Idols of Ash: How Addictive Games Don't Need Complexity
It’s a simple game. Your goal is to get to the bottom of a mysterious cave while a centipede chases you. You have a grapple, you have fall damage. The graphics are lower end. It’s simplicity at its finest, really.
And yet, it is infuriatingly addictive.
Idols of Ash was released on 9 April 2026 by Leafy Games, and it has taken the world by quite a storm, with some of the largest YouTubers trying their hand at it. YouTubers such as the Markiplier himself, Jaden Williams LIVE, and more.
I myself have played it, of course. With around 10 hours of gameplay time, I am attempting to get all of the achievements. I am currently slightly stuck on the Kiln level, but that’s not going to stop me from writing about this game.
Idols of Ash starts with you waking up in a tent in a random, barren wasteland. You have a feeling of being alone and lost, but with a goal in mind. You are looking for memories of her. And in order to see those memories, you need to climb down what looks like a pit or a cave. Everything feels truly mysterious, with a remorseful character risking everything to get to the bottom.
It hints at a story of grief, and perhaps the philosophical side of me sees that, instead of climbing up and out as most stories like to figuratively demonstrate, this is now the opposite. We have a grieving character diving deeper and deeper into a hole, with no signs of truly escaping. Going down into the dark and the deep.
I am liking this game even more now that I am sitting down and thinking about it.
Fun Gameplay Mechanics
It’s quite simple, and yet reliable. Although, on occasion, there might’ve been times the grapple failed when it shouldn’t have — for the most part, everything ran smoothly. The mechanic allows for a lot of flexibility, and even luck from time to time.
The enemy centipede adds to the sense of urgency. Players do NOT have all the time in the world to climb down, unless they play it in the recently released sandbox version. But this is perfect, because players are then forced to think on their feet, which adds to just how addictive this game can be.
And sure, the first ‘campaign’ is short, but the developers didn’t leave you in a lurch. There are multiple challenges to complete, which include:
- Nightmare
- Nightmare Inverted
- Kiln
- Kiln Inverted
And I am currently stuck on Kiln.
But what I am trying to say is, it is not HARD to play this game. But it is a challenge to complete it. And honestly, I think it’s a perfect level of challenging, but accomplishable. Which is another factor I like to consider in games.
Because the moment I am forced to look up a walkthrough in a game, or have to take a break, is the moment the game reaches a more difficult level of gameplay for me.
Simplicity
And despite all of this, it still blows my mind how incredibly simple, yet addictive, this game is. It flourishes in its simplistic nature, and I think we need to see more games like this.
The gaming community is so ultra-focused on overcomplicating things, even within the horror genre, and yet it happens to be the simpler games that tend to do better. Iron Lung is just another example. It’s a simpler game, and yet so terrifying in its nature that a whole movie was made about it.
I still need to watch the movie and play the game.
Even FNAF is rather simple, and a good chunk of anomaly games thrive on this factor. If you see an anomaly, you push this button or go in this direction, and vice versa.
But honestly, a good balance is required. If you make a simple mechanic and a simple game, it has to be a convincing one.
And that is harder to accomplish than most people realize. But Idols of Ash nailed this.
I am excited to see if the devs do decide to push further into extending this game, or whether or not they will try something else. However, Idols of Ash is a game you should absolutely give a go — you won’t be disappointed.