Ashes (2026)

Very solid effort for a first game by this tiny studio! Story had us on the edge of our seats. Music was fantastic and minigames are enjoyable. Really wonderful to see Australia represented. Keep up the good work and can't wait to see what's next.

A nice narrative game that I enjoyed overall. Developed by a Victorian studio, Ashes is an attempt at a narrative-driven interactive fiction experience. The graphics are mixed-media which sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. It doesn't help that some of the assets seems to have different resolutions. The story is told a bit too quickly to really work, the story barrels along not really giving the player time to sink into the world - something that a game in this genre basically requires. The mini-games are diverse and well-made but honestly feel childish, especially when contrasting with the game's sobering subject matter. There are clearly talented people behind it, and it's only in early access so I'm very much interested in seeing the complete product when it's ready. Hopefully the narrative will slow down and explore the characters more than just 'edgy teen' or 'troubled grandfather' and 'zoomer villain' etc.

I thought the way the game did the comic book style was good (especially stuff like sliding the car along the page) and having a variety of minigames reminded me of when games did that on the DS/3DS. However, the plot was a little difficult for me to completely piece together (I could gather some of what happened) and it was VERY short. Like, literally one of the 9 or so chapters was literally like 2 minutes or less long, but felt like 30 seconds. I think a better idea would've been to release a collection with multiple games inside (I don't know how many games they plan to make in this series) like one of those Dread X Collections or the Phoenix Wright Trilogy. This felt more like a free flash game you'd come across while browsing the internet during computer class. [Key provided by the devs] Stream when I played it (Live thoughts): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2784024952 https://youtube.com/live/WrTNbzT_P4g Tier list stream with the game (More detailed review): https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2784853551 https://youtube.com/live/os2qCEhlqPE https://youtube.com/live/VJPn7ze8nqE

Complex and believable characters, good pacing, mechanics that fitted the story and kept it moving. Worth playing!

The story is interesting so far and I like the graphic novel and cutout aesthetics. Looks very promising, eagerly waiting for the rest of the story.

I like this game, looking forward to seeing the rest of the story.