Everything We Know About Ashwalkers

Are you a huge fan of the Life Is Strange series? Are you dying to get your hands on Life Is Strange: True Colors? If you love the team behind the series, then there's some good news. Hervé Bonin, the co-founder of Dontnod Entertainment (the studio behind Life Is Strange 2), has formed a new studio called Nameless XIII. On April 15, 2021, Nameless XIII will release its first game: Ashwalkers.

Set in "a harsh world without rules or judgement," Ashwalkers is a survival simulator that puts the player in control of a story where every decision is important. With an impressive 34 different endings, you can truly feel the consequences of your actions. Are you ready to dive into this bleak world and discover its particular brand of survival game logic?

If this is the first time you're hearing about Ashwalkers, you probably have more than a few questions. This is everything you need to know about Ashwalkers, which is already shaping up to be an impressive PC exclusive.

According to a press release from Nameless XIII, Ashwalkers takes place "200 years after a geological disaster," and focuses on four main characters. Petra, Sinh, Kali, and Nadir make up a unit known as "The Squad," which traverses ash-covered lands (hence the name) on a mission to find somewhere safe for the rest of their collective to settle.

Speaking to Marina DelGreco of Game Rant, Ashwalkers' Hervé Bonin shared that the inspiration for the story's setting came from the desire to create a unique backdrop for a post-apocalyptic setting. Ultimately, the idea of an apocalypse caused by a volcano made the most sense.

Bonin later touched upon the game's endings, assuring readers that even with 34 possible conclusions, each one is very different. Ashwalkers was designed to be on the shorter side, hopefully encouraging players to explore the game multiple times and experience as many of the 34 endings as possible. As such, Ashwalkers creative director Matteo Gaulmier has said that you can expect to complete a run in roughly two or three hours.

According to the game's Steam listing, Ashwalkers challenges players to come up with "meaningful choices in complex moral dilemmas." You will be in charge of a small group of fellow survivors, leading them through hardships, rationing food, and taking charge of equipment and resources. Gameplay will feature harvesting and crafting mechanics, as well as plenty of exploration. You will bravely take your team through a "hostile world destroyed by a volcanic apocalypse," all the while building relationships and working to keep your crew mentally and physically well.

In a gameplay demo, viewers get a little more insight into how Ashwalkers will work. Narrative beats will be told through written logs. You control one character while three others follow behind. Resource gathering takes up energy units, and if your current survivor runs out of energy, you transfer control to another party member. 

During your travels, you'll encounter spots on the map where you can learn more about your surroundings. As you reach certain milestones, various choices will appear, which will determine how your party proceeds. You will be able to initiate actions like establishing a campsite, where you can build a fire, tend to party needs, and more. Players will have to play strategically in Ashwalkers to survive.