The music fell into the back of my mind for most of the game, unfortunately, but it was still enjoyable.”
  • atmosphere41 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its beautiful visuals, engaging music, and immersive world-building, creating a unique blend of relaxation and tension. Players appreciate the fluid movement and platforming mechanics that enhance the exploration of its vibrant yet eerie environments, reminiscent of classic platformers. Overall, the atmosphere is described as intentional and rich, contributing significantly to the game's appeal, despite some critiques regarding gameplay depth and narrative clarity.

    • “The atmosphere and style are gorgeous and unique, the soundtrack from Disasterpeace matches them perfectly, and in general, the game emanates good vibes.”
    • “Despite being such a big and colorful world, it feels cozy yet lonely too--incredible atmosphere all throughout.”
    • “The game is greatly carried by the atmosphere, which is formed by excellent visuals and music and which greatly reminds me of the first game.”
    • “The atmosphere of Solar Ash resembles an old PS2 collectathon platformer, from the minimalist shapes and textures to the distinct art styles of the zones and wacky characters.”
    • “The atmosphere has a pinch of anxiety while it isn't clear, giving optimal tension and suspense.”
    • “Not to mention the inclusion of voice acting leaves the story feeling all too grounded in an attempt to be more relatable to a casual audience - which, as bizarre as it may seem, lessens the cosmic nature of the atmosphere and setting the narrative is in.”
  • optimization32 mentions

    The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including severe FPS drops and stuttering, even on high-end hardware. While some users found the game playable and enjoyable despite these issues, others expressed frustration over the poor optimization, particularly in larger areas. Overall, the game's visuals and gameplay are praised, but the optimization problems detract from the experience for a considerable number of players.

    • “I like the colors, I like the flat but not lacking in detail textures, I like that my computer doesn't have an aneurysm trying to run the game like so many other unoptimized 3D single-player games.”
    • “Performance-wise the game ran well for me, I didn't get any of the shader compilation stutters I heard about in other reviews.”
    • “Also have to say there are minor frame drop issues but the game runs smoothly most of the time.”
    • “The game has fantastic visuals, the story is interesting, but I'll never know how it concludes since the optimization is inexcusably poor.”
    • “Seriously, I cannot understate how poor the optimization for this game is.”
    • “Atrocious performance as people with 4080 in the reviews reported severe FPS drops, in a game that looks like Genshin Impact no less.”
  • emotional23 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its deep storytelling, which explores themes of anxiety, grief, and sacrifice, often evoking strong feelings such as goosebumps and tears from players. While many found the narrative impactful and beautifully crafted, some critiques noted that certain plot elements undermined the emotional weight, leading to mixed reactions regarding the overall effectiveness of the story. Despite occasional gameplay frustrations, the game succeeds in creating a touching experience that resonates with players on multiple levels.

    • “The storytelling connects by veiling themes of anxiety, grief, and the general emotional self-destructive inability to let go with hyperlight drifter style sci-fi urgency and abstraction.”
    • “Not many games manage to give me full-body goosebumps on multiple occasions, or to even make me shed a tear, but this definitely accomplishes that.”
    • “This game creates emotional scenes and well-crafted characters through hints via the surrounding world and audio logs through caches, and it is executed very well, letting you know the path all of these characters took to their final moment.”
  • grinding18 mentions

    The grinding mechanics in the game are generally well-received, with players enjoying the fluidity and momentum of rail grinding and skating, reminiscent of titles like Jet Set Radio. However, many find the overall gameplay experience to be tedious, with clumsy controls and a lack of meaningful development in the grinding mechanics, leading to frustration during exploration and platforming challenges. While the visuals and story are praised, the repetitive nature of movement and combat can detract from the enjoyment.

    • “When playing Solar Ash, there's one thing I constantly wished for, and that was a higher difficulty for the game's platforming – whether that be tighter jumps, less sticky grinding, or less automatic hitboxes for targets to grab onto.”
    • “Moving around feels more tedious than fun, which was pretty much the one expectation I had about the game.”
    • “It's simple and tedious, and the gameplay is not always super tight, and you end up falling through large areas or getting killed by a monster just because the controls aren't doing what you're telling them to do.”
  • replayability16 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable enough to revisit for higher difficulty modes or speedrunning, many note its short length (around 5-7 hours) and repetitive gameplay diminish its long-term appeal. The presence of different endings and challenges offers some incentive for replay, but the consensus is that it lacks the depth and variety found in more replayable titles.

    • “All around a good experience with high replayability.”
    • “If that playtime is too short for you: the game has some replay value with harder difficulty modes.”
    • “A fun schmovement game with different endings for replay value if you're into that.”
    • “It's short (5-6 hours), low replayability value, a bit janky and the initial charm starts to wear off by the last 2 hours, especially with the gameplay; it felt repetitive by the second half of the game.”
    • “It's pretty easy to 100% the game in only one playthrough, giving it very little replay value.”
    • “Very fun and satisfying game, but rather short and without much replayability unless you really have a hankering to try to speed run it.”
  • stability12 mentions

    Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report encountering only a few minor glitches and enjoy the overall experience, others highlight issues such as camera movement, buggy platforms, and texture glitches that can detract from gameplay. Performance varies significantly across platforms, with some users experiencing stuttering and graphical issues, particularly on the Steam Deck. Despite these flaws, the game's engaging design and art style often overshadow the stability concerns for many players.

    • “This game is super fun if you like mindless fast-paced exploration. The art style is fantastic! Currently playing this on Deck; it runs great if you turn the graphics down a little, and it still looks great. There is some stuttering when things load in, but not enough to impact gameplay. Highly recommend it.”
    • “Bug-free game.”
    • “It's a bit buggy sometimes; if you're like me and jump off random parts of the map just to see what happens.”
    • “I found my playthrough rife with little things that caused significant points of frustration, like finicky grind rails and buggy platforms on bosses, which shouldn't be issues that exist in a speed-based precision 3D platformer.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game performs quite poorly on deck, has minor graphical glitches, and does stutter seemingly due to a compatibility layer bottleneck of some kind.”
  • character development6 mentions

    Character development in the game receives mixed feedback, with reviewers praising the impressive character designs and aesthetics but criticizing the dialogue as often feeling out of place given the narrative's gravity. While the visuals and animations are celebrated, there are noted shortcomings in the depth of character progression and storytelling. Overall, the character designs stand out, but the development aspect leaves room for improvement.

    • “9/10 character design - impressive, except for one minor flaw.”
    • “The aesthetic was also super badass in terms of character designs and color palettes with many throwbacks to HLD.”
    • “Almost every frame in Solar Ash is a work of art, be that due to its gorgeous visuals, brilliant levels, unique character designs, or its smooth animations.”
    • “There are lots of missed marks in terms of story presentation, character development, and combat depth and progression.”
    • “The aesthetic was also super badass in terms of character designs and color palettes, with many throwbacks to HLD.”
  • humor3 mentions

    Players appreciate the humor in the game, particularly the option to intentionally disrupt the experience for comedic effect. This playful approach allows for a lighthearted exploration of consequences, even if it can lead to frustration at times. Overall, the humor adds a unique layer to the gameplay, encouraging players to engage with the absurdity of their choices.

    • “I think in any game, it's a nice funny option to be able to know what would happen if you deliberately messed everything up at the very end for no reason.”
    • “Wouldn't it be funny if I decided that all you get to see are some clouds?!”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

83% average critic score

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Play time

7hMedian play time
8hAverage play time
6-9hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 7 analyzed playthroughs

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