In what seems like an homage to Jet Set Radio, Rei spends a lot of the game figure-skating on solar ash clouds. It is a great means of getting around the game's desolate landscape and is really the central pillar from the moment-to-moment gameplay. Rei can also be armed for melee combat but, aside from a short-range swing and a grappling hook to bridge gaps, her move set is limited therefore it feels more like a means of self-defense than the usual proficiency of hers. Her cloud-dancing is really as graceful as you'd imagine, and combined with her percussive combat, there's a real rhythm towards the game's core loop. In addition to the general fodder, each one of the world's fragments includes a colossal guardian of their own, referred to as Remnants. Climax a fools' errand to wake them by purging the map's far reaches of the corrupting ooze, the subsequent boss battles are balletic and, because of their sheer scale, riff from Shadow from the Colossus in a lot of ways.
Gracefully gliding across these colossi and chaining all the hit markers together before the monster's skin superheats, an arm wrestle of speed and precision, can serve as the spectacle of every biome. Though each death blow feels regrettable in the game's context, the journey demands it and I couldn't help but ride the tension of each and every battle knowing full well Solar Ash was building to something special. It requires all of Rei's tools-mobility and brutality combined-to topple the beasts. Unlike Hyper Light Drifter, there was no real need to learn patterns and apply knowledge to every repeat effort, it's a game that's very much about residing in its moments.
The inner workings of the Ultravoid are split up into six fragments, all ripe for exploration. While Rei's skating remains constant throughout, I do applaud the effortless introduction of new elements that emerge the further we plunge in to the void, whether they're complementary like rails for Rei to grind on or hazardous like the expansive pools of acid that make an effort to derail her suicide mission. Hyper Light Drifter didn’t restrain if this came to challenging players also it seems like Solar Ash got a bit lost in connection with this because it pursued some measure of accessibility. It’s tricky in points and, through predetermined story beats, the game does deduct hit points from Rei, but when there’s no real consequence to dying it never feels like it matters a great deal.
Though the immense gravity of the Ultravoid threatens to tear Rei's planet to pieces, its presence is felt in-game as parts of the world are locked in stasis. I recall being floored when i entered Mirrorsea, a collapsed coastal civilisation where its sea has formed a towering pillar that acts as a bridge between areas. Not only is it an uplifting image, but skating it in defiance of what we expect from physics acquire the best down on the planet beneath made for one of the game's most memorable moments.
Solar Ash doesn't get caught up as much as I felt Hyper Light Drifter did at times when it comes to collecting trinkets. It may be since the narrative is presented more plainly, but it felt as though everything Rei searched for-her fallen Voidrunners' suits and knowledge logs-tied straight into her plight. Each of the game's regions includes a small story thread that, once uncovered fully, builds the game's world much more and helps to create a great feeling of place. Most of it isn’t more than a stone's throw from the beaten path, given the world isn't overwhelmingly big, so it wouldn't be inconvenient to seek out these secrets and pad the game's number of hours.
Solar Ash, being set in the same universe as Hyper Light Drifter, seems like it nails the right amount of connectivity using its kin project. If there's a connective tissue that binds the stories together it was lost on me. There is however a familiarity that comes from the game's iconography and colour palette that's unmistakable. It's the same but different, it is the explosion of colour, style, and grand design that places it so confidently, with no other hint of association, within the same time and place of Hyper Light Drifter. It's a beautiful game and it is helped along by a score that, once again, nails the ethereal mood around the globe. And while Disasterpeace didn't handle the score, his fingerprints are all over it, and much more specifically, his focus on the emergent audio is next level.
Despite as being a deeply personal game for the people who managed to get, I feel like its ideas and ideas are so accessible that you’re certain to take something from the experience. There is a particular line from the game's climax that's been doing the rounds in my mind since i have rolled the credits and Solar Ash's effect on me is profound. This is an achingly beautiful piece of art that I'll remember for some time.
