Ashes: 2063 (Second Playthrough)
By Vostyok- 14 Maps
Format: UZDoom
[Download]
Started: August 20th 2025
Finished: August 23rd 2025
Status: Completed
Considering Ashes: Death Zone is nearing release I figured I'd replay the entire series so far, both because I just like replaying old games before new ones come out, and as a sort of tribute to the set of games that kickstarted my insane classic doom addiction several months ago (also I wanted an excuse to redo my ashes series reviews anyway). Ashes: 2063, while not quite as magical as it was back in January, is still a really fantastic total conversion. The fusion of Doom's gameplay flow with a seasoning of post-apocalyspe, Ashes is exactly the type of post-apocalypse action game I always wanted. All the fun and atmosphere of scrounging for supplies and carefully exploring long abandoned wastelands, with no need to worry about complex survival mechanics. Despite the complete gameplay overhaul, Doom's DNA is still very evident here, with a fantastic set of custom weapons and a good (if a bit limited) roster of custom enemies. The early half isn't quite as good as I remembered it being, but the last few maps are a massive highlight, even if the finale still ended up being dissapointing, since it's just an underwhelming walk through a military base that loredumps a bunch of stuff that basically amounts to nothing, before fighting a custom Cyberdemon replacement that follows in the footsteps of the original by having way too much health for no reason. The levels do a great job of setting up a unique atmosphere for each location thanks to some incredible music, with The Sub-Caverns and The City being massive highlights, but even the early maps are a lot of fun. Now knowing where the series ended up going after this with Ashes: Afterglow, 2063 definitely feels more like a showcase of potential ideas rather than a full complete experience; enemy variety is pretty limited, the currency and shop system is heavily underutilized, and the story as a whole doesn't really amount to a whole lot here, but it's still a really good time. I skipped out on Dead Man Walking this time around since I didn't really care for it that much the first time to begin with, but if you just want another hour or so of Ashes it's not a bad use of time.
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Favorite Map - Map 6: "The Sub-Caverns"
Least Favorite Map - Map 8: "Damage Control"