Ash of Gods: The Way

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you could use a card game to influence political events? That’s the premise behind Ash of Gods: The Way, a story-driven tactical card game set in a dark fantasy world where war is looming.

This game is set in the same dark fantasy world as Ash of Gods: Redemption, but tells a different story with new characters and factions. If you are looking for a game that combines tactical card combat, strategic deck building, and branching narrative choices in a dark fantasy world, then Ash of Gods: The Way might be the game for you.

The Way of War

The core gameplay of Ash of Gods: The Way is based on turn-based card combat. Each unit has its own strengths, weaknesses, and playstyles. You will also have access to equipment cards that can boost your warriors’ stats or abilities, and spell cards that can affect the battlefield or your units.

The combat system is simple to learn but hard to master. You can only play one warrior card and one support card per turn, then all your units will move forward and attack if possible. You will need to think carefully about when to play your cards, when to hold them back for better opportunities, and when to sacrifice them for extra effects.

Battle Lore

The other aspect of Ash of Gods: The Way is the story-driven narrative that unfolds as you progress through the game. You will meet new characters along your journey, some friendly and some hostile. You will have conversations with them where you can choose how to respond or act. Your choices will have consequences that can affect not only your relationships with them but also the outcome of the story.

The story is richly written with engaging dialogue and immersive lore. The characters are well-developed with distinct personalities and motivations. The world is dark and gritty but also full of beauty and wonder.

Tactical Master

The game is also great for fans of tactical combat RPGs like Pathfinder. You will have to carefully plan your moves and use your cards wisely to overcome the challenges and enemies you will face. Each battle has its own rules and objectives that can vary depending on the tournament or the opponent. For example, some battles may have limited turns or cards, while others may have special effects or hazards on the field.

You will need to adapt your strategy and deck accordingly to overcome these challenges. The game also features multiple endings depending on your decisions and actions throughout the game. Some endings may be more favorable than others, but none are strictly good or bad. The game encourages you to explore different paths and see how they change the course of events, considerably improving its replayability.

Pros

• Tactical card combat with strategic deck building and varied battle scenarios
• Branching narrative choices with multiple endings and consequences
• An immersive dark fantasy world with rich lore and well-developed characters

Cons

• The difficulty can prove a bit too unforgiving for new players
• Some choices may have unclear or unexpected outcomes

We always enjoyed a bit of high middle ages action in our games, right? Ash of Gods: The Way is a continuation of the turn-based tactical combat game that sought to fuse the elements of a visual novel, roguelike, and card games. All of those aspects combine into one action-packed medieval entity. Whether it succeeded or not is another question - considering the response was probably not what the developers were looking for.

However, Ash of Gods: The Way seeks to rectify where its predecessor went a little astray. The upcoming title features much the same gameplay, visuals, and mechanics as the first. Still, it is enhanced to make the game feel more like a complete experience than a loose one. Considering what we've seen already, will the game accomplish that mission?

Rise from the Ashes

You'd be forgiven if you never played the preceding game to the franchise, Ash of Gods: Redemption. It wasn't widespread in marketing, nor did it receive enough coverage to give it exposure as the desired title. There could be a few reasons for that, not least of which is that the game felt muddled and carbon copied from another similar title.

Ash of Gods: The Way looks to be an attempt to put the series on the radar as a more well-rounded title that stands on its own two feet. The gameplay is much the same, featuring card-building mechanics to address combat scenarios and choices with a visual novel-like storyline. Not to mention cartoon visuals that look like animated dramas of old.

Considering not much has changed, why would it stand out? The ideas behind the first game were sold, but they just didn't intertwine well enough. Ash of Gods: The Way is an effort that brings a new story new cast of characters but mechanically refines the game so that the experience feels seamless. Or at least that seems the case with the media we've been presented.

We're anticipating the release of Ash of Gods: The Way purely to see if it can provide the gameplay experience that looked so promising in the predecessor. By no means was the first title a poor game, but it felt like something that relied too much on the success of another game to drive it as a commercial entity. Perhaps the second will fill its own shoes.

Is This the Way?

By similar game, we're talking about The Banner Saga. Many critics and peers who did end up playing the original game found an issue that it was too similar visually and in gameplay. There were undoubtedly unique mechanics incorporated into the game, but not enough to make the game feel as innovative as it tried to be.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• More refined crossover-genre experience
• Strategic approaches make battles interesting
• The narrative looks to be more understandable in comparison with the first game

Cons:

• No release date yet
• Still visually looks precisely the same as The Banner Saga
• Not much changed mechanically