Idols of Ash

I went into Idols of Ash expecting a cute little indie experiment and came out with my palms damp and a new appreciation for momentum. The premise is gloriously simple: descend an enormous ancient structure with a grappling hook while being hunted. It feels a bit like White Knuckle reversed, with a lovably cruel centipede that forces decisions rather than cheap jump scares. For a tiny team (Leafy Games) this is an impressive bite-sized adrenaline hit.

Swinging Into the Abyss

Gameplay in Idols of Ash is built around one core joyous idea: the grapple. You aim, fire, and let physics do the rest, using momentum to vault, arc and sometimes catastrophically fail. Normal runs give you checkpoints and a forgiving rhythm at first, but the deeper you go — and especially in Nightmare or unlocked modes — precision and timing become everything. You’ll spend most of your time judging rope length, feathering your releases, and praying your hook bites into geometry instead of sliding off. The controls are delightfully tactile; there’s a satisfying CLINK whenever the hook bites and an audible rush as you plummet. Death mostly feels fair: most failures are you being arrogant with speed, not cheap randomness.

When the Murderpede Shows Up

What elevates the descent from neat mechanic to proper horror is the hunter. The centipede is less a jump-scare machine and more a persistent pressure: skittering footsteps, hungry chomps, and the way it punishes hesitation. It doesn’t always need to be visible to ruin your run — its sounds alone will make you bolt, take a risky grappling play, and sometimes pay for it. Players clearly relish the tension it provides, and higher difficulties make it an actual game-changer by increasing speed, aggression, and adding penalties. The cat-and-mouse dynamic forces you to balance safety with speed and occasionally invent mid-air saves that feel genuinely brilliant.

A Soundscape of Silence and Retro Grit

Technically the game leans into a minimalist, PS1-esque aesthetic that works in its favor: blocky textures, stark lighting, and vast negative space sell the sense of being tiny inside a megastructure. There’s almost no musical soundtrack — the silence is the point — so sound design carries the weight. Footsteps, the wind of falling, the metal twang of the hook and the centipede’s chewing are meticulously tuned and terrifyingly effective. Performance is fine across Windows/Mac/Linux; accessibility has improved since launch with rebindable controls. Graphically it’s not flashy, but the mood is nailed, and that restraint makes each creak and clank matter.

Idols of Ash is a brilliant example of minimal design done right: tight grappling physics, terrifyingly effective audio, and just enough variety to keep you coming back. It’s not a sprawling epic — it’s a distilled adrenaline loop that rewards practice and risk-taking. Buy it if you enjoy physics-driven platforming, short tense experiences, or speedruns; skip it if you need long story campaigns or dozens of enemy types. For the price, it's an absolute steal and a neat calling card for Leafy Games' future projects.