Its world design is certainly worth a mention. But ultimately it doesn’t matter a game like Solar Ash doesn’t live or die on its narrative alone. But other than giving me a reason to move from one area to the next I found it hard to get invested in. In all honesty I didn’t really care for it it’s pleasantly told with excellent voice acting throughout. There’s a narrative for one, giving purpose to everything you do. Yes, there is more to Solar Ash than simply speeding around its environment. But when you do succeed? It feels wonderful. Speed and precision is key stop moving or lose momentum and you’ll likely fail. It can be tricky, and you’ll need to complete the sequence three times in all, each one a little harder than the last. Timing is key if you’re not quick enough you’ll get hurt and flung to the ground, forced to try the whole thing again.
Up there, you’ll need to quickly move from weak spot to weak spot, attacking in quick succession. You’ll need to glide, jump and grind to catch up with it, and once you’re in range you’ll be able to climb up onto its back. Once you’ve cleared an area, the boss will appear, ready for you to take it down.
Sometimes it’s straightforward, but often figuring out how to destroy it – or even get to it in the first place – is something of a puzzle. But find the few instances around the environment and you’ll be able to remove it by attacking highlighted points of it. You’ll have to weaken them first by finding their vulnerabilities within the environment an anomalous black goo which hurts you if you make contact with it for too long. This momentum-based and quick-paced traversal is what you’ll use to face off against Solar Ash‘s ‘bosses’ great beasts known as Anomalies that reside in each area of the game’s world. It’s not a game that revels in punishing you – you’ll regularly unlock shortcuts so if you fall a long way, not all is lost. But it’s fine – there’s no fall damage here, so you’ll simply get up and try again. Sometimes you’ll mess up during a tricky section it’s inevitable. There’s nothing quite so gratifying as gliding, jumping and grinding in sequence, nailing each landing perfectly as you move through Solar Ash‘s intriguing and mystifying world. Holding down the same trigger button lets you grind along it, blustering through the air like a super-speed Tony Hawk. Vast distances are covered in no time, and by gliding and then jumping, you can travel even further, reaching platforms that would be otherwise slightly too high or too far away.Ī little later into the game, you’ll meet a grinding rail. Gliding is fast, smooth and satisfying you’ll never traverse without it – not unless you need to. The first thing you’ll be told when starting a new game is that by holding down a trigger, you can glide over the environment rather than simply walk.
There’s a lot more to Solar Ash than simply gliding and grinding around its luscious world, but by god is it good fun.