It’s not often you jump into a third-person action adventure to find yourself cast not as some highly-trained hero, but just some lowly schmuck who only came along to do the nerdy shit while everyone else explores a new world. But in Of Ash and Steel from developer Fire Frost, that’s very much the case.
Protagonist Tristan is a cartographer, there to make maps of the mysterious island known as Grayshaft, and kind of falls into the role of hero by accident. He’s a smart lad, of course, and you’re given lots of opportunities to run verbal rings around the sailors and merchants you make landfall with, but he’s no fighter. At least, not at first.
Of Ash and Steel is an old-school RPG very much formed in the Gothic mould. The closest comparison today would be Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, with its focus on playing an actual role and spinning a narrative of which you’re very much at the helm. It’s also precisely as janky as you’d expect, bringing to mind titles like the aforementioned Gothic or Risen.
What I played was an early build, and I only had a few hours to get to grips with the mechanics. There’s no character creation or stat distribution; instead you answer questions posed to Tristan by his friend and that determines his starting stats and skills. One thing Of Ash and Steel seems really proud of is its unwillingness to hold your hand in any way. Sure you’ll have a quest list in your journal, but that’s about it. There are no floating waypoints or obvious paths to follow.
With Risen developer Piranha Bytes sadly disbanded now, it very much feels like Of Ash and Steel is here to honour its memory. Everyone is either incredibly British or scattershot European, with little concern for how an accent fits a personality or even a face. It start a little clunkily, too, with Tristan sent all over the beach completing minor fetch quests like collecting brandy and dirty pants (seriously, this is an actual quest), and generally talking to people. There are choices to be made right away, such as what to do with the three bottles of brandy you find, and I’m not yet exactly sure how those choices will bear out.
Combat reflects Tristan’s lack of training, too, as not only does it feel quite cumbersome, it’s also impossible to use some of the items you can find in the demo because Tristan is too weak. This is compounded by a complete lack of enemy scaling, so if you find yourself wandering into an area that’s too high for you, you’ll just die outright and will need to come back later when you’ve a few more notches on the combat skill tree. At present the combat feels really clunky, and certainly needs a little polishing to make it a smoother, more enjoyable experience.
Again, this feels a lot like the original Kingdom Come: Deliverance, and as a result will likely feature some pretty satisfying character progression as you slowly hone Tristan’s skills in three different combat stances and a number of other disciplines. It’s pretty clear that Fire Frost are taking the hero’s journey element quite seriously, as you’re clearly meant to feel every improvement Tristan makes in a meaningful way.
In addition to combat, Tristan also has two other paths of progression. Crafting will not only allow you to make armour, weapons, and useful items; it will also allow Tristan to make money by selling his creations, while Survival is all about, well, that. You’ll learn to cook and heal yourself, allowing Tristan to stay alive longer in the wilderness outside of safe zones.
Like in the Risen and Gothic series, Tristan will need to seek out trainers to teach him new skills and abilities, which is a method of progression I’ve never enjoyed but which kind of fits the world in Of Ash and Steel. Everything kind of layers on top of everything else, so if you spec entirely into combat you’ll miss out on important skills from the other trees, such as being able to sharpen your sword for a temporary damage buff, or strengthen your armour for better damage mitigation (both of which are in the Crafting tree). Survivalism lets you heal better, create foods for buffs, and apply poison to your weapons.
Given the focus on choice and narrative in Of Ash and Steel, I’m absolutely expecting it to appeal to a certain type of RPG player. It’s old school almost to a fault, and refuses to tiptoe around its difficulty. The jank will put off as many people as it attracts, I’m certain, but the fantasy setting, imaginative beasties, and interestingly intertwined skill trees will definitely win it some fans on release.
Of Ash and Steel is coming to PC via Steam.
