Not everyone is gonna absorb a game's atmosphere the same as you, especially if you're not able to fully immerse yourself within one's fictional world. Thankfully Solar Ash had no difficulty setting the mood for its world and environments, establishing the massive scale of all five locations within the Ultravoid.

You're able to see previous and upcoming areas, along with the Starseed, from wherever you're standing. Heart Machine's previous game, Hyper Light Drifter's multilayered music tracks return, scaling progression off of how far you've traversed a level, or what phase you're fighting a boss on. Exploring open environments with a movement system that is fast and fluid is akin to the early 3D Mario games, while the gravity-bending planets and quiet atmosphere just screams Super Mario Galaxy. Taking on the gigantic Remnant boss fights after completing an area's gameplay loop is also reminiscent of Shadow of the Colossus.

This game delivers on so many levels and tells an extremely important message about letting go of the past and moving forward, while dealing with themes of loss, loneliness, and desperation among others. But it also manages to hit the mark on a personal level. Not many games manage to give me full-body goosebumps on multiple occasions, or to even make me shed a tear, but this definitely accomplishes that.

Solar Ash feels like a vivid idea I dreamt up as a culmination of specific sources of media from my childhood, and manages to deliver one of the best original 3D platformers I've ever played. (and yeah I may have enjoyed it more than HLD, but Heart Machine's still BANGS)