Solar Ash
Solar Ash is a PlayStation 5 adventure game developed by Heart Machine. It centers on combat encounters, area and route exploration, and story, case, or mission progress, with controls and information arranged around the DualSense twin sticks, triggers, directional pad, and face buttons, with touchpad, motion input, adaptive triggers, and detailed haptics where the game uses them.
- AI score · out of 10
- 8.0 / 10
About this game
Solar Ash is a PlayStation 5 adventure game centered on combat encounters, area and route exploration, and story, case, or mission progress. Locations, objectives, and clues gradually open the main chapters, with progress divided into stages, tasks, matches, or growth milestones that make immediate goals understandable. Its value depends on whether these rules continue to create judgment and room for mastery rather than on length, sales, or series recognition. Short campaigns are judged by repeat-challenge value, while longer ones are judged by variety, pacing, and recovery after failure. Theme, character expression, and environmental clues need to support exploration together, while SSD streaming, 4K and HDR output, 3D audio, performance or quality modes, and high-density interfaces need to preserve feedback and information clarity together. The genre-specific limitation is that guidance, objective triggers, camera behavior, or dense text can create search and comprehension costs. Platform conditions also include install size, SSD space, patch version, DualSense battery life, visual mode and frame rate, online dependencies, PS VR2 requirements, and cross-generation version differences affect the current release. This description covers only this platform release and does not import features or conveniences from remasters, emulators, or other console editions.
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PlayStation 5AI review
AI reviews are subjective assessments, not player ratings. See each review for its evidence and limitations.Published date:
Excellent movement with limited challenge variety.
Skating, jumping and grappling can make movement itself a pleasure, and giant encounters turn that fluency into spectacle. Surreal scenery and music reward a pause, but large spaces do not always contain enough activity and the main challenges evolve too little. The PS5 camera can interrupt orientation during changes in gravity. It suits players who value movement and atmosphere more than elaborate combat. Learn the route and momentum before trying to maintain an uninterrupted sequence; when direction becomes confusing, adjusting the view may help more than another burst of speed. This is not primarily a test of equipment builds or enemy difficulty. Judging it through exploration and continuity of movement makes both its strengths and its limitations easier to appreciate.
Strengths
- Satisfying skating and giant encounters.
Weaknesses
- Sparse areas and repeated challenges.
Who it is for: Players focused on movement and mood.
Play notes: 2021 PS5 review; gravity-camera adjustment needed.
View scoring basis
| Dimension | Review state | Score | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dimension Challenges evolve too little. | Reviewed | 6.9 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Momentum makes traversal satisfying. | Reviewed | 8.4 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Surreal presentation establishes mood. | Reviewed | 8.8 / 10 | Not provided |
| Dimension Gravity changes can disrupt orientation. | Reviewed | 7.7 / 10 | Not provided |
Review sources
Not provided
Core information
- Developer
- Heart Machine
- Publisher
- Annapurna Interactive
- Release date
- Dec 2, 2021
- Platforms
- PlayStation 5
- Content kind
- Game
- Release state
- Released
- Region
- Worldwide
- Official website
- Not provided
- Offline minimum players
- Not provided
- Offline maximum players
- Not provided
- Online minimum players
- Not provided
- Online maximum players
- Not provided
- Categories
- Adventure · Primary genre
- Tags
- ExplorationSlow Burn3D GraphicsLinear LevelsThird PersonMain Story 10–20 HoursPuzzle SolvingStory-drivenInvestigationReal-time CombatSolo-friendly
- Supported game languages
- Not provided
- Requires base game
- Not provided
- Standalone
- Not provided
- Age ratings
- Not provided
- Play modes
- Single player
- Perspectives
- Third person
Release editions
- PlayStation 5WorldwideDec 2, 2021
Game gallery
Sources
Not provided