Ashes: Blackwater
By Ykarion - N/A Maps (non-traditional structure)
Format: UZDoom
[Download]
Started: April 23rd 2026
Finished: April 23rd 2026
Status: Completed
FINALLY MORE ASHES!!! Unfortunately I have complaints. Ashes: Blackwater is a semi-official expansion that sorta works like a B-Side of the first half of Afterglow with some Hard Reset sprinkled in. The overworld is a fusion of Afterglow's first hub with some areas from 2063 and Hard Reset, with remixed progression, MUCH harder enemy placement, a new story, and a handful of new mechanics. The overall level design is mostly unchanged but a lot of the enemy placement feels kinda dickish. Early on you're REALLY limited in terms of health, and you don't find new weapons very easily. The final map becomes a bit of a huge mess because it mostly just vomits a bunch of random enemies at you (first raiders, then mutants) PLUS the 2063 final boss, which you don't get nearly enough ammo for, and I had to cheat to win because I missed a bunch of the weapons and had absolutely no health left. The radiation gimmick is also different, it builds slower but stays permanent unless you use certain items, and has building negative effects the more irradiated you are. It's a neat concept but ultimately I kinda just prefer the old system since this one feels superfluous. The new story is alright I guess, an alternate timeline where Walker failed in Hard Reset and everything got taken over by the Blackwater bandits, but it doesn't really do much with that since the game has to work within the constraints of having no new maps and a short runtime. Despite the janky difficulty and lack of new stuff, as essentially an Ashes rom hack, Blackwater does alright, but is only really worth a look for superfans and people who want more of a challenge.
Rating - ⭐⭐⭐½
Favorite/Least Favorite Map skipped due to Blackwater's very different structure.