It’s a black, centipede-like beast with a big, bony spine covering it. A giant monster lands on the planet - and we’re talking really big. In a tribute to Super Mario Galaxy, Rei lands on a small planet that she can fully run around. The most exciting moment of the demo comes at the very end when Rei stumbles on a boss. The developers note that enemies play an important role in traversal puzzles, whether as obstacles or as signals for where players need to move next. The demoist doesn’t stop to fight an enemy but rather launches Rei at them mid-skate, using her momentum to carry forward into a series of slashes. However, even battles are more about movement than racking up hits (there’s no combo meter or score system in the game). While Solar Ash largely prioritizes fluid platforming over combat, players do still have enemies to slash.

It all plays out like a cosmic figure-skating routine. In one room, she dashes up a staircase, slashes a switch, tethers across a gap to slash another, and twists around in the air to stab an eye-like door. Movement only got faster as the demo progressed, with Rei seamlessly stringing several actions together. She quickly hops up an incline, breaks a rock to get some resources, and starts platforming on top of a massive alien rib cage poking out of the clouds. In the first moments of the demo, I saw her barreling down a cloudy slope. She essentially skates around the world, as if traveling on rollerblades. The two games really start to separate as soon as the main character, Rei, starts moving. Even its main character feels cut from the same cloth as the drifter. Despite ditching Hyper Light Drifter’s signature pixel style for smooth 3D textures, it’s still instantly recognizable as a Heart Machine game with its deep purples. Solar Ash is a 3D action-adventure game where players explore gorgeous, surreal spaces. Instead, it’s entirely about movement - even during its most action-packed moments. Solar Ash doesn’t dial in on hack-and-slash action like its predecessor. While its colors and atmosphere are familiar, the developer has made some fundamental shifts to its style. Heart Machine isn’t looking to do the same trick twice, and that became clear when I attended a demo event for its long-anticipated follow-up, Solar Ash.

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