(I will review the actual game eventually, whenever I can be arsed) If there's anything sandbox games eventually will run into, it's the problem with late game. What exactly will you spend all your in-game currency on? Warhorse Studios is trying to tackle this problem by giving hoarders something to spend all those Groschens on. Introducing From the Ashes. Now what do you get? From the Ashes is a financial management "side-game" slapped into the existing KCD. This means the entire DLC is focused on you spending groschen. It's not a city builder nor is it a story driven adventure. This DLC is solely added as a 10$ investment for you to add some extra hours into your already finished late game or added as a side project to your newly started play through. The Good - Added value to Groschen. With a lot of investments you will spend thousands to ten of thousands of Groschens getting new houses or improvements to existing ones, where the starting goal is to just make the village profitable. - Grind and reward. Grinding groschens to finally be able to afford a new building(s) is very pleasing and adds a enjoyable visual cut scene where the new buldining(s) will appear. This adds a deeper fulfilment to grinind/hoarding in Kingdom Come. - A new home in the wasteland. One big problem in the Northen areas of Kingdom Come is that there aren't that many villages or cities, which often makes the entire North feel like a piss-poor wasteland. With this DLC you can change that, adding much needed traders in the otherwise desolate North. - Doesn't conflict with the existing game. Every now and then you'll see DLC that just feels completely out of place, or at worst adds one good thing and then ten bad things. From the Ashes doesn't do this which means at worst case it's just adds more game play to an already deep existing game. The Bad - So much Groschens. The main critique to this DLC seems to be by people on how much Groschens you truly have stacked. I'd say with thousands to maybe 30k Groschens this DLC will be very enjoyable (more-so in a new play through) but for people sitting on ludicrous numbers where they can buy everything in the start this experience falters through to just buy everything and that's it. - No adventure. This is the second critique. This DLC doesn't add any in depth story or any adventure of the sorts. it's just there as a way to make people find something to spend their in game currency on. Summary. If you want something to spend your in game money on and also enjoy the fulfilment of working hard to get a visually pleasing reward this DLC is perfect. It doesn't interfere with the actual game and adds a enjoyable, niche and somewhat simplistic side task for you to focus on where money is far to easy to come by. It's difficulty and enjoyment is also highly tied to how much groschens you have and therefore it might be both too difficult early game, where you will fail to keep it in balance or far too easy late game where you just have too much money. Treat From the Ashes as a non-adventure groschen dump, best enjoyed with limited funds and you'll have a blast... If not pick it up on a discount as it doesn't really harm the existing game either.
