About This Game An RPG By Kyle Ballentine.Do You Accept Death? Or Do You Fear It?An old-school RPG made to question your acceptance of mortality.A unique RPG where instead of becoming stronger, you get weaker as you go along. Demitri is a hero who already completed his journey. He is already powerful, so combat is complex and strategic from the start! But no one can live forever, and everyone’s story must come to an end.The theme revolves around death and acceptance. Written by a therapist, the story is made help you think about what you cannot control. Age, death, loss... these are all things we must accept in our lives.For those just looking to experience the story, there are 2 distinct modes.Key FeaturesNo grinding levels, because the hero becomes weakerComplex, strategic battles from the start and no long tutorialsTurn-based battles with the “Stance” mechanic, allowing you to strengthen the character in various ways and respond to enemy attacks.Strong themes of acceptance and mortality with an impactful ending, even the towns are modelled after the 5 stages of grief2 versions, one for RPG veterans and one for those who just want to experience the story •Full rpg experience with combat (6-10 hours), or... •"Adventure Mode" (3-5 hours), which removes the element of combat and strategy, but leaves the story, puzzles, and exploration to enjoy!2 endings depending on your choicesOriginal art by Neon Skies StudioDeveloper Profile:I am a therapist in Santa Ana, California. I currently live with my wife, two cats, and one dog. This is my first game, To Ash. I’m a life-long gamer, (growing up with two brothers, we played a ton of different games) and an RPG lover. I worked on this by myself, but had input from testers, family, and had some original art made by Jala Prendes. So you know where some of my influences come from, some of my favorite games are; Castlevania, Mario RPG, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Smash Bros., ‘Tales of’ games, Zelda, and Albert Odyssey. 7aa9394dea Title: To AshGenre: Indie, RPGDeveloper:16 Bit Psych, Kyle BPublisher:Self-PublishRelease Date: 29 Mar, 2016 To Ash Crack And Patch Overall, I am enjoying this game. The battle mechanics are fun and the storyline (so far!) is engaging. Without getting too much into it, it's an exploration of death and as that, it succeeds. There are two things that I would point out in the interest of fairness. 1) The aging (getting weaker) mechanic is basically the reason I bought the game. It seemed like a very interesting idea. I practice, I can't say the implementation actually changes much. Yes, you get weaker. But you also get stronger weapons as you progress and so it kinda levels out. Mostly, I expected to be invinsible in the early game and have to rely more and more on clever strategy as I progressed. But you're not that strong when you first start out and I've yet to feel the effect of growing weaker. It's still a fun game, but the mechanic is not as noticeable as I expected. I do find myself trying to avoid unnecesary battles but that's something I do anyways in most rpgs that are not horrible grindfests. Maybe a mechanic where the player get winded might've been nice. I don't know. 2) The overall success of the game is undercut by the illustration work which is scattered throughout it and which features prominetly on the trailer. Simply put, it could be better and almost persuaded me not to try the game. (Which would've been a real shame beacause it's a pretty good game)The writing is solid. The gameplay is good. I love the alternate game mode. I do hope people give this game a chance.. Fun RPG with a twist. I really liked how avoiding combat was recommended and there was zero focus on grinding (as it would make you weaker). Combat is fun, with Gallium and charge attacks adding interesting new elements to combat. The story is intriguing, and is different from many RPG's. The fact that you get weaker after every fight really makes the game interesting, and makes you wonder whether the treasure in that chest is worth fighting the monsters in front. On the whole, the game really captures the desperation of old age and fading power well.On the downside, the game is short, and doesn't hold a ton of replayability value for me, but it was fun for about 10 hours. I got it on sale for 99 cents, and it was well-worth that price. I would probably enjoy replaying the game once and doing a few things differently, but that's about it.On the whole, a very unique RPG with a couple of twists captured in an adequate, if not entirely sublime, world. Great for RPG fans who are getting bored of the usual grinding for gold and XP and looking for something new. 8.5\/10. Great Game, alot longer than I expected with probably about 10 hours of gameplay, 8 hours if you know what your doing. A fantastic story and theme as well as an interesting twist on RPGs by having you grow weaker. Which is my new favourite thing as it completly removes grinding and left me always weighing loot and treasure over permanetly lost power. It also just feels right for the theme of the game as an old withered hero stands off against evil again and again as his body fails him.Well worth the price and definetly worth your time!. You will learn to dread the phrase "Demitri weakens.". Like the main character, Demitri, I willed myself to finish. This game was a journey: much like life, I suppose, it started out fairly interesting and then became progressively more tedious, difficult, and even punishing. But what started as a simple resolution to not let yet another game in my library go unfinished transformed into grim determination: to push Demitri, this proud old man terrified of failure, onward.I don't think I'll play through the game again, unless in adventure mode (i.e., no combat). However, despite there being no achievements per se, I feel like I achieved something, and in the end...I'm glad I experienced it. It is truly unique, and thought provoking; not so much in the dialog, but because of Demitri's underlying "personality" and experiencing, through the game mechanics, his descent into frailty.. From the first minute of gameplay, this game sets itself up to be a game that will have the player questioning every decision they make. From simple decisions such as to fight or flee, to weaving the story via their choice of words, this game excels in attaching the player to the story and the character. The combat in this game is quite tactical, and this is thanks to the stance system. Without going into too much detail, it's basically a system that allows a player to alter their attack, defence, and magic-orientated statistics, as to minimise damage taken, and maximise damage output. Another thing that defines this game is the way in which the game deals with the effects of battle; As you fight, you're weakened. This system, yet again, makes the player think, and this is what truly defines the combat in this game.The story, for me, is the best part of this game. Don't get me wrong, the design and combat are great, but the story offers something truly magnificent; it offers ideas that question our own values and morality. It shows us what all heroes eventually become, and this adds a layer of realism to the game; it reminds us that 'not everyone is a hero, and those who are, will meet the same end as you and I'.Overall, this game is a very deep, yet enjoyable experience which truly does test the emotions and psyche of the player. Would I recommend this to a friend? Most definitely, in fact this game is a game that should be played by everyone, due to the ability it possesses, in allowing people to measure their 'acceptance of mortality,' as well being an enjoyable (and in many ways relatable) game to play.Lastly, the developer, Kyle Ballentine, should be held in high regard for creating this game, and developing the themes within it. Neon Skies Studio should also be held in high regard for their brilliant job on designing the original art for this game.. Well I got my first game over in the undying cave... didn't expect that. I'm enjoying this game so far! The battle mechanics are clever and keep me engaged. Will update when I've played more.. Decently interesting, not super long but has decent game time and is fun nonetheless. The aspects of the game are very cool and I love it. Somewhat limited though considering its an RPG maker game. 7\/10
To Ash Crack And Patch
Updated: Mar 17, 2020
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