Ark of Charon Review (PC)

Picture this: it’s the end of the world. All living things on Earth have been wiped out, save for a tiny seedling that holds the key to humanity’s survival. With no superhero to swoop in and save the day, it’s up to you to step up. This seedling is your only hope for restarting future generations. While you don’t have superheroes, you have a colossal version of Groot as your mount.

I know I said you don’t have superheroes, but you get a colossal version of Groot as your mount. Indeed, it’s not a novel idea since the storyline borders along the lines of other post-apocalyptic narratives. However, its gameplay deserves all the praise. Ark of Charon blends tower defense with strategy in the new survival game. In a post-apocalyptic landscape where anything can go wrong, you must be fully prepared. If this gets your gears moving, stick with us as we unravel the good and the bad in our Ark of Charon review.

Fortress of Life

Ark of Charon‘s narrative opens up to a mystical land riddled by a tragic catastrophe. The Tree of Life has fallen, taking all other life forms with it. Naturally, you might think a disease or pest has sundered the tree to its roots, but no, the culprit is darkness—a darkness that still threatens any remaining life. Lucky for the game world’s inhabitants, their ultimate ray of hope comes in the form of a sapling that rises from the ground. Now, it is up to the golems and goblin creatures to take care of the nascent sapling until they reach the nursery. To do so, they mount it on a moving tree. Since the darkness still exists, the colossal mount can only take short breaks.

The game comes in two modes. Players can choose to play this narrative or one where darkness doesn’t exist. The latter, known as the idyllic journey, doesn’t necessarily rush players, so you can go about the game without worrying about the darkness catching up. Naturally, this is suitable for beginners who have yet to grasp the game’s concept and mechanics. It also lets you appreciate the time and effort put into crafting the aesthetically pleasing background. On the other hand, seasoned gamers are welcome to try out A New World, a timed mode, since the darkness is out there to get you. 

Build and Defend

After you familiarize yourself with the narrative, the game provides you with three Golems, or minions, as I’d like to call them. The gameplay seamlessly blends tower defense and colony simulation, where you’ll protect the mount against attacks by constructing defense structures. Thankfully, the game lets you put up your structures before proceeding to a new area.  

To kick things off, your game area is the back of the colossal mount. Your minions basically do all the heavy lifting, but not for free. You must keep them fed, which brings us to the other part of the gameplay, resource gathering. The game puts heavy emphasis on obtaining resources through harvesting and mining. But since resources are limited, you have to always be on the move. You can mine coal, iron, stone, wooden rots and other items underground. However, as with the real world, once you mine them, they are replenished, and it’s off to the next one for you and your troops. 

After gathering the resources you need, the next phase of the gameplay is base building and customization. The game gives you the keys to the castle, where you get to construct and design any structure as you please. However, remember that the structure has to weather and undergo ecological devastation, which awaits you ahead. You can fortify your structure with weapons and set them on automatic fire. I learned the hard way that the weapons precision is a problem, so it’s a good idea to have more weapons on board. Also, don’t forget your precious little helpers. You can also build a room that shelters the golems from the storm. The storm naturally destroys everything it touches, including your minions. So it’s best if they get a roof over their heads. 

More Weapons

What strikes me the most about Ark of Charon is its visual style, which looks like something out of Ghibli’s page. Its vibrant and colorful texture warms you up to your surroundings. It is easy to get bored by city simulators where you see the same skyline and background repeatedly. But the careful craft behind Ark of Charon’s visuals must be applauded. 

Of course, it is for any gamer, especially a beginner. You can be forgiven for taking this untamed beauty for easygoing gameplay, because it’s not. Strategy and wit, plus, of course, your three minions, are your key to survival. In my first play, I lost the golems and the sapling to the storm. I mean, I did expect enemies in the form of marauders, so the weather event took me by surprise. But all was not lost since I got my wake-up call the hard way. My next resolve was to invest in weapons, specifically the trebuchet and ballistas.

But this is not enough to ensure your moving mount gets a safe pass-through. There is a cooldown in between combat that you can leverage. Instead of waiting for the aftermath, you can start planning for the next attack. 

Over time, your enemies get stronger, so you must upgrade your weapons. The game’s tech tree, similar to a skill tree, upgrades your weapons into more formidable ones. For instance, you can unlock weapons that use electricity to blast your foes away. 

Perhaps the best defense is to ensure the World Tree’s Core is safe. This means strategically placing defensive walls and weapons. But keep in mind that your adversaries always shoot down your barricades first. 

Moving Forward

As alluded to, you can only stay in one area for a short time. Once you have all the necessary resources, select your next destination from the World Map. But you must wait for your Golems to get back on the mount. Once they are all accounted for, you then start the journey by pressing ‘Ready to Depart.’ The thing about the game that probably most players won’t pick is efficiency. With only three golems to do your bidding, you can maximize their efficiency by assigning tasks that align with their strengths. Doing so allows you to speed up the rate at which the tasks are done. Plus, they also get to work together. This comes in handy since it seems you’ll always be on your back foot with the timed challenges. 

Now, the golems are mortal, but you can replace them by collecting souls. Every successful journey you complete provides you with souls from your fallen enemies. It’s an efficient way of keeping things moving and not having players count their losses. You can combine the souls to get different Golem variations.

The Good

Even though Ark of Charon doesn’t reinvent the wheel with its gameplay, it is engaging. Plus, the title sets itself apart by blending, including tower defense. At first, things start smoothly, but after a few run-ins with the enemy, you learn to strategize to fortify your structures.

As I said, the visuals are good. However, for experienced players, they can feel like a shortchange. They’re not really breathtaking, but they get the job done. The sound effects, however, are impeccable. They seamlessly transition between different scenarios. 

Additionally, the game’s tutorials feel manageable, as do other games in the city-building genre. You can access them from the side of the screen. But once you go through a tutorial, you cannot reaccess them. So, maybe take a picture?

The Bad

Working on a creature’s back is ideally different from working on terrain. Entirely because you are limited in the space you can work with. That’s why building upward makes more sense in this game. But that also makes you vulnerable to attacks. The resources come in different shapes and sizes, meaning you can build structures using a blend of resources. But here is the downside, the stone and wood materials are of various sizes. So, to get a solid structure, you need to trim the sides by demolishing and cleaning up afterward. Also, since you’ll come across different materials on your journeys, it may disadvantage you by having to destroy what is already up to incorporate the new. Since you are short of time, this might work against you when the storm catches up. 

Verdict

Overall, Ark of Charon is a decent game that needs polishing in a few areas. The frustrating mechanics can push you to put down the game after a few trials, but with every journey, you can solidify your craft. The challenging gameplay can be a welcoming feat to experienced players. Also, the game gives you the option of a well-paced mode to get a grip on things before diving head-first into the campaign mode.