It’s a landscape built from swathes of black shot through with explosions of light and color, with a churning sea of cloud beneath you and ancient ruins that stretch into the distant sky.īut there are issues here, too. There’s a darkness to the world that comes from the near-apocalyptic setting, a grim atmosphere juxtaposed with the bright, relentlessly stunning visuals. Sometimes you’ll need to solve an environmental puzzle to move on, or make your way up something that you may be assumed wasn’t climbable. While you’ll unlock Dark Souls-style shortcuts that make returning to where you died each time a little easier, the objective marker isn’t always very helpful. It can be difficult to know exactly where to go or what to do though. Combat is never quite hard enough to put you off tackling the next enemy, and spending a little time off the beaten path to seek out abandoned caches can reward you with shield upgrades, new suits, and currency to spend on permanent buffs when you visit CYD, your guide through this strange landscape. Such a vast world takes time to explore, but it’s worth it. Solar Ash is at its best when the story falls away and you’re off exploring, gliding across clouds and zipping up towering structures in pursuit of new routes, power-ups, and secrets. There’s a great sense of scale and gravitas to it all, although it can feel like it’s taking itself way too seriously at times. The story is compelling enough to keep you moving, as Rei battles to save her dying world and contends with ancient celestial beings who have their own agendas. Rei can use her grapple to climb onto them, and then use a mix of speed and time manipulation to take them down. As with The Pathless, these Anomalies take the form of gargantuan bestial constructs that must often be tackled directly. Your mission in each of the biomes is to clear our the resident Anomalies, which removes their corruption and allows you to progress. Combat is slick and fast, but you’ll need to have lightning reflexes at times as enemies hit very hard (especially in the early game). She can run, skate, glide and boost herself across the land, double-jumping to reach higher ledges and using her unique gear to grapple onto distant purchase points, or propel herself towards enemies.

You won’t lose currency or progress on death, but enemies will respawn and you’ll be sent back to the last checkpoint you crossed. The main character Rei can fight, although she can’t weather many good hits, and you will die an awful lot. The big difference here is that Solar Ash eschews The Pathless’s avian companion and bow-based combat for something that feels more immediate and physical. Home › Gaming › Solar Ash game review: Hyper Light’s Sister

Solar ash ps5 physical