Its story is a little less effective when it crosses into a comparatively vague meditation on individuals picking up the pieces, but it’s a good use of sci-fi as a real-world allegory.Īs their name implies, Voidrunners can run - or more accurately, “skate.” The game is all about exploring the world at a fast pace with some fluid mobility tools.

Audio logs describe a familiar dystopia where the black hole’s emergence somehow morphed into a divisive political issue that put government reaction in a stalemate. It’s most effective when it offers commentary on real issues, like our own politicians’ inability to come together and solve life-threatening crises in a timely manner. It’s a surprisingly rich science-fiction tale loaded with history and world-building. The game follows a runner named Rei as she travels around the decaying planet slaying giant monsters, which will allow her to use the Starseed. While the world’s government proves useless in stopping it, a group of people called Voidrunners are deployed to activate the Starseed, a device capable of stopping a black hole. A massive black hole appears near a planet and starts gradually ripping it apart. Solar Ash’s world may look brightly colored, but its story is darkly apocalyptic. It’s a momentum-filled indie game that’s always moving, even though it skates past some finer details in the process. The fluid cloud-skating movement is just plain pleasurable, while towering bosses provide unforgettable set pieces that put speed and reaction time to the test. In that regard, Solar Ash is a successful experiment that bubbles to life with vibrant colors and unmatched style.įilled with memorable sequences, Solar Ash is a focused follow-up to Hyper Light Drifter that constantly inspires moments of awe. Sometimes, the fun of video game development comes from the digital alchemy that occurs when developers start to mix beakers. Its gargantuan boss fights bring Shadow of the Colossus to mind, while the reality-bending space exploration calls back to Super Mario Galaxy. Developed by Heart Machine, the studio behind indie hit Hyper Light Drifter, several elements of Solar Ash will seem familiar at first glance.

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