Ashen is a soul-like game where you take on the role of a nameless hero protecting a newly born light. Due to the unusual style, namely the minimalistic detailing of the environment and characters (they have only the outlines of the face), a slight understatement is created and the gamer is invited to independently refine the images in his head.
At the very start of the passage, your character creates a Tramp's Shelter - a central location for you and the people found on the journey (they settle here). You don’t build anything in it yourself, but as the story progresses, it will become more and more like the capital of some kingdom. Returning here you will be able to communicate with the inhabitants and improve your equipment. The world of Ashen is not very large, linear. Several locations are collected in a chain, you need to go through them in order. Instead of fires, as in Dark Souls, resurrection stones, on which you can recover or teleport.
When traveling, you will always have a partner with you. In single player mode, it will be controlled by AI, when you go online, another gamer can come to you and help you get a secret on a ledge or help you defeat opponents. The combat is balanced, with a system of rolls for dodges. Of the weapons in the game, swords, shields, spears, axes, etc. There are a lot of bosses and they are big, the selection of tactics for them will take some time. Protagonist leveling is not provided, you can only wear talismans that give some bonuses, for example, more stamina or health.