Solar Ash is a stunning Hyper Light Drifter successor coming in 2021

Solar Ash, originally Solar Ash Kingdom, was confirmed to be coming to PS5 in 2021 during today's big Future of Gaming reveal.

Solar Ash is the next game from Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine, and it's got the studio's fingerprints all over it. We've yet to get a proper look at the meat and potatoes of gameplay - which will probably involve that big needle and thread - but its aesthetic and atmosphere are on full display in its latest trailer. 

Heart Machine has cooked up another gorgeous, gravity-defying world filled with creatures that are as intimidating as they are awe-inspiring. Fittingly, Solar Ash's protagonist is another mysterious humanoid - a caped, fog-headed adventurer out to do who knows what in a strange land. Visually, they're much more defined, but their origins are as mysterious as the Drifter. 

"Journey through a surreal, vivid and highly stylized world filled with mystery, wild high-speed traversal, endearing characters, and massive enemy encounters," publisher Annapurna Interactive says. "The Void beckons…"

The PS5 reveal trailer is all about the ambiance, but the reveal trailer for Solar Ash suggests that we'll see elements of Hyper Light Drifter adapted to 3D. Expect fast combat, layered exploration, and incredible music. Oh, and did we mention the movement? Our strange protagonist just sort of wanders through the latest trailer, but we've seen them slide effortlessly across the ground as well. We can't wait to try that for ourselves.

Solar Ash will also be available on PS4 and PC (seemingly via both the Epic Games Store and Steam) when it launches next year. 

Austin Wood

Austin freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree, and he's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize that his position as a senior writer is just a cover up for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a focus on news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.