Of Ash and Steelis an upcoming single-player, open-world RPG that wants to combine the nostalgia of classic RPGs with modern gameplay innovations. Developed by a small but passionate team atFire and Frost Studiosand published byTinyBuild, this game invites players into the unforgiving world of theKingdom of the Seven, a once-prosperous island now steeped in chaos and intrigue.
As an adventurer starting with pretty much nothing, you’ll shape your journey by going through meaningful choices, intense combat, and rich exploration. The game supposedly will not hold your hand. It does not have any quest markers, encouraging players to rediscover the thrill of exploration by forcing you to wander about and uncover hidden stories and treasures organically.
Even if you prefer mastering agile swordplay, wielding heavy armor, or creating a style unique to you,Of Ash and Steelsupposedly adapts to your preferred combat approach while letting your decisions shape the world and its factions. If you’ve ever loved titles like Gothic, The Witcher, or Fable, you’ll probably feel right at home here too. The game is expected to be released in2025onPC, with no news yet if it’s going to be released on other platforms. We’ll delve deeper into its gameplay, world, and systems as we progress. For now, we’ll go into detail on what the game is about.
Of Ash and Steel - Visuals
Of Ash and Steel has this dark medieval fantasy vibe that’s both immersive and at times a little generic. From what we’ve seen so far, the world looks pretty cool, with dense forests, bustling towns, and even a tease of underwater caves. Plus, weather effects, like rain that makes you want to set up camp, add a nice touch. It also looks like the world actually reacts to you, with time and climate making a real difference.
The lighting and textures do a decent job setting the mood most of the time. You’ve got moments where soft morning light filters through the trees, then suddenly it’s a shadowy, ominous night. It’s a nice balance between cozy and threatening that makes you want to explore without feeling overwhelmed by the sheer size of everything. That’s probably why they decided to ditch traditional quest markers—it’s all about diving into the world naturally.
That said, the visuals aren’t perfect. Some of the lighting feels a bit off, and the facial animations are pretty stiff, which could hurt the more emotional moments. And yeah, the protagonist’s design isn’t exactly groundbreaking. It’s kind of weird how the main character looks like a generic NPC. To be fair though, the devs did mention that what we’ve seen isn’t the final product, which is worth keeping in mind. Maybe the main character is just a placeholder and they haven’t actually designed him, or maybe we could create and customize our own characters because of a character customization feature before we start the game. And honestly, for a small studio like Fire and Frost, they’ve done a pretty solid job so far. Sure, there are some rough edges, but I’m willing to overlook that for now because they said the footage is far from being the finished product.
Of Ash and Steel - Story and Setting
Of Ash and Steel drops you into the Kingdom of the Seven, a place that used to be a thriving paradise but now feels like it’s falling apart at the seams. With curses, ruined landscapes, and creepy monsters everywhere, it seems like the island’s rot is a reflection of the greed and despair that’s infected its people. Towns like Greyshard barely hold together, where just staying alive might mean tossing your morals out the window. If the footage we’ve seen is anything to go by, this place is indeed robbed of morals, like when we spot a dead body hanging at the town entrance, arrows stuck in its chest. That’s got to be a sign of just how messed up things have gotten.
But even with all that doom and gloom, there’s something oddly compelling about the setting. The mix of environments feels like it’s offering a little bit of everything, from dense forests and ruined towns to possibly creepy underwater caves. The weather seems like it’s always shifting, keeping you on edge. One minute it’s all sunny and peaceful, and the next, you’re rushing to find shelter from a storm. If that’s true to the game, it might mean weather isn’t just there to look cool—it could actually change the way you play and add a layer of unpredictability.
Now, when it comes to exploration, Of Ash and Steel might just be bringing back that old-school sense of discovery a lot of modern RPGs have kind of lost. The whole idea of no quest markers could mean it’s really up to you to figure things out. If that’s the case, we could be in for a game that pushes you to get lost in the Kingdom of the Seven, full of hidden treasures, secret paths, and unmarked quests for those willing to explore. If the devs stick to this, there’s a chance it could make every corner of the map feel worth checking out.
The world does seem big, but not so overwhelming that you get lost in it. From what we’ve seen, the mix of biomes from forests to towns to ruins looks like it could make for a really engaging place to roam. And if the dynamic soundtrack really adapts to the time of day and weather, it could make each environment feel more alive. Like, imagine walking through a sunlit grove at dawn, only for the mood to shift as a storm rolls in. If they pull it off, that kind of atmosphere would be a nice touch to add to the sense of immersion.
It seems like Of Ash and Steel could do a great job of making exploration feel natural and rewarding, especially if your curiosity is really what leads you to the coolest stuff. If the devs continue to go in this direction, we might see a game where exploring is more than just fun—it’s essential to getting the most out of the world.
As for the story, it could get pretty personal. Your choices might have real weight, whether it’s who you side with or who you end up betraying. The island’s factions seem like they could create some interesting tension, with groups like bounty hunters and smugglers mixed in. If that’s true, there’ll be plenty of paths to take, and the whole dark fantasy vibe could play out in some really dramatic ways. There’s definitely room for political chaos and supernatural threats, but it seems like the devs might throw in a little humor here and there to keep things from getting too heavy. It’ll be interesting to see how that all plays out.
Of Ash and Steel - Gameplay and Combat
Combat in Of Ash and Steel seems to take heavy inspiration from the Witcher series. Even the HUD screams Witcher. There are even life bars there. I’m hoping this isn’t the case of a studio just copying a mishmash of good games to produce something new, but that’s probably not the case here. I mentioned Witcher because it looks like you’ve got multiple stances and active skills that let you tweak your fighting style to suit how you want to play. You can be zipping around as a fast and agile swordsman, smashing through enemies as a tanky knight, or mixing things up with a bit of both.. And it’s not just weapons you can use in combat. Well, I guess not conventional weapons, the environment’s got your back too. You can chuck rocks at enemies, smash bottles, or even set traps to turn the tide of a fight. You’re probably wondering how you’d get into a fight in an area that has bottles in this game. The devs have confirmed that there will be minor stuff in the game like bar fights. They said it’s to make sure the game feels real, and I guess one of those things that make the game feel real is a bar fight.
You also get access to bows, and it looks like aiming with the bow is going to be very hard, compared to the usual draw, aim, and shoot mechanic that most players are used to. This time around, you’ll be able to see the arrow’s trajectory. The only catch is that the trajectory will keep moving around and will be extra hard to aim. Maybe this is a callback to Gothic where you start out pretty bad with the bow and once you improve enough, your aim will stabilize. I’m not really sure but they did say they took inspiration from Gothic so I’m just speculating here.
It also looks like you’ll have supernatural abilities since the footage shows that you’re allowed to do some sort of phantom dashing ability to close the distance between you and your enemies. I’m not sure if this will fully allow you to cast skills like fireball conjuration, but if The Witcher series is something they based the game on, then I guess casting skills are a guarantee.
Other than combat, there’s this leveling progression too. You’ll be able to increase your attributes as you level up, and you’ll also get skill points which allow you to unlock new combat abilities and skills as you go via a skill tree, which probably means there’s going to be plenty of room to experiment and get creative with your builds. And like I’ve said before, fights don’t just happen in the usual places. There will be tavern brawls, sneaky ambushes, and other scenarios that will supposedly give you dramatic kill cam moments that add a bit of drama and flair to your kills in this brutal, gritty world. Crafting also plays a part in the game. you’re able to customize weapons by forging different weapons and handles to fit your playstyle. Outside of the heat of battle, you can set up campsites and bonfires that allow you to access some stuff like brewing potions for health or buff reasons, or cooking meals to make sure you’re always ready for whatever comes next. Brewing potions even kind of look like Witcher.
I’m not entirely sure if those are the only customizable aspects of the game. I think you can customize your main character slightly by changing his hair or giving him some facial hair. At least, I hope so. It’s kind of weird if your character just has that Neil Patrick Harris hairstyle throughout the game.
Of Ash and Steel - My Wishlist
Since we don’t really know much about the game, I can’t really tell you what you can expect to find in it. That said, Here’s a small list of things I’d want to see in the game. It won’t be anything grand like demanding for multiplayer, which looks like it won’t fit, given how the game was described by devs.
Introducing a faction reputation systemcould make player actions impact relationships with the different factions. The devs have pretty much confirmed that there will be two major factions in the game, and a lot of sub groups in these factions. Aligning with one faction should grant you some unique perks, that would make them more advantageous than the other, like maybe being granted access to this area without hostility, or faction-exclusive equipment that focuses more on a certain playstyle. There’s no use choosing factions if you’re just going to have the same slop every time, right? Plus, it encourages replayability and makes you wonder what choosing the other faction is like.
A morality spectrumcould replace the binary good/evil decisions, giving you nuanced choices that affect NPC and faction perception. Just like in the Witcher series, this would lead to gray-area consequences, deepening role-playing and making the game’s world complex like in real life. And maybe they could make it so that these choices affect your character in some way, like in Fable. Not like it would change your character’s appearance or something like that but more on how NPCs will be less receptive of you if you’re a jerk, or maybe throw discounts at you if you’re nice. I guess they could make it so that being mean or nice also have their own perks.
And I know multiplayer won’t be a good addition here, but maybe we could getsome animal companions. Not necessarily mounts, though those could be helpful too with traversal since we don’t know how big the setting really is. I was thinking more of a wolf you get to hunt alongside with that helps you track certain enemies or other animals. It’s just a really cool idea to have a wolf or a hawk by your side.
Final Thoughts
One issue that’s been mentioned is the camera wobble, which could be disorienting, especially for players sensitive to motion sickness. Hopefully, this is something the developers will address before the game’s release. There’s also some uncertainty around the studio, Fire and Frost, since this is the only project of theirs that people know of. Without a track record or previous games to reference, it’s hard to tell whether they’ll be able to deliver something truly polished or if the game will end up feeling like a mix of mechanics borrowed from other classic RPGs.
The gameplay demo also had some rough edges. The lack of voiceovers made the protagonist feel a bit generic, and the awkward facial animations which reminds me of Robin Hood’s singing scenes from the first Shrek movie didn’t help. If the narrative, character development, and overall polish aren’t improved, Of Ash and Steel could risk blending into the crowd of medieval RPGs. However, there’s potential here. If the developers can flesh out the story, refine the characters, and bring more life to the world in future builds, the game might carve out its place as something special.
That said, the game already looks quite impressive for a project from a small studio. It’s clear the developers are fans of classic RPGs, and they seem to have a solid understanding of what makes those games great. Personally, I enjoyed a lot of what I saw, and it’ll be interesting to see how they continue to develop and refine things leading up to release. That’s it for this article, what do you guys think about the game? Do you think it will just be another generic RPG or is it a game that has potential to be something special?
