Years following its reveal at E3 2015,Ashenreturned duringThe 2018 Game Awards, and released that same day. While the game pulls much inspiration from the like ofDark Soulsin how combat and enemy difficulty are presented, those who’ve gotten to around the halfway point of the story are uncovering a number of the game’s secrets. One of these secrets is the discovery of a newer, even harder difficulty setting, which in turns grants players new challenges in boss fights and common enemies.
For those playingAshen, upon beating the third boss in the story, Amiren, they’ll be able to access a harder difficulty, called “Children of Sissna.” Since players are not required to complete the game in full on standard difficulty first to unlock hard mode, there is no new game plus feature included, but rather a new save file will be opened up when players choose the increased difficulty setting. In hard mode, both the player’s health and stamina meters are reduced significantly, meaning they will die in just a few hits.
Other than the severely decreased player stats and a new ending, most other aspects ofAshenwill remain unchanged, such as being able to play the game as either a two-player cooperative experience or alongside an AI companion. While the difficulty doesn’t alter if a player is fighting alongside someone else or choosing to go it along, the final boss fight will require all the help players can find.
InAshen,players journey through an open-world fantasy setting that is presented much like the unforgiving action-rpg style games developer FromSoftware has released in the past decade, such asDark Souls, Bloodborne,and the upcomingSekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Players are given the chance to create their own unique characters and fight alongside other players, occasionally easing the burden of tough, unforgiving combat.
Ashenis available now for PC and Xbox One.
