Parents' Guide to

Remnant: From the Ashes

By Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Challenging, bloody shooter promotes teamwork vs. monsters.

Game Nintendo Switch, Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 2023
Remnant: From the Ashes Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this game.

  • Remnant: From the Ashes game screenshot #1
  • Remnant: From the Ashes game screenshot #2
  • Remnant: From the Ashes game screenshot #3

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 1 parent review

nuenjins
nuenjins Parent
September 3, 2019
age 13+

Severe difficulty spikes may discourage casual players.

As you progress through the beginning of the first world the balance and challenge seem fair and rewards skill. However, very soon you are dropped into tight corridors and can be quickly overrun with hordes of enemies. The "dodge roll" is your only real evasive maneuver that you literally HAVE TO master for each enemy. There is a slowness and weight to your character that you cannot simply outrun enemies for long and you will be required to "Get Good" at this one go-to move. The game rubber bands difficulty (to a degree) so that new players can play with higher levels, but you will still be very squishy and weak in comparison much of the time. So, if you are big into the Dark Souls level of difficult and lumbering gameplay, you will feel right at home with this title. But more casual player should NOT mistake this for another shooter like Gears or Division as you will most likely die several times over before defeating many of the areas and especially multiple times on the majority of the boss fights. Also, if you are totally new to this difficulty "genre" of other such titles, you may be frustrated and tempted to quit very early on. I played with higher level friends for the first week, but after a fresh attempt on solo. I quickly realized how much I was dependant on better players, but as a solo player or with Randies (random players) this game can be brutally difficult. Not sure if I would have bought it and invested the time had I known some of this sooner. NOW, the good is that most of the bosses are interesting and there are a couple dozen different enemies as this game does not skimp on enemy types which keeps it fresh. The weapons are well done and feel good with fair hits and some interesting powerful weapons. You can also gain armor sets, each with unique and stackable perks and mods for your weapons (AKA Turret or minion summons, healing rifts and hive swarms). Much of the aquiring of these may have you looking up you tube videos as several of the puzzles for attaining the best gear are not obvious. It's a well done game with some memorable boss fights, but it can truly kick your butt throughout, and seemingly designed to do so..
See all 1 parent review

What’s It About?

REMNANT: FROM THE ASHES is a third-person shooter that takes place in a world in which humanity has been reduced to a handful of survivors after the invasion of evil extra-dimensional monsters. Players take on the role of one of these survivors -- a man or woman with a knack for monster slaying -- who shows up at a human enclave that just happens to be in desperate need of someone with such talents. Using a strange crystal with teleporting properties, your character ventures into the wastelands to fight the evil monsters, investigate where they came from, put an end to the menace, and save humanity. You can head out alone or as a team with one or two other players as you work through the story, collecting loot and resources that allow you to upgrade and modify weapons as well as buy new gear in order to keep up with increasingly challenging enemies. Levels are randomly generated and filled with a variety of monsters. If you choose to rest at a checkpoint, your health and ammunition will be restored, but all defeated enemies will respawn, forcing some hard decisions. Dungeons typically end with a tough battle against a boss and its minions that players must defeat in order to progress the story. The Switch version of the game also packs in the two DLC (downloadable content) expansions that were released after the original game was launched.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (2):

This adventure is meant for people who crave the intense challenge of games like Dark Souls and Bloodborne and the teamwork elements of games like Destiny and Anthem. Remnant: From the Ashes wants to put your skills to the test by pitting you against hordes of powerful, fast-moving enemies. Weapons are satisfyingly potent and accurate, and upgrades and mods provide immediate, noticeable boons to combat effectiveness, but powerful weapons aren't enough to ensure victory. Players need quick reflexes and must think tactically in order to have a chance, even on the easiest difficulty setting. More than that, this is a game meant to be experienced as part of a team. Two or three players working together have a far greater chance of success, especially during some of the wildly tough boss fights -- though triumph is still far from guaranteed. It's impressive that the Switch version can not only hold up to the more powerful systems, but with the exception of some slower load times and some muddy visuals here and there, it runs just as well as the other versions of the game.

Assuming you're up for the challenge, you'll likely run into stretches where a bit of grinding is required in order to level up your gear and upgrade your character traits, particularly if you're trying to work through the story on your own without the help of other players. The good news is that dungeons can be "rerolled" to create new layouts, which means you don't have to spend hours replaying the same areas over and over again. It's not as satisfying as exploring an intricate world designed by a human mind, but it does help keep a sense of repetition from sinking in too quickly. But what will make or break Remnant: From the Ashes for most is whether they want to play cooperatively with other players. Going it alone through this destroyed world is just too tough.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about violence in media. Is the impact of the violence in Remnant: From the Ashes affected by the fact that you're fighting monsters rather than people? Would the impact be intensified if you were fighting people instead?

  • Can you be brave without feeling fear? If you don't feel brave, are you automatically a coward?

Game Details

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