Ashwalkers
Developer Nameless XIII Publisher Dear Villagers Format PC Release Out now
PC
Reaching the end of our journey to the Dome Of Domes, humanity’s last bastion in Ashwalkers’ monochromatic volcanic wastes, we’re offered a summary screen. It shows which of the 35 possible endings we landed on, names our playstyle based on the choices made along the way, and informs us that 60 days have elapsed in-game, translating to just under three hours of our own time. There’s a step count, too: 9,625 paces taken. And honestly? We felt every last one.
It would be inappropriate to expect a trek through a climate cataclysm to be much fun. But we certainly expected our band of four explorers, in search of a new home, to be in more of a hurry. They’re controlled with a mouse-click towards the horizon and then, after waiting for them to trudge over, another. With the desolate landscape offering little in the way of scenery, the wait is practically an invitation to check our phone.
There are a few landmarks along the way: the occasional tree to be stripped of wood, a patch of edible mushrooms. You can make camp at any point, spending these resources to keep your party warm, fed and energised. Characters can be individually assigned to rest, guard the camp or scout for more resources. This is a nod towards survival mechanics, but nothing more – there’s no rationing or forward planning to be done, just an endless depleting and topping up of meters.
Ultimately, these are just pitstops between the game’s text events. Given the apocalyptic setup, you can most likely guess at their contents: clashes with overgrown bears and vultures, encounters with other survivors who could be in need of aid – or might just be feigning helplessness to lure you in. You’ll be presented with four choices, each corresponding to a member of your party (lose one, perhaps after trying to play the good Samaritan, and your options will narrow accordingly).
In a neat flourish, this text is overlaid onto the game world, but there’s a disconnect between what’s described and what’s shown. Apart from your own travellers, every figure is displayed as an untextured silhouette, even when you’re having an up-close conversation; during moments of high action, your characters stand stock still. A feeling starts to bed in that perhaps the game didn’t need to be rendered in three dimensions at all.
As a work of pure interactive fiction, Ashwalkers would perhaps be a little thin – the squad’s characterisation is blurry, the scenarios familiar, the plot choices quickly falling into narrow categories. But faced with another run’s summary screen, listing the 30-some endings we’ve yet to see, the slog across its wasteland only feels like a way to fill time. And this month alone, we have far better alternatives.