Remnant: From the Ashes Reviews

What is Remnant: From the Ashes?

Remnant is 3rd person shooter, souls-lite game with 3 person coop. You are tasked with taking out the root in order to make it to a lighthouse(this is a very broad statement as the story is much, much more complicated and weird).

Gameplay:

All combat is thrid person, you have three weapons, primary, secondary, melee. The worlds are made up of the main area and dungeons. Every campaign is different with different bosses/dungeons and layouts. There is also an adventure mode that allows you to reroll a world with different dugeons. This allows you to get beat the boss you need to get the item you want. It is very souls like in this regard, kill x thing get x item to make x thing. The game uses an upgrade system to make your weapons better, using in game resources. This is the grind of the game, getting the resources you need to upgrade your guns and then beating the bosses to get the guns/armor/mods you want. There is also a trait system which you can do however you want. Traits are acquired via events or beating bosses or meeting certain conditions.

The shooting combat is very good, the guns all perform differently and have different play-styles. There are snipers, shotguns and a decent amount of weird guns. Some guns have a specific mod that cannot be removed, other guns have an open slot and there are a good number of mods to choose from that define how you'll play. Melee combat is lacking though, it works, but you cannot be melee focused, its more of I'm surrounded start swinging type of thing. Every enemy/boss has weak points you can exploit and some bosses have the special kill it a specific way get a different result.

My only complaint with the combat are some boss fights, a lot of them have constant spawning peons. While this is not the worst thing ever it can be very annoying and feels to add difficulty artificially. The end boss also leaves something to be desired.

Visuals:

Very brown and grey. Its post apocalypse, so its semi understandable, but there are times you cannot see enemies because everything blends together. The bosses the enemies and your character all look very good for a mid-tier budget game.

Sound:

I really enjoyed the music during fights and bosses. The sounds of guns are good, the enemies all sound fine. I enjoyed playing without the music a lot due to the ability to hear what the enemies were doing.


Achievements:

Decent list, nothing too hard, few things take RNG to get the right world with the right boss or item.

Final verdict;

This review is short, I put 60 hrs into the game also did full 1000, I would highly recommend this game to anyone who likes 3rd person shooters with some challenge. Its 40$ or free on game pass.

The only knock I had was the boss battles were artificially boosted difficulty due to the peons.

I hope they make a sequel because this is a good baseline.

4.5/5

At first you don't know exactly what to expect from this game, unless you've already read somewhere that it is KINDA like "souls games". In my case, I had laid eyes on it through GamePass' catalog multiple times, but the trailer I then watched each time on the Store really didn't caught my attention enough to make time to play it. That was until the day I was reading some of the comments from other players in that same page and got interested when someone defined it as having some elements in common to Dark Souls, but not being as hard or frustrating. That made me curious and willing to give it a chance after all.

At the beginning of the game you are sent on a quest to figure out how to put an end to an evil somewhere, but not much more than that is explained, really. It turns out that this game is a sequel of another one called Chronos, which is/was a VR game. It's not necessary to have played Chronos to enjoy this title though, and you can easily find information about that prequel over the internet, to increase your knowledge on that universe. But I'd recommend doing so only after beating the final boss for the first time though, as it seems to be the objective of this game to slowly explain what's going on to the players (and also to avoid spoilers).

In fact, one of my favorite things in this game was the lore. It's somewhat intriguing and it clearly has potential to be build upon. Your journey will take you to other worlds where interesting events have or are happening. It's just a shame you won't get to see the outcome of one of those story arcs unless you pay extra for the DLC (which I won't, since I rarely buy that type of extra anymore). The main game is not very long, so leaving content out like that doesn't feel right nor "organic".

The other thing that I really enjoyed was the overall Design in the game. Sure, there are certain elements in Remnant that seem a bit cartoonish, such as your character's face during character creation or even the red crystals through which you teleport, but the design of both of the worlds and the items, specially the jewelry, make out for it and really stand out. Each one of the rings you find during your playthroughs (so far I've collected 22, besides many pendants) is very gorgeous and uniquely drafted! That level of detail for me is impressive and not always so common, even on big hits. Just as a comparison, I recently tried another bigger RPG title that is currently on the Xbox Game Pass catalog and unfortunately the enemies and the loot in that game were so generic that it made me want nothing to do with it.

The game also does such a good job in highlighting pick up items with different colorful auras that allow you to spot and distinguish them from a distance and later collect even the ones that are dropped by enemies that may have died, for instance, by the hand of your summoned allies when you weren't looking, but unfortunately the same can't be said about interactive objects, which are really easy to miss. Every now and then you may pass by a readable statue or book on a table without even noticing it if you aren't paying close attention.

Finally, did I find it similar to Dark Souls at all? Well, I certainly can see some of the similarities with DS or even Darksiders 3 and that genre. Enemies respawn each time you rest at checkpoints, but then your health and ammo are fully restored as well. Besides, on your first run your char feels underpowered, forcing you to take it slow until you gain XP and start unlocking and investing points on perks (called traits) and upgrading your weapons and armor back at the main base. The first playthrough on the lowest difficult might prove itself challenging for most gamers, but if you replay it afterwards and keep the same difficulty (which can only be changed at the beginning of the "new game plus") it can become somewhat boring and repetitive, specially if your char is overpowered. A reason to replay it all is the fact that you don't get all possible events in just 1 (or even 2, they say) playthrough. But despite the fact that some dungeons, bosses and puzzle events do change, a lot still stays pretty much the same in the worlds visited.

I could dive deeper in details about all of the other aspects of the gameplay but the point of my reviews is not a whole X-ray of the thing, but usually just to talk and point out the good and bad things that caught my attention the most.

I'll leave the rest for you to explore, experience and decide if you liked it in the end or not. I know I did, mostly.

Remnant: From the Ashes is an action role-playing video game set in a post-apocalyptic world. As many people have said "soulslike with guns". Many varieties of guns, armor, mods, etc. The game gives you an option to reroll certain areas of the game to finish the content you missed in your first campaign playthrough. If you are a fan of these types of games, it's a must play.

In my opinion here are some pros and cons:

Pros:

Dynamic Worlds: The game features procedurally generated worlds, ensuring each playthrough feels fresh. Exploring diverse environments, from desolate cities to lush forests, keeps players engaged.
Challenging Combat: Combat mechanics are tight and satisfying. Players face a variety of enemies, each with unique attack patterns. Boss battles are intense and require strategy.
Co-op Experience: Remnant shines in multiplayer. Team up with friends to tackle tougher enemies and bosses. The cooperative aspect adds depth and camaraderie.
Lore and Secrets: The game’s lore is intriguing, with hidden stories and mysteries waiting to be uncovered. Collectibles and environmental clues provide context about the shattered Earth.
Weapon Mods: Customize your weapons with mods that alter their behavior.
Experimenting with different combinations adds depth to combat.

Cons:

Story Pacing: While the lore is fascinating, the main story progression can feel disjointed. Some players may find it hard to follow.
Visuals: Although the environments are varied, the graphics lack polish. Character models and animations could be improved.
Repetitive Enemies: While enemy variety is decent, encountering similar foes across different worlds can become repetitive.