Of Ash and Steel is an RPG where choices matter. While your dialogue options do not have much impact, meaning they will not affect your relationship with others, your actions may still have some influence. Also, this game does not hold your hand, and most of the time, you are completely on your own.
The hints are also quite vague, and if you look hard enough, you will find a lead. That is why it is designed for hardcore RPG fans who thoroughly enjoy franchises like Gothic, Witcher, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance. The game was recently released and reached its all-time peak during the weekend. It managed to reach over 6,000 concurrent players on Steam, but the reviews are mixed.
A Solid Launch For An Indie RPG
Of Ash and Steel is an indie game, as it is developed by a relatively small studio, Fire and Frost, and published by tinyBuild. The game received a lot of praise from the fandom, and over the weekend, its concurrent players reached more than 6k. While this is not an impressive feat, it is still pretty good for an indie game.
Also, we cannot be certain of a game’s success from concurrent players alone. This is because concurrent players are only those who are playing the game at the same time. Keeping time zones and free time in mind, there could be thousands more players overall.
Still, the game was expected to attract more players, but it seems like poor reviews from the media prevented it from gaining stronger sales. It is currently sitting at a 57 Metascore, which is extremely low. Of Ash and Steel itself offers a solid experience, but it seems like the majority of players had their experience tainted by bugs.
There are also some bugs that cause quest items to be lost if you die, which makes the game quite frustrating to play. Also, it seems like many did not like the fact that you are completely on your own. Generally, this should not be the cause of a negative review.
A Delay To 2026 Could Have Saved It
Right now, there are way too many issues with the game. However, cutting score for the technical state of the game may seem unfair, as it delivers a strong and remarkable RPG experience. Those who enjoy a game where there is little to no hand-holding will absolutely enjoy it.
However, due to the technical issues, they may also get bored. The fandom collectively thinks that the game should have been delayed. It does not just have a poor rating on Metacritic. Even on Steam, the reviews are mixed, so a delay would definitely have helped the developers polish the game more.
At launch, it was not even in a condition to play, as the freezes and lag were unbearable. A patch was released that did fix some issues, but the major ones are still there. For example, traveling in the city causes immense lag at certain points.
That said, we can only hope that the developers will improve the game and make it better for the fandom.
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Obaid Ur Rehman is a lifelong gaming enthusiast with a deep passion for writing about video games. While he enjoys all genres, he specializes in RPGs and Soulslike titles. After tackling some of the toughest bosses, he often unwinds with a cozy game to relax. Outside of gaming, Obaid enjoys watching anime, bingeing TV series, or staying active at the gym.
