Among Ashes Review (PS5) – Y2-Not-Okay

2000s internet almost feels normal by today’s standards. We had our first instances of social media with MySpace. The Badger Song was a captivating cartoon that you’d show all your mates. Flash games were my first instances of indie games. And thanks to a certain fruit’s celebration, I also learned not to click any old link sent to me. Among Ashes captures this nostalgia instantly with an MSN Messenger homage, horror forum throwbacks and again a link you should have probably never clicked on.

It’s been a great year for retro-inspired horrors; whether you want classic survival horrors like Crow Country or more experimental titles like Home Safety Hotline, there really is no shortage of variety. Among Ashes sits firmly between the two titles I mentioned as it’s not shy to worship the games’ influences (Silent Hill, Resident Evil) whilst also breaking conventions to try and break you.

It’s a first-person survival horror if I were to generalise, but it’s also a game within a game with even some meta mechanics to play a game on the player. I’ll get into that a bit more without spoiling some of the neat scares and tricks that Among Ashes provides, however, there is a magic in going in absolutely blind – so if you’re in the market for something nostalgic but wholly unique then tab out of my review and download the dodgy game within the game and don’t stop playing.

That’s not how full reviews work though so if you’d like to know more about what parts worked and where the game excited me you’ve come to the right (and only) place.

Is This A Bug Or A Feature?

You play as someone in their mid-20s in December 2001. Your family are out for the night, making it a perfect night for some pizza, video games and instant messaging. After failing miserably at a DOOM-like game, your friend Mark sends you a link to a message board where everybody’s talking about this new horror game, Night Call.

Reading posts on the forum about the game, you see discussions about some of the great scares it has; people are bewildered by the developer as this is his first game. You also see that there weird bugs that appear game-breaking, with members discussing workarounds. You download ‘Imsorry.exe’, boot up Night Call and the game really begins. Night Call is straight-up Resident Evil as you play as a police officer who’s been called out to a manor after reports of screaming.

The police officer and his partner are greeted by a maid at the door and once inside they’re locked in. What follows are some item-related puzzles, figuring out numbers for combinations and slowly unlocking all the doors to the manor – in true survival horror fashion. As you’re playing these portions of the game, it’s framed as if you’re at your desktop. You can see the edges of your monitor, the window in your room as well as the tabs that might pop up from your instant messenger.

Night Call has that PSX-style art style where faces are blocky but hyperrealistic and has voice acting that comes off very cheesy, but I think that’s the point. There are some hoky jump scares at the start of Night Call, laying on that nostalgic cheese thickly but what’s going on in the ‘real world’ is where things get interesting.

Hard Crash

Among Ashes plays consistently across the variations of games you play – like an old-school boomer shooter. Mark started Night Call just before you, so you’re getting messages from him that build on the eeriness that’s bubbling to the surface. As you progress, Mark’s, and by proxy, your paranoia starts to set in. In the ‘real world’ you can come away from your computer and explore your apartment at any time.

Is that someone in the corner of the kitchen? Who keeps knocking on the front door? These are all a variation of moments that build the tension of Among Ashes. Whilst my examples probably come across as tame and uninspired, I want to point out that these are very early moments. Slowly progressing through Night Call and the ‘real world’, you’ll start to notice how they’re colliding more and more.

Whilst Night Call has a retro aesthetic, the ‘real world’ uses a modernised realistic style but the two work together seamlessly to make it feel uncanny every step of the journey. The story’s mystery and how it all unfolds between both games is great and you’re always kind of dreading having to explore more of your apartment or going deeper into Night Call’s manor because it’s a seriously twisted and emotional story that’ll satisfy Silent Hill fans.

The writing on the other hand isn’t as good as the story it’s telling. Most characters feel like they all have one voice, the ‘real world’ banter is a little bit forced to keep you playing and whilst Night Call is intentionally cheesy, it’s often a bit like Stilton. It’s not a huge detractor, some of it does feed into that nostalgia it’s going for but the heavy topic it surrounds means it doesn’t gel together all too well.

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Among Ashes works in a variety of ways to scare the pants off you. It almost gets away with entire criticism of some of the potential bugs I encountered too. None of it is game-breaking, just enemies spawning seemingly out of nowhere, screen tearing that’s not intentional outside of the intentional ones and having to requip weapons upon death.

I really couldn’t tell what was on purpose at this point as there were even instances where trophies would pop to intentionally spook me. It does run fairly smooth on the PlayStation though, despite some stuttering if you’re running through environments. I’ve been intentionally vague about a lot of what the game does because it would dampen anyone’s experience if I were to explain what scares are implemented. However, if I’m struggling to determine what’s intentional or not whilst succeeding in completing the game in 3-4 hours, then it’s set out what it’s supposed to.

There is a lot of inspiration that leans towards copying, which sours how original it can be through most of the game. The lighting could also be a little more dynamic in both Night Call and the ‘real world’ to add more atmosphere to it. But with all that said, Among Ashes is a refreshing, meta, and tense horror that may only be a tiny bit too nostalgic.

Among Ashes is available now for PlayStation 5 (review platform), Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam

Developers: Rat Cliff Games

Publisher: Rat Cliff Games

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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