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Solar Ash review: a stylish skate ‘em up that could use more tricksWorth getting inline?
Worth getting inline?
The folks over at Heart Machine have slid back into the fold with a game set in the same universe as their action-adventure debutHyper Light Drifter. Except this time it’s not a top-down hack-and-slasher, but a stylish skate to save a civilisation on the brink of collapse.Solar Ashsees you flipping onto the backs of massive monsters and felling them like you’re performing athletic acupuncture. So yes, it does retain something from its predecessor, and that’s the element of cool. This is a cool game. One that excels when it lets you off the leash, only, that doesn’t happen as often as I’d have liked.
In Solar Ash, you play as space-skater Rei whose planet is being sucked into a massive black hole called the Ultra Void. Normally, you’d twist a knob on this big tower called the Starseed and hey presto, you’d rescue the planet from Suction Destruction. But for some reason, the Starseed is no longer operational and the Ultra Void seemsparticularlysucky this time. Something’s gone wrong. So, it’s up to you to venture into the Ultra Void and see what’s cracking.
SOLAR ASH | Release Date TrailerWatch on YouTube
SOLAR ASH | Release Date Trailer
Defeat a Remnant and you’ll be whisked away to Echo’s realm. Her reactions to the news you’re bringing these monsters down only adds to the intrigue.
It’s not just a case of hopping on the back of these Remnants, Shadow Of The Colossus-style, either. Each area has a few corrupted spots which you can ping on your HUD with your scanner. Only once you’ve cleared these out does their resident boss spring to life. That’s the rhythm of Solar Ash: scan each area for corrupted bits, clear corrupted bits to awaken the boss, defeat said boss, move onto another area, repeat.
The real star of this game is the movement, which has you rollerblade around shattered worlds like a post apocalyptic gazelle on wheels. I used a controller as it felt far more intuitive than mouse and keyboard. Squeeze the left trigger and you’ll transition from a gentle jog to a wonderful glide that picks up momentum as you stride forwards. Give the right trigger a pull and you’ll get this brief nitrous boost that’ll let you ramp off terrain with extra gusto. Easily my favourite is the grappling hook, because we love a grapple don’t we? Slap the right bumper and you’ll slingshot to floating rings with a delightful snap.
Solar Ash gets one thing so ridiculously right, and that’s feeling cool as heck when skating around its gorgeous environments. They’re all designed with your rollerblades in mind too, with honking great drops that springboard you onto ruined skyscrapers. You’ll flip between cracked slabs like a supersonic trampolinist. You’ll grind on rails and tumble into dark chasms. Despite succumbing to a black hole and big monsters, the world does makes for a brilliant skate park.
It makes the pursuit of those scanned lumps of Remnant muck a real treat. Not only does it feel great catapulting yourself over to each one, but it’s also the act of viewing the landscape and piecing together the correct route which adds an extra layer of enjoyment. They’re just difficult enough to present a challenge, but never leave you stuck for long, which I appreciated.
Over time, the game introduces new ways to traverse the world and reach those pesky bits of Remnant soup. It starts off easy with rails you can grind, but then it gets a bit more complex. To give one example, you’ll eventually come across different coloured mushrooms that release certain scents that cling to you for a short time when hit. You must then whizz over to a corresponding mushroom of the same colour to activate it, which should then open a door or the like. Later: MORE mushrooms with different properties. They’re dropped in at a manageable pace and together they make for some sweet skating times. However, some worlds become so fixated on them that they wear you down. Occasionally, I just wanted to break free of their restraints and blast through some clouds for a bit.
Each area is home to several Void Logs hidden away in difficult to reach nooks and crannies. Manage to each zone’s haul, and you’ll receive a new armour set. Some reduce boost cooldowns, others let you regain shields after killing enemies. They’re okay, I suppose, but I wouldn’t say they’re all that exciting.
Taking on all that Remnant goop is a great way to flex your knowledge, though. They’re essentially time-attacks, where you’ve got to slice and stab your way through environmental puzzles before the timer expires. Maintaining your momentum is key here, as you need to slice through each checkpoint to reset your timer and stay alive, and there’s a real elegance to its overall design. They’re also a fun way of measuring how far your skating skills have come, too, and I never lost that buzz of nailing one on the first try.
This sense of energetic expectation is ramped up even further when you finally take on an area’s resident Remnant boss. First off, they’re colossal creatures that roam the lands in spectacular fashion. Bone serpents, giant titans, a gangly sphere that’s the size of a flipping planet. To take one down, you’ll need to find a spot on their body you can grapple onto. Once that’s done, it’s back to slicing and grappling through checkpoints, only this time you’re skidding around on the back of a beast. Move over Shadow Of The Colossus, with your slow, clumpy movements. How dull. We’ve got Solar Ash over here, doing flips and shit. The music swells, the checkpoints burst… You’ve never concentrated so hard in your life. And thensquelch, that’s one weak spot down. Another two to go. But the real fight is only just beginning.
It’s all lovely stuff, but I wish Solar Ash had more of these moments outside of its boss runs. There are glimpses, sure, but it’s so stubborn in its structure it almost verges on restricting the flow of its own movement. You know you’re only going to ride the organic express a handful of times. Otherwise, it’s a lot of stopping and starting as you figure out the next fungi-puzzle.
Perhaps I’m being a bit harsh here, but that’s because Solar Ash’s movement is brilliant and I hunger for more ways to roam its wastes. Don’t expect one fluid joy ride, but when it does come together it really does impress. If you’re after a few hours of slicin’ and skatin’, I’d say it’s worth strapping those blades up.
