ASKA Review

Sand Sailor Studio, a small Romanian indie team that first turned heads with Black The Fall, has set their sights on a much bigger project with ASKA. The studio's move into survival and management territory is new, but this gamble they've taken has paid off in some ways. ASKA is not just another survival game where you chop down trees and build huts; the game seamlessly blends the survival and building genres, all set within a Norse mythological setting.  

ASKA is built on the idea of being a Viking trying to carve out an entire community in a world shaped by Norse mythology. The very name comes from the world tree, Yggdrasil, and that sense of mythology runs deeply with every action in-game. 

You begin alone, but the game's premise isn't just to keep yourself alive but also to create something larger than life. ASKA asks you to think like a leader of a people's legacy, whereas most survival games ask you to be Bob the Builder. That's the key difference that makes ASKA a game worth your attention. 

The setup is straightforward. You take control of a Viking, male or female, with limited customization options beyond hairstyle and tattoos, and are dropped into an untamed landscape. What you have to tackle afterwards are things you have seen before if you're a fan of survival gaming: find resources, secure food, and establish shelter.

The first campfire you build feels small, but that's you planting the seed for your community to grow. From that, your settlement slowly grows into a living village. The loop is simple: eat, sleep, build, repeat. But the way it all interlocks makes ASKA's progression personal.

Early hours are all about the basics. 

You'll be chopping down trees, carrying logs, and constructing huts or workshops before filling them in with materials. The building system is easy enough (similar to games like The Forest), and every structure has weight. You can't just instantly drop a house into a barren world; you've got to put in the effort. "It's about drive; it's about power," as the Rock says. It's work, sure, but it's rewarding work. 

Most survival games keep you isolated, but one thing ASKA does great is that it's not forcing you to do everything alone or rely on multiplayer companions. Here, you can recruit AI settlers to help you. Bringing in a new villager isn't as simple as you might think; you need to prepare resources, set up a place for them to sleep, and give them tasks once they arrive. These villagers value the quality of life, so if you can't provide it, they won't stay.

They can also be assigned roles such as chopping wood, gathering stones, farming, and cooking, among others. As I said earlier, this makes ASKA more than a survival game and a lot like a settlement management sim, where your job is just as much about organization and leadership as it is about hunting or finding shelter.

That's not to say it all runs smoothly. 

Villager AI can be hit or miss. Most of the time, they're helpful, and it's nice to see them going about their business. But there are frustrating moments, too, like returning from a long exploration only to find your woodcutter standing around claiming he can't find sticks, even though you're literally in the middle of a forest.

The villagers can also feel a bit passive, sometimes needing more direction than you'd like. Assigning them tasks isn't as simple as it could be either; the menus are clunky, and the process of giving orders sometimes feels more like fighting the interface than leading a community. 

It would be far smoother if you could simply open a quick wheel menu, point at a villager, and tell them to "go chop wood" or "cook some food", but maybe this move was intentional from the devs, for them to make the game a bit of a challenge for you.

The system works well enough to make you feel like your settlement is growing. 

Despite the rough edges, because of both your effort and the contributions of your villagers, the game doesn't quite fall in the "pass" category. It adds a unique flavor to the genre, and I mean, it's not every day that you see a survival/management game that's based on Norse mythology, so ASKA is innovative in that sense. Also, unlike many survival games where your camp always feels like a temporary stopgap, ASKA makes your settlement feel permanent. 

The world outside your village is equally important. Exploring the land reveals a wealth of resources, caves, diverse wildlife, and various enemies. The game world is presented as part of a larger Norse-inspired place, with hints of the nine realms and references to gods, spirits, and creatures.

You'll come across animals like deer that provide food and materials, but hunting isn't without risk. Kill a deer, and as you're skinning it, a wolf might appear, drawn by the smell of blood. The ecosystem has touches like this that make it feel alive, giving me no other option but to give exploration an A for effort and execution, both.

Combat, on the other hand, is functional but basic.

Early on, it feels clunky, with simple swings and dodges and not much in the way of tactical depth. But it improves as you push further into the world. You'll encounter stronger bandits and even bosses hidden in caves or ruins. These battles break up the slower pace of building, but combat never feels like the game's strongest suit. It's an appetizer, you could say, but not fulfilling enough to be the main course.

Progression ties everything together. The more you do something—i.e., chopping wood or fighting enemies—the better you get at it. This kind of organic growth system feels natural and rewarding, encouraging you to focus on the activities you enjoy. It's satisfying to see your Viking gradually improve through practice. 

The longer you play, the more systems open up. Farming becomes an option, letting you establish a more reliable food supply. You can also build religious altars, which tie into the Norse themes and even allow you to transform into creatures.

At times, crafting feels more like a saga than a mechanic, and it is extremely detailed. Making a sword, for example, involves coal, bellows, hammers, anvils, and even a cooler before you finally bring it together at another crafting bench. 

Every weapon feels like making Thor's Mjolnir, even if you're just trying to make a butter knife. But the process is also deeply satisfying. You literally carve wood components by hand, which is a brilliant detail. NPCs can help, though they don't seem thrilled about it either.

Crafting is well designed, but it could definitely use a quality-of-life update. Right now, it feels like the developers asked how many steps were too many, then doubled it—but they made it so beautiful that you almost forget you're grinding endlessly. 

Visually, ASKA gets the job done. 

The environments are pleasant. Animations can be stiff, but they're okay-ish. The game is played in third-person with a smooth zoom-in and zoom-out function, which works beautifully, except during heavy weather events like thunderstorms, when the FPS dips slightly. However, some settings tweaks quickly resolve this issue. 

The terrain is lush without being overdone and changes naturally with the seasons, which looks fantastic. The graphics strike the perfect balance, immersive enough that you forget your Viking avatar is probably cold and miserable—but I suppose their standards back then were a little different. 

The UI is clean and intuitive without trying to reinvent the wheel. The HUD is minimal and only displays the essentials, including cold, food, water, health, and stamina. There's also a tutorial that is actually useful without being overwhelming. The journal logs everything you've unlocked and contains important information you shouldn't ignore.

Where the game really shines is in its sound design. The music adds atmosphere in spades, making even mundane tasks like hauling logs feel more epic. Ambient sounds help sell the immersion, and the audio cues add tension in situations like when you're being hunted, rather than doing the hunting yourself, by a wolf.

If there's a weak link, it's the world design itself.

It can be beautiful, but it sometimes feels underdeveloped and lacks identity. Exploration is important, but there are stretches where it feels like you're wandering through filler. That said, the foundation is strong, and with the settlement system as the heart of the experience, the world mostly serves as a backdrop for your growing village. 

What's striking about ASKA is how well it caters to solo players. Yes, multiplayer is an option, but the villager system makes single-player feel fulfilling in a way few survival games manage. Your villagers create the illusion of companionship, making the game uniquely suited for those who prefer to go solo.

When all is said and done, ASKA is a game that tries something different and mostly succeeds.

ASKA doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it adds enough twists to stand apart from the copy-and-paste survival gimmick you see these days. The blend of survival and management, along with Norse myth, creates a loop that you enjoy despite the flaws that come with the game. Sand Sailor Studio's ambition shines through, but I hope they've taken notes on what they can do better. 

Is it perfect? No. But it doesn't need to be. What matters is that ASKA is unique, and I don't know about you, but innovation is always appreciated in my books. For fans of the genre, it's a worthy journey that takes you into an Asgardian village to create your own Norse destiny.