Remnant From the Ashes feels like the perfect remedy for the gamers that have tried to get on board with the Dark Souls franchise but were sent into fits of rage due to its brutally unforgiving melee combats. I think deep down those gamers knew there was no beastly sword or magical dagger they could find that would provide that level of enjoyment that they’re craving, but maybe swords and daggers aren’t the solutions that they need and so steps forward Remnant From the Ashes.
Remnant From the Ashes is an underrated gem from 2019. It combines elements of Dark Souls and action RPGs like Diablo and Torchlight to create a tough third-person shooter action RPG with awesome co-op that sadly flew under the radar of many. The game shows its Souls-like inspiration from having a healing class or charges every time you rest at the checkpoint, and enemies respond when you rest as well.
It also has a similar gear system to the likes of Dark Souls, where weapons and armor can be found around the world and upgraded with resources gathered from exploring and fighting however, while it takes inspiration from Souls-like, the rest of the game is set up like an action RPG, dungeons are procedurally generated, and that includes their layout enemy pool and bosses.
Remnant has an easy-to-understand co-op system, unlike the games that it takes some inspiration from, like Sekiro and Elden Ring. You can join your friends online or through local wireless and explore the Hub and levels together, and you don’t get kicked out after fighting the boss, so of course, this game is an even bigger blast than its predecessor.
So strap into your seats as we take you down the road to this Remnant From Ashes review and explain everything it is for you to know before you try out or buy this game. While this game is old, there is a new Remnant game right around the corner this year, so this is a good time to go over the hit sequels that set the ball rolling for the developers.
- Release Date: 16 August 2019
- Creator/Developer: Gunfire Games
- Publisher: Perfect World, Gearbox Publishing, THQ Nordic
- Platform: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows
- Ratings: 9/10 (Steam)
- Genre: Action role-playing, third-person shooter, souls like
- Price: $39.99
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Remnant From The Ashes: Gameplay, Story, And Our Thoughts
You’ll start the game creating a character and picking an archetype from long medium, and short-ranged starting loadouts, but as you progress, you can easily switch up your style however you see fit. As you play, you find the occasional story-driven item being dropped from bosses or maybe an NPC that’s hidden away on a level somewhere, but the best gear is usually hidden in the world.
That brings us to the procedurally generated world, Remnant is a nightmare for those walkthrough authors and those that use them because when trying to Google the location of a certain item, they’ve had to list all the possible locations to where you might find that item.
Your play-through will not only have a completely different layout to the map, but you could find different items in different hidden locations and even different quests so, we love this aspect as it adds so much replay value to the game, and at OtakuKart we love and recommend story-driven games that can be played more than once without getting bored.
Character animations themselves are pretty good, with heavier armor stretching out roll animations and weight from everything you carry influencing how the world feels, and guns feel weighty with a nice recoil unless you lower it with a trait you can get since this is not a looter shooter at all, each of the weapons and armor is handmade, and that makes us sort of question how mundane a number of them look even the later ones you get from main bosses aren’t incredibly inspiring even if you don’t do damage and effects with them.
The bosses are a massive part of the game, and while they give off some Resident Evil vibes, they are easier than the ones seen in the Fromsoft franchise. Remnant bosses aren’t cakewalks, but the boss fights are hit or miss. Some are so easy that you’ll beat them on your first go without having to even think much about them, but there are a few standard bosses later in the game that is tough to beat.
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Conclusion And Should You Buy It?
When it comes to loving an RPG game, it boils down to the hero you are controlling and its progression through the game, so in Remnant, your character’s development comes in the way of traits, and you’ll unlock progression, but you’ll also unlock some skill-based traits such as increased vaulting speed after you’ve vaulted over enough obstacles or increased weak spot damage after you’ve hit the enemy’s weak spot enough times.
Now the visuals are a bit of a mixed bag. There’s almost a cell shading effect being used, and in some areas, it can look blotchy with low res textures, but other areas look much crisper and pleasing on the eye with all the different worlds that you can explore all have stark color differences to which makes for a nice refreshment on the visuals as the story progresses.
Those low-res textures are likely helping the game’s optimization keeping it running smoothly, but even so, it’s a surprisingly demanding game. There’s a free next-gen upgrade to those on the console, and for 60 FPS, you’re limited to 1080P and a 4K 30fps option.
There’s no official word of a sequel just yet, but it certainly sounds likely considering the rumors suggest two trademarks have been filed for Remnant From the Ashes two, and just simply Remnant 2. So if you are looking forward to spending $40, we suggest you hold it off for a while and wait for the next update to air.
Our Rating: ⭐ 3.6/5
Also Read: God of War Ragnarok Video Game Review
