Aska is a game we both had on our wishlist for so long. So once it was released, it was time for a wonderful gaming session, buy it, download it and play it immediately on release day. Considering we also both stream via twitch, on Strongcat_ZoG and Nollie_ZoG. It was also really time to let loose. Streams both on and accelerate. We at Zoneofgamer.com couldn’t wait and tried it all out for you.
The game
The game started relatively innocently, we got some water, food was easy to find and we gradually discovered the crafting system. Well I have to say that at first I thought, ohhhhh that’s not so bad, nothing could be further from the truth. The crafting system, however nice, turns out to be quite complicated. Especially as you progress through the upgrades. Besides, there is a lot to discover, to see and you really walk around in a beautifully created and also lively environment. There is something everywhere and waiting for you to attack, sometimes completely by surprise and sometimes you can see them coming as well. All in all, a wonderfully vibrant world.
The crafting system
We have already briefly discussed this, of course, but the crafting system can be quite overwhelming, especially at the beginning. Your tools break down with regularity and you need to collect an awful lot to get off to a great start. As you progress, you also need a new level of materials. For which you also need new tools. For example, think about metal, we came to it by chance because I was thinking that a cave would be cool and that if you found metal somewhere it would be there. You might not have thought about that on the other hand.
But a lot also breaks down in your camp. This is because your structures weather with the weather. This means you constantly have to maintain everything and this can be over a fairly short span. Personally, they could have made this a bit more endgame, so that you can really focus on the things you need at the beginning, for example in an invasion. The biggest downside of the game is the fact that you have to maintain your buildings tightly, I’m sure it will annoy at some point. Specially when your town gets bigger.
Your tribal members
You can add tribesmen to your camp using jotum blood. You need five of these and put them in Odin’s eye. Now choose the villager that suits you best from the two options, but watch out! You only see a few attributes and just because it says it can fish well in summer doesn’t mean it’s a full-time fisherman, there’s more to the question marks than meets the eye.
Incidentally, having and managing tribesmen is also the hardest part of the game, a personal opinion but still. The tools constantly break down, sometimes assignments don’t quite fit or they are depressed for times. This can be a day job, keeping everyone happy. In fact, “and it happened to us” villagers may just leave your tribe, taking important and good stuff with them without pardon. Stuff you are going to need for your new villager.
Seasons
There are also different seasons in the game, you have spring, summer, autumn and winter. Winter, by the way, is the toughest time you can have because of the cold and food. So you want to make sure you prepare your villagers well for this, and even then you might still fall short. Here, winter really comes down to pure survival, especially if you have a lot of villagers.
Events
These also happen randomly where animals come for your food and a blood moon means wraths and skeletons storm your camp to demolish it. With on your 17th day a brutal bear attack, which is meant to show you what you can expect. Now at the beginning of the launch, the bear did not go away and you had to fight to the death. Sometimes the bear would get full of life and sometimes it would stay to where you had it. Another thing we know so far is that an invasion is coming on day 56. What this is we don’t know yet but we’re going to find out soon enough.
Conclusion
It is a beautiful and also visually appealing game with an awful lot of potential. It reminds me a bit of Sons of the Forest, but with a bit more survival. Keep in mind that the game is in early acces, so there might be more improvements on the decaying buildings, inevitable bear attacks and so much more. So if you like survival with a sharp edge, then this really is the game for you. What makes you want to start your own tribe and take over the island? Start today.