The 6th console generation was an era of experimentation: A lot of ideas were being thrown at the wall just to see what would stick, and even big-name IP's were getting in on this trend, with sequels and spinoffs that would completely eschew their predecessor's norm in lieu of brand new uncharted waters and gameplay ideas. Experimentation always runs its risks, and for every revolutionary idea, there's a hundred others that failed to deliver anything of note, and the latter is where Galerians: Ash unfortunately falls.
Taking place 6 years after the original Galerians, Rion is brought out of cryosleep by the last vestige of humanity in order to defeat the titular Ash: a walking nuclear reactor who's rendered most of the planet uninhabitable and plans to revive the villain of previous game. What follows is a bizarre sci-fi military action film/cyberpunk think-piece about identity and the dangers of AI that is equal-parts entertaining and borderline nonsensical in terms of its pacing and plot revelations.
Galerians: Ash distances itself from its predecessor's roots in many ways: shifting from Galerians' Y2K aesthetic and survival horror sensibilities, the sequel is an action-adventure game full of grey hallways and much less creative scenery and architecture in its levels. While AP management is still here, and your resources are still limited, enemies now re-spawn endlessly and drop both consumables and permanent stat-boosting items upon defeat, meaning combat has gone from a liability to a boon. However, while it's more emphasized and encouraged, the combat itself has not seen a step up in terms of quality. Aside from a new lock-on function and a dodge roll, the combat is still the same, clunky PSX-era survival horror combat the first Galerians had, and considering the first Galerians was trying to dissuade you from fighting enemies in the first place, encounters here can be tedious and incredibly unenjoyable. Compound this with a tendency towards tedium in it's structure, forcing you to constantly backtrack back and forth across samey maps looking for NPCs and key items to use in increasingly obtuse ways, and the game rapidly becomes a chore to play for extended periods of time.
While I've been exceedingly negative in my review up to this point, I can't really say that I didn't enjoy this game. Even if everything's a step down in terms of quality compared to Galerians, it still has that early 6th gen charm and the sense of style that made the first entry so enjoyable, and if you liked the first game, I would say Galerians: Ash is worth a shot, just to see how they expound on a story that really had no business having a sequel in the first place.
Taking place 6 years after the original Galerians, Rion is brought out of cryosleep by the last vestige of humanity in order to defeat the titular Ash: a walking nuclear reactor who's rendered most of the planet uninhabitable and plans to revive the villain of previous game. What follows is a bizarre sci-fi military action film/cyberpunk think-piece about identity and the dangers of AI that is equal-parts entertaining and borderline nonsensical in terms of its pacing and plot revelations.
Galerians: Ash distances itself from its predecessor's roots in many ways: shifting from Galerians' Y2K aesthetic and survival horror sensibilities, the sequel is an action-adventure game full of grey hallways and much less creative scenery and architecture in its levels. While AP management is still here, and your resources are still limited, enemies now re-spawn endlessly and drop both consumables and permanent stat-boosting items upon defeat, meaning combat has gone from a liability to a boon. However, while it's more emphasized and encouraged, the combat itself has not seen a step up in terms of quality. Aside from a new lock-on function and a dodge roll, the combat is still the same, clunky PSX-era survival horror combat the first Galerians had, and considering the first Galerians was trying to dissuade you from fighting enemies in the first place, encounters here can be tedious and incredibly unenjoyable. Compound this with a tendency towards tedium in it's structure, forcing you to constantly backtrack back and forth across samey maps looking for NPCs and key items to use in increasingly obtuse ways, and the game rapidly becomes a chore to play for extended periods of time.
While I've been exceedingly negative in my review up to this point, I can't really say that I didn't enjoy this game. Even if everything's a step down in terms of quality compared to Galerians, it still has that early 6th gen charm and the sense of style that made the first entry so enjoyable, and if you liked the first game, I would say Galerians: Ash is worth a shot, just to see how they expound on a story that really had no business having a sequel in the first place.