Century: Age of Ashes caught a lot of interest with its announcement at the Game Awards and the flashy, action-packed trailers that followed. A medieval, dragon-riding dogfight game that comes on the heels of Star Wars: Squadrons is an interesting prospect, and a very different take on aerial combat than anything else currently on offer. Game Rant had the opportunity to participate in a closed beta for a weekend, and the impression the game made was a good one, but it made us yearn for the depth and polish that will likely only come after a lengthy period of early access development.
Century: Age of Ashes will be a free-to-play game, with all cosmetic-only in game purchases. It will also be early access upon its initial release, as the developer explicitly states that they want to continue to update the game based on community feedback. From the gameplay that Game Rant got to see, the visuals and moment-to moment combat of the game are well designed and well executed, and the only things lacking are content and variety. Like many early access games, Century: Age of Ashes may fully come into its own quite a bit further down the road.
From the get-go, Century: Age of Ashes gets its fundamentals right. The core gameplay of flying a dragon through the skies is fast, nimble, exhilarating, takes some finesse, and pretty much nails the feeling of a classic power fantasy- riding a dragon- that gamers have wanted for decades. Movement is smooth and intuitive, which is the best possible sign that the developer knew exactly what it wanted to achieve and how to do it. At the same time, there is enough fine control needed that tearing through winding caverns or weaving between castle spires is a rewarding, fast-paced challenge.
Mobility strikes a near-perfect balance. It provides the constant rush of speed and ease of traversing a map, but still requires enough skill that tactfully braking and ducking into a narrow gap is enough to lose an unprepared enemy tail. Combat itself isn’t mastered quite so well as mobility, but the mix of long-range tracking fireballs, close-range streams of high-damage flaming breath, and versatile abilities offer a good array of options that feel great to get the hang of. 6v6 matches are quick and often brutal, with a fast pace enabled by quick respawns, high damage, and speedy movement.
All in all, the mobility, the combat, and the capable, Unreal Engine-powered visuals of Century: Age of Ashes are well-polished building blocks from which to construct a deeper game. That’s exactly what most players want from an early access title in its beta stages, and it’s often more than they get. Beyond the core gameplay fundamentals, the leveling systems and rewards already baked into the game are set up to encourage players to come back again and again.
With paid cosmetics and unlockable rewards for every level-up, Century: Age of Ashes is positioning itself along the same lines as countless other free-to-play multiplayer games. Consistent rewards for doing well and tantalizing cosmetics purchased with real money are not new ideas, but they will nonetheless serve Century: Age of Ashes admirably. However, there are some interesting twists, like dragon eggs taking half of a player’s XP after matches until they hatch, meaning an egg will hatch quicker the better a player performs.
The background systems for cosmetics and rewards are familiar, and will likely be enough to keep fans around for a while. It may also be a wise move to launch in early access and get player feedback, as the game certainly needs more classes, maps, mechanics, and gamemodes. Sourcing ideas directly from the fanbase isn’t a bad idea, especially since the base game already seems competent enough to keep players invested, eagerly awaiting more content.
For all of the well executed fundamentals and solid structure that make Century: Age of Ashes promising, it is also clearly an early access game. There is a certain something missing, whether it be combat depth, more varied classes, more game modes, or all of the above. The most glaring omission is the lack of variety in gameplay styles, even among the three that were present in the preview. With the promised addition of more classes, though, this issue may be resolved before long. Luckily, there is plenty of time for Century: Age of Ashes to improve, and as a free to play game, there’s no bar of entry for players to try it out and engage with the devs to make their voices heard.
Century: Age of Ashes is planned to release in February 2021.
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