Introduction
An entry from the March poll is on the way to being reviewed. This review is also requested by Don Carlos. Chronos before the Ashes most lacking point is that it has been poorly marketed. People barely know that this game exists. Chronos before the Ashes is a souls-like game and a very good one, to be honest, the biggest problem is some minor but not game-breaking bugs that you will encounter while playing. This game uses a unique concept of aging your character. Getting older makes you slower but also gives you special traits. You will need to do your best to avoid death because dying will age your character. This means that your character will become slower each time that you die! Or you could die the maximum amount of times and complete the game with a slow character.
What did I think before playing Chronos before the Ashes
I have been looking for a good souls-like game for a while. There are many of them. From Software is, of course, the best developer for souls-like games. Since we have already completed all of their games we are looking for another game to play. Sneak peek, Bloodborne will be reviewed somewhere this year but when!?
We found Chronos before the Ashes which comes with a unique aging system. Chronos before the ashes seemed like a great souls-like game to put to the test! We quickly visited the Steam page for more information!
The Steam Page
https://store.steampowered.com/app/967390/Chronos_Before_the_Ashes
I saw the mixed reviews but I was still very interested in playing Chronos before the Ashes. I saw people call the game slow and clunky but then again Dark Souls 1 is also slow and clunky in my opinion. The farther along Dark Souls came in the series franchise all the way to Bloodborne, the faster the combat got. Dark Souls 1 is a very good game, slow and clunky does not mean bad! Even though this game got mixed reviews I was stoked to play this game!
Rating
I rate Chronos before the Ashes with an 8.8 before playing.
Is this the best souls game ever? Most likely not. Will the controls be slow and unresponsive? We are going to find that out. Will this game be shorter than other games? Probably but the length of a game does not matter, it matters if the game is good or not.
Story
Chronos before the Ashes is the prequel to Remnant of the Ashes. This takes place before there were guns and other ways to dispose of enemies. Melee combat is the only way to go! You are a young and strong man, you are tasked to defeat the dragon. Every year a portal opens up to where the dragon resides. If you fail, you will need to wait a year before you can enter the portal again. You will need to defeat the dragon or keep trying until you die.
Rating
I rate the story of Chronos before the Ashes with a 7.5.
The story is not bad but also not perfect, the twist at the end gives Chronos before the Ashes an edge though! What twist? Play the game and find out! Or watch the video I made of the old man run!
Gameplay
Chronos before the Ashes has some good old classic roleplaying elements. Defeat enemies to level up and choose your attribute of choice, invest in Strength to become stronger or maybe you want more vitality for more health? If you want a fast character you will need agility. Certain weapons will scale with these stats. Arcane can also be increased but costs more attribute points but the older you get, the fewer attribute points it will cost to level up arcane. However, becoming older means that the other stats will cost more!
Your goal is to defeat all the guardians before you can face the dragon. Every chapter has new unique enemies to fight along with some puzzles to solve. For some puzzles, you might need to combine a few items together. You can also combine upgrading materials to make rare dragon shards. These are needed to make your weapon the strongest as possible. Attacks can be blocked with your shield, when you blocked correctly, you will not take damage but your stamina bar will decrease. However, some attacks can never be blocked. I am looking at you Labyrinth Guardian!
You can target your enemies but also fight freely, whatever fits your needs better. Some bosses are better to fight untargeted. There are not a lot of weapons to choose from but that is not a huge problem. Chronos Before the Ashes might be a simplistic souls-like game. The pace is slower as rushing in means your demise. This is exactly what the game is built for. Try to read your opponent, block or dodge the incoming attack, and counter with a devastating attack! Some might say that this game is easy but I ask of you, could you beat this game on heroic with the slowest character. Without upgrading your health by allocating any points into vitality?
In Chronos before the Ashes you will find four arcane stones. Without points in arcane, these won’t do much. However if you have allocated points in arcane, these can deal tremendous damage! When you get older, you can choose from three traits to upgrade your character. Getting older also means you can allocate more points into the arcane stat. In the video above you can see me beat the whole game under the harshest conditions possible. It would be impossible to do without leveling up because you cannot tickle enemies to death.
Rating
I rate the gameplay of Chronos before the Ashes with an 8.7.
Is this game perfect? No. Is this game fun with solid mechanics? Yes, it is. I have played this game three times and all of these runs were fun! It Would have even been better with a difficulty increase after completing the game with a new mode or a new game+.
Sound and Graphics
Graphics
The graphics of Chronos before the Ashes are good. There is a wide array of enemies and they all need different tactics to take down. Some models might need some polishing but I don’t see this being a big issue. The character aging looks amazing as well!
Sound
The soundtracks are great along with the sound effects. The voice acting is done great as well! I like the intro story and how it is told.
Rating
I rate the sound and graphics of Chronos before the Ashes with an 8.2.
The graphics are great except for some unpolished models. There is also a huge variety in environment and enemies. The story fits your character perfectly!
What did I think after playing Chronos before the Ashes
I had a great time while playing Chronos before the Ashes. the combat was not clunky from my point of view. The combat has a different pace but not something unique. The only odd thing is that some attacks are unblockable. I also did not like that the labyrinth guardian boss has barely any tells. This means you cannot tell when he is going to launch an unblockable attack. If you have low health, this means instant death! You can see me struggling to beat this boss in the video, whereas the other major bosses were done in a single attempt.
This game exceeded my expectations and I think the mixed reviews are wrong. You might need another taste in games to appreciate this game. I was very thrilled to beat this game under harsh conditions, I was also able to record the full video!
Rating
I rate Chronos before the Ashes after playing with a 9.0.
If you are looking for a unique but short souls-like experience, this is the game that you are looking for!
What are my personal thoughts about Chronos before the Ashes?
There is a reason I played this game three times, I love this game!
The combat feels great and unique, the aging mechanic is fun, the puzzles are great! I enjoyed every moment of this game even though it got frustrating sometimes because of the labyrinth Guardian!
Rating
My personal Rating of Chronos before the Ashes is a 9.2
I had an amazing time with this souls-like game even if you can finish it in a short amount of time!
Last Words
Pros
- Experience the story of what happened before Remnant of the Ashes
- Amazing graphics and soundtracks
- Chronos before the Ashes has a unque aging system
- Fight epic bosses and try to learn their patterns!
- Level up and build your character how you want!
- Become an old man and play on heroic and take the challenge to the max!
- Combine items and solve puzzles or upgrade your weapons!
Cons
- some bosses have no tells before they attack. Dodge like an insane person!
- Chronos before the Ashes has gameplay that is not fit for everyone.
If you are a fan of souls-like games and are looking for a fun experience. I would recommend playing this game, thank you Don Carlos for requesting Chronos before the Ashes
Final Rating
8.4
Let me know what you think of Chronos before the ashes in the comments!
I hope you enjoyed reading this review, I hope to see you in the next review!
If you liked reading this review, maybe you would like to share this review with your friends!
Sven: Honey honey honey! I found something weird, come look!
Simone: What’s up?
Sven: Look
Simone: I don’t see….
Sven: Keep looking
Simone: *sees “weeping angel”* SUN ON THE BEACH!!!
whahahahahah 😛
Lol at your conversation above! XD
I’ve never heard of the game before… The aging mechanic sounds very discouraging for me to try it. However, seeing your screenshots, it looks like you’ve died lots since your character is an old grandpa. Did it trouble you too much?
The game got great score so I might be interested in it if the aging mechanics aren’t too troublesome.
I died deliberately countless times to get the wisdom and power of an old dude, lol. The aging mechanic is actually very fun and I enjoyed it. The older your character gets, the stronger he is, but also slower. Since I always play a fat-roll build in souls-like games, this was no problem for me.