Ashen Meridian Beginner’s Guide: Everything to Know Before You Cross the Line
Which origin to pick, how ledger and compass stances really work, where to spend your first Ash, and why finishing every chart makes the Wardens easier to beat.
Xbox
Xbox Series X|S and PC cross-play coverage. Everything we’ve covered that’s playable on Xbox Series X|S.
Results
Fourteen Independent Studios Sign the Open Controls Pledge, Promising Full Remapping and Readable Subtitles at Launch
Announced at Autumn Showfloor, the pledge sets a shared accessibility baseline for every new release from studios including Saltmarsh Games, Little Paper Kite, and Quiet Static.
Hollowmere’s First Patch Adds a Field-of-View Slider, Fixes Lantern Flicker, and Softens the Pump House Chase
Patch 1.0.3 for Bracken & Bone’s survival horror debut addresses the most common complaints from its first week, including a chase sequence many players found punishing.
Brickhold Passes Its First Sales Milestone as Forgeworks Lays Out a Three-Update Roadmap
Grey Harbor says the co-op base builder reached 200,000 players in two days. Forgeworks Collective has outlined free updates through spring, starting with rail carts in November.
9
Tidebreak review: salt, sails, and second chances
Outstanding · Tidebreak
Saltmarsh Games has made the most satisfying roguelite of the year, a naval adventure where every run teaches you something and every loss feels fair.
Tidebreak Tips: 12 Things to Know Before Your First Voyage
How to sail with the wind, which crew members to pick first, what changed for the harpoon build in patch 1.0.4, and which Gull’s Rest refits to buy before anything else.
6.5
Hollowmere review: fog, lanterns, and a long walk in circles
Decent · Hollowmere
Bracken & Bone’s survival horror debut has superb atmosphere and genuinely nerve-racking resource management, but backtracking and a muddled final act sap its tension.
Starfall Tactics’ First Expansion, Ashes of Vantor, Adds a Fourth Faction
Ninth Orbit’s strategy game gets a new eight-hour campaign aboard a derelict shipyard on December 3, alongside a free update with an undo option and new accessibility settings.
8.5
Ashen Meridian review: a cartographer’s action RPG that makes every map feel earned
Great · Ashen Meridian
Lanternfall Studios’ first open world is heavy, stubborn, and frequently brilliant, and its map-drawing hook is the best new idea in the genre this year.
7.5
Starfall Tactics review: zero-g tactics with plenty of gravity
Good · Starfall Tactics
Ninth Orbit’s turn-based strategy game has the best new tactical idea in years, but a punishing strategic layer and a slow midgame make it a tougher recommendation than it should be.