Drowning Ashes

I’ve been having a great time with Drowning Ashes so far. If you grew up loving RPG Maker games and also enjoy the challenge of souls style combat, this is a really cool mix. It honestly feels like Pokemon meets Dark Souls with nostalgic old school visuals. (Which somehow totally works??? It slaps???) Even in early access there is already a strong foundation. The story is not finished yet, but what is here pulled me in. The writing feels solid and the pacing is good so far. I’m genuinely curious to see where it goes next. The balance is one of the highlights for me. The game is hard, but it feels fair. You learn, you adapt, you try again, and when things finally click it feels earned. Exploring, figuring out enemies, and recruiting different monsters becomes a really satisfying loop. Since it is early access there are some rough edges and a bit of jank in places, which is expected. That being said, the dev regularly updates so things are fixed quickly and improved upon. Like all soulslike games some systems aren't fully explained and you are left to figure them out for yourself, but I personally like this. It just feeds the exploration, experimentation and learning that is…

No idea how i found this one, but it's a keeper

Nice game. Still needs polishing, of course, but it's Early Access, what do you expect? My only issue is that the effect of Malice is unclear. Hopefully it'll be clarified, but given the Demon's Souls vibes, I assume it is like World Tendency, ie making the game harder and nastier the higher it goes.

BLUF: Really fun classic Turn-Based RPG with creature collection! High replay-ability since there is a point after completing most of the game you can reset (re-Cycle) while keeping your level, equipment, and creatures! If you grinded as much as I did you'll be a level 75 just ripping through the first couple areas to find even more rare weapons! First playthrough was as Warrior and took about 14 hours to complete all the way up-to current content cap in early access but I will definitely be waiting for more updates to the story! Note: There are secret evolutions in the game that add even more to the replay-ability which might take some time to get to but there is a guide in the discussion forums with spoiler blockers if you are curious. Love the art-style and appreciate that they embraced the darkness with more demonic looking monsters, the Corpse Eater is nightmare-fuel but has the funniest attack sound.

My expectations were low going into it, but I found myself pleasantly surprised by how much I have enjoyed it so far. It is, as others have written, a combination of Shin Megami Tensei (SMT) turn based combat mechanics and Souls-like exploration. Difficulty is not quite souls-like, but it requires good use of the "press turn"-like system (SMT) in combat to come out on top of most encounters.

I am thoroughly enjoying this game, I'm glad I bought it so far. It's a great classic turn-based RPG that puts you right into the fun of things. I like it when you're thrown into a world without having an hour of story to get through first. I really enjoy the dark aesthetic and art of the game as well. This is definitely a indie title I hope gets finished.