If you love gloomy horror-fantasy atmospheres, heavy character customization and challenges so difficult you're constantly being reminded just how mortal you are, then this is a title you should definitely try
Foreword
I for one am the type of player that likes to relax during gaming sessions, so I’m not exactly a fan of the “let’s make this game’s insane difficulty the gimmick” type of deal. As such, I only ever played games from the Dark Souls and Sekiro series once, and never touched them again. Admittedly, while we all have out games that we will always revisit later again and again, these are definitely NOT on my list. That being said, here’s Remnant: From the Ashes, a third-person survival-action game set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by mythical creatures where you will be constantly be reminded just how mortal you actually are.
Welcome to Hell
As I played the game, I couldn’t help but think about titles like Dark Souls, Sekiro, Fallout and Hellgate: London, mostly because it heavily borrows from those titles. You start off your journey by creating your character. Besides cosmetics, there are no other character customization options you can choose from, such as starting bonuses, gear or class. Speaking of which, the game abandons the typical class system you’d see in RPGs, as your play style is mostly dictated by the gear you have on. While you do have a moment where you choose your “Archetype”, this mostly affects what weapons you can use, and gives you access go just a handful of skills. These archetypes are basically the big three you see in most RPGs: the tank, the DPS and the support. At any given moment, you can switch your armor to that of another archetype, but you won’t be as efficient as a full-fledged one. More so, you should know that armor doesn’t just protect you, but it can also drag you down because of the weight, so while you will be impervious in big heavy metal armor, you’ll have the dexterity of a log.
It’s a good day to die….100 times over
The enemies you’ll be facing in this game are merciless to the core. Do not let yourself get fooled by the weakness of the mobs you encounter in the tutorial phase of the game, since they go full Uber Monster mode once you enter normal gameplay. The bestiary of enemies is quite impressive from a diversity, visual and mechanics point of view, and they will keep you on your toes constantly. If they are weak, they will usually swarm you, if they are tough, they are tough as Hell, but will usually drop nice loot. All in all, the point if you’ll die, and you better get used to the Death Screen. On thing worth noting is that the game developers were perfectly aware of just how often you’ll die, so at least they went out of their way and diversified the quotes that appear during it. Admittedly, you’ll still be dead, but at least you get to read something different every time that happens.
Every storm cloud has a small, pathetic silver lining
Your main base is Ward 13, a central hub from where you embark on all of your missions. This is similar to the subway stations in Hellgate, or the main towns in each of the Diablo Acts,. Maps are procedurally generated, so don’t bother remembering layouts. What’s more, unlike the titles it was inspired from, Remnant: From the Ashes doesn’t punish you too hard for dying. You don’t lose experience, progress or items, but you are teleported to the last checkpoint. And because enemies randomly reset during your respawn or rest periods, you’ll just have to fight your way through the map all over again. I’m actually happy you don't lose experience because of deaths because if I did, I should have been level -12 by the time I reached the first major Boss. One workaround is that because you get too keep everything you get even through death, you can just turtle an area over and over and go back to your main base from time to time for gear upgrades and supply restocks. This makes levels theoretically passable at some point, but the grinding and frustrations will still be there.
Stop, drop and roll
Everyone makes memes and pokes fun at games of this genre and the way rolling is the only way to play the game. Remnant: From the Ashes is the same, as it is impossible to pass even some of the minor bosses if you don’t master rolling and timing your attacks. Speaking of which, all mobs from within the game must be fought with their mechanics in mind. This means that just going straight on and hitting the mob will just mean you’ll be pushing up the daisies soon. This goes double when you take into consideration even minor bosses can kill you from full health with a single combo.
A million ways to die in the Apocalypse
I love status effects, but only when I’m the one applying them, and Remnant: From the Ashes has plenty of them. The game currently features 6 different status effects, from the traditional Bleeding and Burning statuses to the more original Irradiation or Corrosion. Each of these status effects are extremely deadly in their own way, as those that act as DOTs can indeed kill you, while others will make it easier for mobs to kill you. Fortunately, each single status effect has some sort of item that can treat it. The tricky part is remembering to have it on you when you need it…
Gloomy atmosphere
All this dying, carnage and mayhem would be nothing if it wouldn’t be all neatly gift-wrapped in a way that fits the story. The art style is great, and I admit I am having a hard time pinning down exactly what to compare it with. However, the words “fantasy”, “Steampunk”, and “occult symbolism” do come to mind. The environment is very well designed, especially when you consider that every map is procedurally generated, therefore an amalgam of parts randomly sewn together. The soundtrack also fits the atmosphere very well, as it combines calming music wherever you go back home to Ward 13, to gloomy atmospheric sounds whenever you are out in that wretched world you call “outside”. More so, a big thumbs up to the voice acting for the human characters, as well as the sound effects for all the mobs and bosses. They made me both bond with the good guys and be terrified of the baddies at the same time.
Too dangerous to go alone
A great feature of this game is that it scales its difficulty based on your progress and the number of survivors in your party. You’ll be rewarded for the additional challenge with better potential gear drops the more players you have. You can see an estimate of how you are measuring up to the current challenge in the Ratings section of Advanced Stats under the Menu. Now some of you may think that playing a game that is already difficult with players that will make it even harder may seem counter intuitive. The catch is that some encounters are far easier to take on with a well-coordinated team than alone. This is especially the case with Boss encounters, as strategic positioning and forcing it to swap targets will make your job a HELL of a lot more easier, even if he will have a larger health pool and greater damage.
Improvise, adapt, overcome
Enemies become harder and harder to face against as your progress through the game, and simply shooting and slashing won’t cut it anymore. That is why Remnant should be treated as an arms race between you and your foes. You must adjust both your play style depending on the foes ahead, but also remember that this is a number’s game after all. This means that you must always put in trait point into the right skill, upgrade your equipment whenever possible, and always have a steady supply of pretty much anything at hand. Keeping up with upcoming threats can be done by replacing the equipment you already have with better ones. The best ones usually drop from boss encounters, and their best versions drop when you face the boss with a party. The second method of upgrading gear is taking the one you already have, and simply upgrading at the appropriate NPC. You’ll notice that the difference in stats is quite great, so upgrade your gear every single chance you get.
The Good
- Hardcore standard difficulty
- Great character itemization
- Gear upgrades
- Unique mobs
- Combat never feels grindy
- Compelling story
- May seem familiar to fans of the genre
- Versatile art style depending on the world you're in
- Death is without major consequences
- Impeccable voice acting
The Bad
- Human facial design looks like it was done in 2010
- Steep learning-curve can be off-putting for some
- Death means all monsters will randomly respawn, so you'll face them again
- Some bosses force you to face them as a group, so you need friends that can help