Throughout all of this, the tone seemingly shifts like the various structures adrift in the neon clouds. Rei is capable of skating around in environments with the ability to dash, attack enemies with a light construct sword without losing speed, and grind on rails.' 'The core of Solar Ash is its platforming. The latter not only provides contexts for events leading up to her arrival but different suits with unique benefits as well (like shorter cooldown on dashes and Time Slips). Each level has its own intriguing side quest chains along with void-runner caches that talk about what happened to Rei’s friends. In contrast to this is the Eternal Garden, home to the easily frightened Ahrric who must commune with the Elders but is hesitant for some reason. Venturing to the Broken Capital showcases the Veruki and their failed battle against…something (with an aggrieved stranger named Lyris thinking she’s still in the conflict). This isn’t a purely visual story – all characters are fully voiced and the core plot doesn’t leave too much up to the player to figure out on their own – but telltale signs of Heart Machine’s environmental story-telling are apparent throughout. Over time, it settles into a more comfortable groove, with the ethereal visuals and stellar synth-wave tunes setting a solitary mood. In between, one is caught up in exposition regarding the void-runners, the Starseed, Cyd, and Rei’s own musings. Despite being thrust immediately into the Ultravoid, it takes a bit to get going, familiarizing players with the mechanics and how battles with the Remnants work. Initially, Solar Ash’s pacing feels at odds with its story set-up. As so often happens though, things aren’t quite as straightforward as they seem. What happened to the other void-runners and who is the mysterious Echo that seemingly holds a vendetta against Rei? It’s up to the player to clear the conduits of black gunk and take down the Remnants to bring the Starseed back online. Despite being thrust immediately into the Ultravoid, it takes a bit to get going, familiarizing players with the mechanics and how battles with the Remnants work.' 'Initially, Solar Ash’s pacing feels at odds with its story set-up. However, upon entering the Ultravoid, the Starseed is found to be offline, its conduits blocked by signals emanating from massive bosses called the Remnants, and her companion Cyd suffering from memory loss. Implanting a contraption called the Starseed into the Ultravoid, the idea is to calibrate it and collapse the black hole, thus saving their planet in the process. It’s currently in the pull of the Ultravoid and slowly disintegrating but her people have a plan. In a nut-shell, the story is about Rei, a void-runner who’s trying to save her planet. For all of its despair and post-apocalyptic ruination, its atmosphere is also heavy on adventure fantasy with quirky characters and an enthusiastic protagonist.

In place of the old peoples a few thousand strange souls live” to a tee.

It seemingly channels Jack Vance’s The Dying Earth with its fragmented lands and dilapidated architecture, almost following the passage “A million cities have lifted towers, have fallen to dust. Beginning with a trip down the proverbial rabbit hole, Solar Ash is many shades of fast-paced 3D platforming, from casual exploration to precise timing and obstacle course bosses.

Solar ash eternal garden caches