Among Ashes Review — Look Behind You

Among Ashes is a subversive indie horror game that feels both new and nostalgic. With a unique focus on immersion, the game does its best to make you feel like you’re truly inside its world. While it doesn’t succeed in every aspect, it offers a fresh take on the horror genre and is worth a try if it’s caught your interest.

What will no doubt stand out first in Among Ashes is the game’s subversive use of setting.

In Among Ashes, you play as an avid gamer in the year 2001. While playing what the game affectionately refers to as a DOOM ripoff, you receive a message from your in-game universe’s version of MSN Messenger. It’s your friend letting you know about a cool and free horror game he found online. After enduring the painfully slow download, you boot up the game to play alongside your friend. What starts as a simple, campy horror game soon has unexpected consequences in the real world around you.

What I find especially incredible about Among Ashes is how the game makes you nostalgic for 2001. With the protagonist’s bulky computer, the antiquated design of the websites you visit on it, and even just the inclusion of an MSN ripoff, it really makes you feel like you’re living in the times. Our protagonist’s frequent use of the XD emoji only further cements that feeling. It’s incredible the way media like Among Ashes can make me, someone who was still in diapers at the time this game takes place, feel nostalgic for an era I never actually experienced.

What’s especially impressive about Among Ashes is how it evokes nostalgia for 2001. The protagonist’s bulky computer, the retro design of the websites you visit, and even the inclusion of an MSN knockoff transport you to the era. The frequent use of “XD” emojis only deepens that immersion. It’s fascinating how a game like this can make me—someone who was still in diapers in 2001—feel nostalgic for a time I never actually experienced.

Here’s the proofread and polished version of your review, with minimal changes for grammar, spelling, American English usage, flow, and readability:

Among Ashes is a subversive indie horror game that feels both new and nostalgic. With a unique focus on immersion, the game does its best to make you feel like you’re truly inside its world. While it doesn’t succeed in every aspect, it offers a fresh take on the horror genre and is worth a try if it’s caught your interest.

What will no doubt stand out first in Among Ashes is the game’s subversive use of setting.

Screenshot: Try Hard Guides

In Among Ashes, you play as an avid gamer in the year 2001. While playing what the game affectionately refers to as a DOOM ripoff, you receive a message from your in-game universe’s version of MSN Messenger. It’s your friend letting you know about a cool and free horror game he found online. After enduring the painfully slow download on your bulky computer, you boot up the game to play alongside your friend. What starts as a simple, campy horror game soon has unexpected consequences in the real world around you.

What’s especially impressive about Among Ashes is how it evokes nostalgia for 2001. The protagonist’s clunky computer, the retro design of the websites you visit, and even the inclusion of an MSN knockoff transport you to the era. The frequent use of “XD” emojis only deepens that immersion. It’s fascinating how a game like this can make me—someone who was still in diapers in 2001—feel nostalgic for a time I never actually experienced.

This effective use of setting is more than just a nostalgic hook; it’s critical to making the horror of Among Ashes work.

As mentioned, Among Ashes revolves around the protagonist playing a cursed horror game on his computer, with its effects bleeding into the real world.

Mechanically, this concept translates into gameplay by letting you interact with both a virtual computer and the apartment space surrounding it. While much of the game is spent playing the horror game installed on the protagonist’s computer, you can leave the desk anytime to explore the apartment. This becomes essential as the cursed game’s influence begins to manifest in the “real” world.

The in-game computer is remarkably functional. Unlike other games with a similar premise, the computer in Among Ashes isn’t just a device to launch a secondary game. It behaves like a real PC, allowing you to tab between the game, a chat program, and an internet browser. This functionality is key to progressing in the game. Story details and puzzle solutions often require you to talk to your friend on Messenger or browse the in-game forums hosting the strange horror title you’ve downloaded.

While the game-within-a-game concept is interesting, it’s not entirely unique. I recently reviewed another horror game, Is This Game Trying to Kill Me?, which uses a similar mechanic. That said, Among Ashes and Is This Game Trying to Kill Me? differ in their execution. The latter uses its in-game computer to affect the broader environment more directly—such as opening real-world doors through in-game actions—while Among Ashes focuses on making the virtual computer more functional and immersive.

Among Ashes pays homage to iconic horror games while parodying them at the same time. The most obvious example is Night Call, the game-within-a-game that drives Among Ashes’ plot. Night Call is self-described in the story as a parody of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. When supernatural events aren’t in play, Night Call is an affectionate send-up of those games’ writing tropes and visual style, complete with a nostalgic early-2000s look that would’ve been cutting-edge at the time.

For all its strengths, Among Ashes has moments where its horror falls flat. The game occasionally relies on cheap jump scares, which—while effective—feel a bit uninspired. When it leans on suspense, the scares sometimes lose their edge due to low-quality models or assets that break immersion or fail to be scary. Interestingly, the intentionally low-quality models in Night Call often come across as creepier than the more realistic ones in the protagonist’s world.

Despite these flaws, Among Ashes shines where it matters most. Its shortcomings don’t detract significantly from the overall experience. I highly recommend it to horror enthusiasts, though you might want to avoid playing it alone in the dark.

Try Hard Guides received a PC review code for this game. Find more detailed looks at popular and upcoming titles on our Game Reviews page! Among Ashes is available on Steam and PlayStation.