Reviews - Desespero

This is by far, the best TC I've ever played! Though, I'm a suspect here, because post-apocalyptic worlds are my favorite game environments.
The level design is really, really good! Combined with amazing soundtrack, I was fully immersed in this post-apocalyptic world. I don't know if the developers had this intention for what I'm going to say, nor I'm an easy startled person, I've been playing horror games all my life and I love specially those I can't fight and just have to run for my life, but I got two jump scares on Afterglow! Wow!!! This how amazing is the ambience on the Ashes series. And there are parts with no music and complete silence, which is really well done, creating a really awesome feeling of tension. In some levels one would think that the developers were being lazy, but no, they are actually make you feel like you're in a complete dead place, a complete desert! But when they have to make you feel you're in a place that had lots of people and still is visited or lived by people, they do it really well, with a good eye on attention to detail. Very good!
The gameplay is really good and I love that I had to resort to melee attacks, because ammo is scarce, specially in the beginning, which makes a very realistic approach on how I had to deal with enemies. I actually got addicted to this! There were situations I could have just gunned down enemies, but I had a blast knifing them, running to corners, wait for them, knifing them. This approach, made that on the end of Ashes, I had a lot of resources, which gave my the edge beating the final bosses. So cool! Yes, of course, there was a lot of fast paced combat, after all, it's a DooM TC.
The graphics are very well done, helping even more on the immersion and the feeling of an era after a global cataclysmic event. I found myself a couple of times staring at stuff, like portions of the levels, taking steps back to enjoy it globally, or even circling cars just to look how good looking and realistic are the textures. Really shinny graphics, I would say! But they really start to glow when I started upgrading the guns. Really gorgeous some of them will become!
The sound design is good too. Don't expect buffed up, hollywood style, gun sounds. They actually sound like real guns. On the ambience side, it furthers the immersion experience and feeling on being in some specific place. Though, I would say that a lot of other mods do it greatly too.
The soundtrack, has I said before, is amazing!!! It just fits perfectly on every occasion and I doubt that could have been done better. I've been addicted to the albums on Spotify for a week now! Awesome!!!
Now, last, but not least, the plot. Again, wow! It makes some AAA titles stories a bit dull. In my opinion, it rivals the best, the Metro franchise! (I still have yet to play STALKER) A good story has twists and turns and Ashes is no stranger to that! And reveals, oh the reveals!! I have one question in my mind and people who played Ashes might have too. What's up with that, thing, stuff, situation?! Maybe a new TC?
I would like to expand more on the subject of the plot but I don't want to spoil it for people reading this, BUT, the end of Ashes Afterglow is f***ing disturbing to me! Fallout and RAGE are silly, innocent children compared to Ashes!
I played it on Survival and usually, nowadays, I won't go to the hardest level on video games, but Ashes, just like Metro, needs to be played like that, to have the complete experience. After posting this, I will have lunch calmly and prepare myself to restart Ashes on Apocalypse.

Conclusion: this is one epic, legendary, labor of love! So, SOOOOOO good content and it's free!! If this was a commercial game I would have just one thing to say: SHUT THE F**K UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!! Ashes is 20/10 masterpiece!

The game left some to be desired by the time it was released, but its still id's signature.
The last participation of Carmack's on id Tech, left us wondering what id's going to be after his departure in terms of tech development.
This isn't bad, quite the contrary! It's a new beginning for the revolutionary developer of 90s.
The game proves that id is still id, no matter what is going on at it's core.
Fast paced action, kill, kill and more killing. Funny and entertaining, the game is suitable for those who just want to shoot, shoot and shoot!
The scenarios of desolated areas makes me wonder what DooM 4 can be. Hell isn't far and possibly a new outstanding piece of art is coming and is going to hit harder than ever.
Whatever you think about id Software, this is the exclamation of the game developer, telling us "we're still here!!"