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Greater than the sum of its parts | Review - Ashfall
48 View2023-07-27
Ashfall is an MMORPG set in a post-apocalyptic world where AI has risen and initiated a nuclear war against humanity, leaving behind only ruins. As a survivor in the far future, you must venture outside the Vault to embark on a quest to find the Core of Creation—the crucial element that holds the key to saving the world.
🟩Pros
+Gunplay is satisfying, with emphasis on accuracy and precision over guns blazing
+JRPG style overworld map exploration, role-playing, and decision making
+Talent respecs are totally free and can be done anytime
+Crossplay and cross-progression between Mobile and PC
🟥Cons
-The story premise is interesting but feels underutilized
-Lack of attention to the movement system and controls
-Mobile version performance optimization needs work
📝Notable points: These pros and cons are based on early (2023) build and does not accurately represent the quality of the finished product when it finally releases.
To clear up some common misconceptions and confusions, This is the Mobile and PC MMORPG developed by Legendary Star Studio and Netease, which is different from the similarly titled Ashfall, a Web3/NFT game currently in development by Liithos Game Studio.
In Ashfall, players can choose their created character's archetype, essentially their class, from options like the Gunslinger - having increased agility, weapon speed, and accuracy; Safeguard - reduces damage taken and increases Armor; Scavenger - Increases Backpack slots and loot quality. And many others such as Mercenary, Blue Collar, Hunter, Wanderer, Bodyguard, Infiltrator, Arms Dealer, Renowned Hero, and a kind of a comic relief class named Average Joe.
Players can also select up to two traits with varying bonuses, tailored to their playstyle and chosen archetype. The game allows players to change both the archetype and traits later on by interacting with characters, providing flexibility and avoiding being locked into initial choices.
The game begins with a glimpse of the apocalypse — the war against the robots — reminiscent of the Terminator movie, with a short tutorial teaching the basics of the third-person shooter gameplay. The story quickly shifts to the post-apocalyptic future, where humanity survives in Vaults, and players assume the role of a young survivor stepping outside for the first time. The game wastes no time in sending you out into the world, with minimal story elements taking place. The world outside is filled with enemies, from human bandits called "Trespassers" to mutated insect-like monsters, as well as boss-type enemies with a weakness system mechanic to help players defeat them. Overall, the story premise is interesting but feels underutilized, however it is important to note that this is only a very early build of the game.
The whole premise draws inspiration from the Fallout game series with Vaults and even numbered labels on gears, but the post-apocalyptic aesthetic leans more towards the bleak and dark reddish tones of the Metro series.
Graphically, Ashfall is decent on PC, boasting above-average quality textures, models, and lighting by 2023 standards. The mobile version impresses even more despite its limited processing capability, maintaining similar fidelity to the PC version but lagging behind in performance by struggling to even achieve 60fps at low settings on my Snapdragon 888 device. Players can also customize their visual experience by choosing from various color profiles or filters to adjust the visual style to their preferences.
The core gameplay of Ashfall centers around third-person shooter mechanics combined with RPG progression, wasteland exploration, and decision-making. The movement mechanics are simplistic, adapting a cover-based shooter approach with the ability to vault around. However, some control quirks make movements feel clunky, and certain actions like vaulting over cover, crouching, or jumping are not possible. Also, the PC control scheme feels a bit weird because both the cover and vault button are bound to the same buttons, but it makes sense from a mobile standpoint. It’s a bit clunky from an animation perspective, and it's clear the movement is one of the aspects that hasn’t been given priority attention by the developers.
Between missions and shooter segments, players explore the wasteland using a point-and-click JRPG-esque overworld map system. Here, the player can encounter many different types of events on the way to their objectives. Bandit bases, random encounters, towns, and points of interest to investigate. It gives the game a little bit of role playing while exploring the world.
Despite lackluster initial impressions of the gunplay during the robot war tutorial segment, the actual gunplay is satisfying. The guns feel powerful and enjoyable to control, enhanced further by powerful sounds. The shooting mechanics resemble the recent Resident Evil remakes, rewarding careful aiming and patience over going in guns blazing and spraying and praying. The guns are also crazy accurate in this game and don't seem to have any range accuracy or damage penalties. Reloading, on the other hand, feels longer than I am used to, and it kills the pacing of the shootouts more than it adds difficulty --- if that was the intention of the developers.
As players progress, they can level up and unlock talents that provide additional bonuses. Talents range from increased headshot damage to passive effects like bonus EXP from chest openings. Equipment and gear itemization with rarities are also present, along with some surface level crafting elements such as gathering resources and picking up plants to gain materials for use in crafting. Visiting towns also allows players to trade and sell their loot for “Gear” which is used as the main currency in the game’s world.
Conclusion:
Ashfall is not exactly groundbreaking in its individual elements such as shooting, movement, graphics, and RPG mechanics. Nevertheless, when combined, the game offers a decent and enjoyable experience in a way that can be said to be greater than the sum of its parts. As this was only an early build, there is optimism that the developers will refine and enhance the game further before its official release next year.
Ashfall is not exactly groundbreaking in its individual elements such as shooting, movement, graphics, and RPG mechanics. Nevertheless, when combined, the game offers a decent and enjoyable experience in a way that can be said to be greater than the sum of its parts. As this was only an early build, there is optimism that the developers will refine and enhance the game further before its official release next year.
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