Solar Ash Reviews

Solar Ash is ranked in the 67th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
4.9 / 5.0
Jan 3, 2024

Solar Ash is one of those incredibly rare masterpieces that doesn’t get enough recognition for what it gives you; with an intensely rich story that unfolds as you progress and the unique world design, it just keeps giving you more reason to keep going. The fact that it’s a puzzle platformer actually adds to this game’s unique flare and helps keep things a bit more lively where other games go stale after a while.

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9.5 / 10.0
Dec 3, 2021

Solar Ash is a neon dream that will not fail to delight fans of Hyper Light Drifter and beyond.

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Dec 1, 2021

Solar Ash is a platforming playground that never loses steam, and it hides a memorable story of unfathomable tragedy.

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Metro GameCentral
GameCentral
Top Critic
9 / 10
Dec 2, 2021

An excellent sci-fi platformer with exquisite art design and sublime traversal mechanics, which finds distinctive ground among its obvious inspirations.

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9 / 10
Dec 7, 2021

Solar Ash is one of the best games of the year. It looks gorgeous, its story is pretty unique and surprising, and its set-piece moments get really intense, as you might expect from skating along the back of a black goo and bone dragon. It's a nice surprise to end the year with that any "skating combined with combat and gigantic monsters" enthusiasts, which is definitely already a thing.

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Dec 1, 2021

Solar Ash is a contemplative experience, visual feast, and faced-paced thrill ride expertly wrapped up into one exhilarating adventure. Without a doubt, this game is one of the best indie games of 2021, if not the best.

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9 / 10.0
Sep 17, 2023

Solar Ash offers sublime movement and an interesting story, with some fantastic mechanics that make you want to explore every facet of it.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 7, 2021

Solar Ash defines the new standard for open-world indie games by providing an absolutely lovely world to traverse, with a beautiful soundtrack to listen to. From the flow of movement and smooth platforming, to the giant colossi and heartwarming story, I had to step back to discover I was playing a fine piece of art.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2021

By making Solar Ash radically different from Hyper Light Drifter, Heart Machine has avoided boxing themselves into a niche while being able to continue and build a universe they clearly care for. It wears its influences on its sleeve and comes together as a cosmic mix of a few games held dear by many, and as long as they continue to do this, I'll eat it up until I am far beyond full.

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9 / 10
Dec 2, 2021

I’ve fallen in love with Solar Ash. It proves to be one of the best recent action-adventure games with a stunning sci-fi world, rich with bits of lore and worldbuilding to unravel. It may have come just under the wire in terms of 2021 releases, but it’s still a game that’s a must-play. Step on in and you have an experience with none of the fat and all of the glory. Gameplay that feels fluid and satisfying, moments and cinematography that feel like paintings of art, a story that resolves in an impacting way… this game has it all. Heart Machine you’ve bloody done it again.

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4.5 / 5.0
Dec 1, 2021

Solar Ash is another triumph from Heart Machine, a fast-paced burst of vibrant, surreal science fiction where players get to glide and jump around fascinating worlds with terrific bits of platforming and action spread out across a series of unique worlds with jaw-dropping visuals.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 7, 2021

Solar Ash is a non-stop roller-coaster of pulse pounding gameplay and intriguing narrative. A must-play!

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9 / 10 stars
Nov 30, 2021

Solar Ash is a complete package, with stellar gameplay, a well-told story, and a realized world ripe for exploring.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 8, 2021

Solar Ash just managed to make it out in 2021 but it instantly became one of my favorite games of the year. It has an interesting story that got its hooks in me from the get go and the visuals and art direction are jaw dropping. Even though you spend a lot of the time doing a lot of the same things over and over the gameplay never got old to me as the fast and fluid movement system is so darn thrilling as are the towering boss fights. Solar Ash is a lot different from Hyper Light Drifter but it’s another must-play from Heart Machine.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 1, 2021

Influences from other games are quite present in Solar Ash — Tony Hawk's line-following, Super Mario Galaxy's wraparound camera, Shadow of the Colossus's massive bosses. While those together may seem incongruous, they come together to make it an exciting, fast-paced platformer that gives you the tools to move smoothly and complete the challenges before you. It's so satisfying to nail those obstacle courses, clear anomalies, and topple skyscraping Remnants. The roller coaster of Solar Ash is well worth riding.

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9 / 10
Dec 3, 2021

Solar Ash combines complex ideas with simple and exciting gameplay in a way that few games are able to, and the final product is nothing short of remarkable. The visual style and soundtrack create the atmosphere, and the excellent writing of Rei and her journey use it to tell a story of grief, and how we can use it to build something better. Heart Machine's passion is clear, and Solar Ash is a triumph that manages to be incredibly fun despite its deeply emotional core. The game's world may be cold and unfeeling on the surface, but that'll only make you want to connect with it more. Solar Ash is an example of Heart Machine's exciting, compelling, lightning-in-a-bottle brilliance, and more than deserves to be considered among 2021's greatest games.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 1, 2021

If you’re looking for an exciting platformer with a stellar style and fast-paced action, Solar Ash will scratch that itch and more. Its puzzle-solving and exploration are hefty enough without overstaying its welcome. It’s not without flaws, but despite all of them, the mobility in Solar Ash is unrivaled, making it one of my favorite platformers in recent memory.

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90 / 100
Dec 7, 2021

[T]his 3D action platformer is as good as it gets. Definitely a speedrunner's delight, if you're into that sort of thing. And if you love unfolding stories with that personal touch injected with high concept sci-fi, Solar Ash's tale will delight alongside its mesmerizing visuals and score.

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9 / 10.0
Dec 6, 2021

Solar Ash is an emotional game with a lot of heart. It’s a feast for the eyes, with an incredible movement system, and a world built around your core moveset. The story isn’t as consistent but still wraps up nicely.

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8.8 / 10.0
Dec 2, 2021

Solar Ash plays as well as it looks with a strong story at the heart

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