Take a ride with me on Solar Ash, a roller coaster of speedy skating, precise platforming and behemoth bosses. It’s got everything you need for an exhilarating time in the blisteringly fast world of speedrunners.
Solar Ash opens with heroine Rei being dropped on a weird extraterrestrial world. Rei is a Voidrunner, one of a party of explorers sent to the Ultravoid in search of the Starseed, a substance that may rescue their dying world. We catch tiny glimpses of an intimidating, godlike person that looks strangely similar to Rei — it’s familiar, but twisted — as she approaches.
In a way, that’s how the whole story of Solar Ash unfolds. Familiar mechanics combine to create something that is off-kilter in the best manner possible. The gameplay concepts are very distinct, yet they combine to create something much bigger than the sum of its parts. Solar Ash is furious, speedy, and new in the greatest conceivable manner.
Voidrunning
Image courtesy of Heart Machine
Solar Ash is a game about mobility at its heart. Although Rei can walk, she will not be able to get past the platforming difficulties that litter the alien environment. Throughout the game, you’ll be gliding through clouds and roofs at fast speeds, utilizing her skate ability. The movement is reminiscent to Jet Set Radio’s inline skating. Rei’s boosters increase the ante, allowing you to travel even quicker for a limited period of time. Although a skill called Timeslip may momentarily slow down the whole game, allowing for more accurate leaps, maintaining this pace is necessary for passing each task. Solar Ash seems like a roller coaster since you’re continually ramping up, pausing for a small while, and then launching yourself again – it’s a thrilling rhythm.
Climbing is another essential mechanic at Rei’s disposal, in addition to running. When Timeslip is active, Rei’s grappling hook may grab onto ledges or floating points to propel her forward, and its reach is expanded. Black ooze, or “anomalies” as the tale names it, covers the different biomes and is a significant aspect of the platforming. Rei can climb any ooze-covered surface, but the ooze’s stickiness causes her to come to a stop if she dashes over it. Rei may also hang to rails that transport her to the tops of buildings and around cliffs as they snake over the terrain. Gravity moves with the rails and some levels, allowing Rei to sprint about in all directions, much as in Super Mario Galaxy, looping the camera around her to offer fresh viewpoints. All of this contributes to the game’s fast-paced nature.
Rapid-fire pummeling and platforming
Image courtesy of Heart Machine
During fighting and exploration, these mobility mechanics are extensively used. Timeslip may help you avoid opponent assaults, while boosting can propel you straight into their faces, ready to slice them. Rei isn’t the most durable of heroes; even when completely improved, her shields can only withstand a few strikes. Even though fighting isn’t a big part of the game, Solar Ash requires quickness from the player to win these fights.
Solar Ash’s platforming difficulties are where these mechanics truly shine. Anomalies abound in each biome, which must be resolved. Each anomaly has the same method for clearing it: strike syringe-like weak areas in fast succession. When the next weak spot vanishes, the black ooze heats up to hazardous levels, melting your shields if you chance to contact it, according to an on-screen countdown. As you follow the precise path along rails, over gaps, up ledges, and so on, hitting every weak spot is like landing a skate line in the Tony Hawk games. Slicing each weak spot and removing the crud provides a huge deal of joy, which is heightened by a fantastic animation of Rei victoriously piercing her blade into the last node.
The Colossus’ Ash
Image courtesy of Heart Machine
The monster is awakened by clearing every anomaly in a given region. These huge monsters, known as Remnants, are identical to the towering titans from Shadow of the Colossus, and they’re killed in the same way. Each one is riddled with weak areas, which Rei must eliminate one by one. You’ll have to skate along tails and ascend the backs of the Remnants as you overturn them, much like you did in the platforming tasks. If you don’t do it before the countdown runs out, you’ll be knocked to the ground and have to start again. Occasionally, the camera makes things more difficult than it needs to be. It wraps around the boss’s form as if you were going around a sphere, and this might make it difficult to see the vital route to the next weak spot.
Each monster employs diverse techniques and reveals distinct weak spot patterns over the course of three rounds, making each encounter as unique as the oddities. When a Remnant is vanquished, the thrill is amplified even more. With even more flair than when she clears an anomaly, Rei plunges her sword into the monster to bring it down.
A strange world
Image courtesy of Heart Machine
The planet the bosses guard is incredibly lovely, despite their fearsome nature. Solar Ash boasts a stunning graphic design, characterized by royal purples, vibrant pinks, and gentle sky blues, similar to developer Heart Machine’s previous game, Hyper Light Drifter. While they are the prevailing colors, each biome still feels and looks unique — the toxic Mirrorsea, for example, will not be confused with the damp, mushroom-filled Eternal Garden.
Each biome brings with it unique environmental difficulties. If you stay too long on the poison in the Mirrorsea, you’ll die, and the Eternal Garden’s mushroom spores must be taken rapidly to closed doors to open the route ahead. The platforming difficulties don’t seem repetitive in this sense, and they continue to become more tough as you get closer to the end-game sections.
The final decision
Solar Ash borrows heavily from previous games, such as Tony Hawk’s line-following, Super Mario Galaxy’s wraparound camera, and Shadow of the Colossus’ enormous enemies. While those elements may seem incompatible, they combine to create an entertaining, fast-paced platformer that provides you with the tools you need to move smoothly and overcome the difficulties ahead of you. It feels great to complete those obstacle courses, clear anomalies, and knock down skyscrapers. Solar Ash’s roller coaster is absolutely worth riding.
| + | It’s fantastic to be able to skate about at great speeds. |
| + | The challenges are always increasing and never grow boring. |
| + | For both new and seasoned Forza Horizon gamers, the gameplay feels fresh and satisfying. |
| – | During boss battles, the camera might be useless at times. |
I was given a game code in exchange for an honest review.