Ashfall is a Fallout-Inspired, Post-Apocalyptic MMORPG With Lots of Potential
Ashfall is the newest free-to-play, third-person shooter MMORPG from NetEase and Legendary Star Studio coming to mobile and PC in Q3 2024. NetEase is known for its live-service monetization strategies and Ashfall will be no different.
Premise
In a futuristic, post-apocalyptic Asia, Artificial Intelligence rebelled and launched a nuclear war against humanity, leaving the world in ruins. To survive, humans lived in underground vaults for years until it was safe to go to the surface again. Though life is resuming on the surface, there still lurks many dangers, including giant worms, lizards, human traitors, and the AI threat. To save the world, players must leave their vault to find the Core of Creation.
Character Customization
Though not all features are available in the Steam playtest, I’m already loving the character customization. Give me a game where I can create a character with my skin tone and hair texture and I’m more than half sold.
Black character customization in Ashfall looks amazing
Gameplay
Ashfall allows crossplay. Honestly, traveling on foot from location to location on foot has a MOBA feel. On PC, it definitely feels like mobile gameplay, but not that big of a deal. Although, I do wish the game was an open world.
Ashfall is advertised as an MMORPG but in the test realm, you can only group with three people for events and instances. And unlike actual MMOs, you never see other players out in the world, which makes it feel like it’s a solo-player game.
Combat
The weapons combat is very similar to both Fallout 76 and Tom Clancy’s The Division. Upgrading weapons and armor is pretty simplistic. As long as you have enough materials you can craft armor or weapons or upgrade your gear for whatever amount that particular piece allows. Some pieces may allow one upgrade, some may allow up to four.
Ashfall is a looter-shooter at its core. Players will traverse dangerous instances to complete missions, looting chests and corpses. Ashfall does not show bloody or violent deaths. Instead, when an enemy is killed, they merely disappear and leave behind a glowing chest. Also, part of the gameplay is solving puzzles and riddles.
Talent Tree
The talent tree is a bit reminiscent of Fallout 4. Like other RPGs, as you level up, you acquire points to enhance your character and customize its playstyle to your liking. You can also reset your talents as often as you like for free (at least at the moment).
Ashfall talent tree
Story, Missions, and Instance Dungeons in Ashfall
So far, the story of Ashfall isn’t quite as in-depth as other games. You start off as a member of Vault 56 (the original name of the game). Your Vault elder sends you on a mission to find the Core of Creation—a journey that takes you all across mainland Asia. Clues to finding the Core of Creation lie in finding the mysterious Yuri, who disappeared from Vault 56 more than 30 years ago. Your main mission is to find Yuri or at least find out what happened to him.
How to travel in Ashfall
There are a few ways to get around in Ashfall aside from running/walking: fast travel, escorting a caravan, and by mount.
Before you can fast-travel from location to location, you have to acquire a map from a guy in Hope Town standing just outside of the Red Mud Bar, literally standing in front of the map he’s trying to sell you. And of course, you can only fast-travel to locations you have already discovered.
After you reach level 14 (I think) a mission to escort a caravan from Hope Town to Interstate 321 becomes available.
There are a few ways to get a mount in Ashfall:
Purchase from a mount vendor or in-game store (not currently available in beta).
Get a mount from PvP when you hit level 30.
The easiest way to get a free mount in Ashfall is to tame a Sandrat in the Secret Realm Shipwreck Ridge West. Towards the end of SWRW, you will come across a lone Sandrat. Be careful not to spook it. Sneak up on the Sandrat before its “Scared” meter is full. The option to Tame will pop up. Hit it quickly and tame your new mount.
What to do in Towns
Just like every other RPG visiting towns allows you to sell your wares to vendors, modify your gear, craft items, and store things. If you find yourself with a full bag, you can sell your extra junk or things that may be valuable to a vendor. Or you can go to a Warehouse in town and store your belongings there. For example, in Hope Town, there is a Warehouse that has a storage locker between the Gunsmith and the General Vendor.
As you progress and move on to other towns and cities, more options are unlocked. You’ll be able to find companions, improved crafting materials, recipes, and more.
Culture and Influences
Because Ashfall takes place in East Asia, mainly China, the theme of the game is heavily East Asian which is a huge departure from most post-apocalyptic games. The Steam Play Test audio is fully spoken Hànyǔ or Standard Chinese with the option for English audio, interface, and subtitles.
The music is beautiful, especially when you reach the town. You can hear a mixture of old “Old World” Chinese pop and folk music on the radios, similar to the “Old World” and folk music played on the radios throughout the Fallout series. It makes perfect sense, as the musical score is created by Inon Zur, the legendary composer of the Fallout games.
The architecture and aesthetics are beautifully East Asian. Lanterns decorate buildings, trees, and bridges,
Thoughts on Ashfall So Far
So far, Ashfall is fun as a solo game, but it’s a bit lacking in the “massively multiplayer” aspect of the game. While you can definitely see the Fallout elements and influences in the game it’s definitely not a copy and paste of Fallout.
I’ve seen a few reviews that expressed their worry over the game focusing on microtransactions and possible pay-to-win monetization. However, I don’t think that will be much of an issue.
Though Ashfall is made for mobile and tailored to play on PC, it’s not as bad as some have made it out to be. At least, for me, it didn’t hinder my play style at all, and I do not play anything on mobile.
All in all, Ashfall looks beautiful and there were no issues playing it at high settings on my humble 2060. The mobs were less than exciting, and the bosses seemed to be just bigger versions of regular mobs. But they were still challenging enough, especially the Robot Bandit Boss. This is a game I will be playing when it launches in Summer 2024.
