Ashes of Immortality II

My honest first reaction to Ashes of Immortality II was curiosity, the kind that only small catalog RPGs buried in Aldorlea bundles tend to spark. This is the second chapter in Warfare Studios' vampire-and-werewolf saga, and it makes a genuinely interesting choice: rather than continuing in the blood-politics of Ruthven from the first game, it pivots completely, dropping players into Landis, a wild and untamed wilderness where werewolves are the dominant culture. The tonal shift is bold for a micro-budget sequel. Instead of gothic castle intrigue, you get windswept forests, fractured clans, and a young werewolf protagonist trying to unite his people against a charismatic fanatic bent on tearing down civilization itself. On paper, that is a more interesting premise than the first game managed. The 16-bit aesthetic here draws clear influence from early Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, and Warfare Studios leans into that lineage without apology. Top-down tile maps, turn-based party combat, and a world map that invites careful exploration are all present. The sidequests give the game some welcome texture - they are not deep by any standard, but they add towns, characters, and small beats that make Landis feel inhabited rather than just functional. The writing has a loose, sometimes surprisingly warm humor underneath the darker premise, which keeps the tone from feeling too self-serious. That said, the community reception is notably split, sitting around the 46 percent positive mark on Steam, and I think I understand why. The biggest friction point is encounter density. Certain stretches - dungeon corridors, mountain passes, narrow single-tile pathways - can become genuine slogs when random battles trigger almost every step. Deadlite Mountain in particular has earned some notoriety from frustrated players who found themselves retreading the same monster-dense alleys multiple times due to unclear quest direction. That kind of design friction is the difference between a game that feels hand-crafted and one that feels unpolished. Here, it lands closer to the latter. For players who grew up with RPGMaker games from the early 2000s or who have affection for Aldorlea's broader catalog (Vagrant Hearts, Midnight's Blessing, and similar titles sit nearby in the library), this will feel comfortable and familiar. The story gets more interesting in its second half, the characters have actual voices to them, and the werewolf setting is underused enough in the JRPG space that it carries novelty value on its own. If you are coming in cold with no prior Ashes of Immortality experience, the first game is a better entry point - but the sequel is not without its own modest rewards for patient players.

Kai · Scout Team

Indie & narrative

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