After a successful Kickstarter campaign, developer Aurum Dust is almost ready to unveil their new turn-based RPG, Ash of Gods. The project combines tactical combat set against classically inspired animation to tell a story of epic proportions. After spending time with the preview build, it’s clear that Ash of Gods doesn’t hold anything back in its storytelling endeavors.
The game follows three separate protagonists, any of which can die, leaving their companions to complete the story without them. Players are promised consequences for every decision, both on and off the battlefield. These choices can propel the story forward in drastically different ways. This makes for a highly repayable narrative experience.
In Ash of Gods the people of Terminum are blindsided by the return of an ancient evil. The reapers have returned to begin the harvest, an event which will drown the world in blood and awaken their sleeping gods. Our protagonists must attempt to fight against the evil and more importantly, survive.
Talking Heads
While the soundtrack was excellent, the preview build didn’t include any voice acting. This often made it difficult to keep track of which character was speaking. At least once this was further complicated when the game had me selecting dialogue options not only for the point-of-view character, but the character he’d spoken to.
Other technical issues cropped up during gameplay, likely owing to the early nature of this build. At one point the map and interface boxes all switched to Russian which made one of the preview’s major decisions a guessing game since I didn’t know which option I’d selected until it played out.
The turn-based combat incorporates elements of CCG gameplay to give players a strategic edge. Apart from it being somewhat finicky when selecting a target, the tactical aspects of battle were easy to work with.
Elegant Bloodshed
Ash of Gods gives players different ways of overcoming the odds, which reward careful placement and planning. Charging blindly into an altercation will likely result in the death of one or more of your party. Since this could ultimately impact the storyline, it’s worth taking the extra time to plan the best course of action.
Aurum Dust and co-publisher Whisper Games plan to release Ash of Gods: Redemption in March 2018. Even with the limitations of the preview build it is obvious that this game will be a treat for those looking for a lore deep, narrative experience where choices actually matter.
