Ash of Gods: Redemption

This game looks very much like Banner Saga to a point that it's probably using the same game engine. With that said, in my opinion, it clearly surpassed Banner Saga in many aspects. 1. The storyline is deeply immersive. I most often play games for the gameplay, but some games catch my attention with their storylines that I don't want to skip any cutscenes or dialogs. Ash of Gods is one of such games. 2. The combat system is fairly straightforward, albeit not entirely realistic in some aspects, and, in my opinion, is much more fun than in Banner Saga. The biggest unrealistic aspect of it is that in 1v6 fights a solo fighter will have 6 turns before all of his/her opponents make just one each. However, it opens some interesting tactical options, and, in my opinion, doesn't detract from the gameplay in slightest. Some reviews mention this aspect as a downside in regards to Banner Saga, and I want to address it here. Banner Saga approach doesn't look any more realistic and looks a lot like an awkward patch for the underlying system. For example, it doesn't fix fights such as 2v6. I like Ash of Gods approach in that they embraced the existing combat system instead of trying to fix it, and it works pretty well. 3. Music and other art are awesome. 4. Ever wanted to play a badass dude who kicks ass and chews bubblegum? Well, many games introduce your main character like this, but then you proceed to get destroyed by a regular mugger. In Ash of Gods, you get to play 3 storylines, 2 of which actually give you this experience you always wanted but often didn't get. In one of them, you exclusively get into 1vX fights and get to exploit the combat system the most. There is one negative thing to mention: a couple of things in combination make the supposed "boss" fights quite easy: 1. Bosses come with minions and given the existing combat system it makes boss moves much less frequent. 2. There is a broken balance-wise card, that allows killing bosses with little effort.

Been playing the SWITCH version and boy howdy does this game kick ass! Addictive turn based tactical combat that reminds me of one of my favourite GBA games, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and a branching story in an interesting dark fantastical world. But perhaps the best thing about it is that while playing it during an episode of depression I was so distracted form it that it literally made it disappeared! Screw Slime Rancher this is the game doctors should be giving keys out for as an anti-depressant.

Enthralled immediately by the fantastic artwork and story telling the game kept me hooked if not simply for the story. My initial playthrough was done on the normal difficulty. Let me just say that the scaling difficulty can ramp up rather quickly, depening on the players choices and actions of course. That being said, nearly every choice you make has a lasting impact on your party good or bad. The music is wonderfuly done and blends well into the story line. Character development and story in addition to multipul paths through the story are worth it alone. Combat itself is simple yet rewarding if played right. Nothing genre defining in terms of style or execution for the combat aspect. Similar to your standard HP and MP pools + usable items (cards in this case). Animations are very fluid and well done. The only major downside to this game I would have to say is the Stryx system. These items are consumed as you travel and usage depends on how many party members and your distance to travel. Some minor items can influence comsumption but nothing too hefty. The issue I had here was not rationing off what supplies I had to party members but the fact it auto-consumes them x per character each time you move. This wouldn't be so bad if it had given the option to not give the items to certain individuals when you want to. It only lets you choose as your supply nears empty. This can be avoided of course by playing on lower difficulties. Lastly my only real irritation would be the lack of equipment for the characters. They get to use two items each yes, but no you wont be upgrading weapons and armor here. These few minor things do not make this game BAD in any way. Far from it in fact. Wonderful music, fantastic artwork and a compelling story kept me playing till the very end. Then again to try different routes. Definately worth the buy and makes me want to try other games from their company. A good buy for any tactical RPG fan.

Having played many Turn-Based-Strategy games over decades, this is the biggest let-down. Awesome visuals, including combat anymations. Great athmosphere, despite problems with much, much text to go through. Combat is absolutely flawed in its core. People saying it should be treated like chess, but in chess I dont have to move every of my pieces on the board until I may it again. Having more pieces on the board gives you a straight advantage in most cases. In this game the alternating turn-system every battle falls into an equilibrium, instead of handling the snowball-effect, which is the basis of strategy-games. I played on IronMan mode and could not even enjoy the battles i've won over 5-10 hours, cause no matter what i did. I nearly turned out the same. You either use a strat between certain character classes that is simply imbalaned or you play the equilibrium game, which transfers the combat from the actuall battlefield to the caravan to heal up characters you would have lost anyway. A real shame. I still need to give 2 Stars instead of 1, cause the animation and athmosphere is just gorgeous.

So is my first review on GOG, and I really liked this game, to my friends in Brasil, you can trust in me. This game rocks. AOG is a brutal masterpiece, is a hell journey, a real tour de force in a despicable plain and desert. No have rest for the wicked, and you are wicked, no have mercy since the first minute of the game. Think on The Fellowship of the Ring, add the Death presence, add a stubborn dificulty and you have Ash of Gods.