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Soon after you take your first steps out of Seyda Neen, a screaming wizard plummets from the sky and dies on impact with the swampy mud. He’s the victim of a leaping spell gone awry. That happens minutes into Morrowind, and it forever shaped how I think about RPGs from the ’00s. It’s this era of uncompromising gameplay that inspired Of Ash and Steel. The new open-world RPG from Fire & Frost Studios has classics like Gothic and The Witcher in its bones. Stripping away the glowing quest markers to encourage real exploration is a good start, but Fire & Frost honors these challenging games in more ways than one.
Of Ash and Steel and 2000s RPGs
Of Ash and Steel isn’t intentionally abrasive the way that some hardcore RPGs are, but it won’t be easy. There are no quest markers or auto-leveling enemies in this low-fantasy world. It’s a setting built from the ground up to reward exploration and curiosity, even as it strikes down foolhardy heroes who wander too far afield in their quest for riches and respect. The absence of a marker system is a big deal, given modern expectations, but you’ll still find a modern UI and tutorials. The goal is nostalgia, not punishing the player.
Three skill branches (Survival, Craftsmanship, and War) let you shape your character, but the game’s social system is arguably more important. You won’t be treated with respect until you’ve earned it. Prove yourself, and the world will recognize your accomplishments. Weather, a day-night cycle, and NPCs with their own routines all aim to create a living, breathing world. Getting caught in a thunderstorm far from town, hunkering down around a campfire, and cooking some grub while you wait out the rain? It’s a vibe reminiscent of Outward as much as Gothic, but it’s too early to say how well it will work.
Exploration and Progression
Getting lost in a forest at night, surrounded by monsters far above your level, is the kind of experience Of Ash and Steel is designed to deliver. Figuring mysteries out for yourself? Unraveling the world one underwater cave and secret dungeon at a time? That’s the entire point. As Lead Game Developer Viktor Kondakov explained at a recent press preview,
[Classic games] just drop you into this world, and you have to learn by yourself how this world works, what rules it has.
It’s a design philosophy embraced by games like Lunacid and Dread Delusion, and the world needs more of it. Striking a good balance between freedom and accessibility isn’t easy though. It’s too early to say how well Of Ash and Steel will handle it. Still, the project’s exciting so far. It’s not just the fishing and hunting, the chunky combat, or the grim fantasy narrative. It’s the way everything ties together to create one unified, dare I say Gothic, experience. You can venture into foreboding lands when Of Ash and Steel releases on PC in 2025.
