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Playwing brings a fierce and unique arena battle to "Century: Age of Ashes".

Century: Age of Ashes, developed and published by Playwing, is an arena fighting game where players can ride on a powerful dragon. This kind of fantasy multiplayer experience has many different game modes, professions and roles for in-depth exploration. Although this game has a good foundation, there are still some obvious areas for developers to improve in the future.

Throughout the course of "Century: Age of Ashes", players will ride on the back of a dragon, use the dragon to destroy enemies and travel through the world. Age of Ashes has a very useful tutorial to introduce you to sports, combat and abilities. You can then easily enter the online game through the "Rookie" contest, which is a reduced version of the full experience. For new players, this is a good entry process, so as not to be overwhelmed when confronting veterans head-on.

Playing games on PC, I like the way the game is controlled. I had to pull my mouse to make sharp turns around the structure, like flying a jet or military aircraft. The actual weight of the dragon makes the movement feel real.

Century: The air combat in the Age of Ashes is very fast. It may be the best "dragon dog fighting" I have ever experienced in the game. There is an extreme intensity of interweaving between obstacles, avoiding enemy attacks and chasing targets. Sometimes, when I drive my dragon, I find myself bowing or leaning forward in the seat.

The game also has a very clear and easy to understand user interface. There are often many things happening on the screen, but the player hovering and the full HUD make it very easy to keep up with what is happening.

The 6v6 online game is Century: Where the Ashes really shine. The game has several different game modes, including slaughter (team deathmatch), loot (6v6 gold coin collection mode) and raid (capture the flag). I find the goal-based model more exciting than the standard team deathmatch, which feels a bit boring and slow in comparison.

Century: The two goal modes of the Ash Age have strong team vitality. In Raid, I often play a defensive role, protecting my team's flag when my allies are chasing opponents. Then, I usually meet them midway and escort them back to our base, sending fireballs and bolts to any pursuers. In "Loot", momentum will swing violently when the hat is dropped. I don't collect a few gold coins aimlessly, but team up with my teammates to chase gems or enemies that have accumulated a lot of gold coins.

Many team dynamics in Century: Age of Ashes come from three professions: Windguard, Marauder and Phantom. Windguard is good at playing a supporting role, deploying shields and confuse the enemy. The predator is an assault type, focused on causing damage and destroying enemies. Phantom prioritizes stealth, flying under the radar and setting traps for opponents.

Century: Arena battles in the Ashes are very interesting, but it does feel a bit barebones, especially after a long game. There are only two goal-based patterns, and although they are interesting, they may be repeated. I also want to see more courses appear in the game to change the status quo and provide players with more team composition for experimentation.

One particular aspect of the battle that frustrated me was the fire breath. When you are close enough to the target, you can lock them and emit a steady stream of flames. Once the enemy is close enough to start doing this, it is almost impossible to escape and it feels like being sentenced to death. I hope there is a way to punish enemies who are too close, and this method can be used as a counter for the fire breath.

Century: One of the subtle details of Age of Ashes nails is the sound design. The roar of the dragon, the wings that slashed the air, and the fireball in the sky all gave people a very real feeling. Even the voice and language annotations of my human characters help to increase the immersion of all this. The sound is supported by an epic soundtrack. The music sounds like what you hear in the climactic battle of Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings.

For a game created by a small and medium-sized team, the outstanding performance of Age of Ashes also surprised me. The dragon has a realistic design with enough details to make each creature unique. This is largely due to the gorgeous art style of the game. This is a classic fantasy game with exaggerated armor design, complex structure and a network of rivers and mountains for navigation.

Century: Age of Ashes is an enjoyable arena shooting game. An original concept and a solid game foundation will definitely allow many newcomers to pass through the gate, but I'm not sure how long they will stick to it. The small provision of game modes proved to be repetitive after a period of time, and there was not much change in character construction or team composition. Fortunately, over time, these are the problems I hope to solve, and the developers of Playwing made Century: Age of Ashes a better experience.

This review is based on the digital download code provided by the publisher. Century: Age of Ashes is now available for free on Steam.

Donovan is a young journalist from Maryland who likes games. His oldest game memory is playing pajama Sam on his mother's desktop on the weekend. Pokémon Emerald, Halo 2 and the original Star Wars Battlefront 2 are the most influential games that awakened his love for video games. After an internship for Shacknews throughout the university, Donovan graduated from Bowie State University in 2020, majoring in broadcast journalism, and joined the team full-time. He is a huge Star Wars nerd and movie fanatic, and he will talk to you about movies and games all day long. You can follow him on Twitter @Donimals_

Donovan Erskine publishes a new article, Century: A Review of the Ashes: A Hot Fresh Air