Ashina: The Red Witch is an exploration-based adventure in which a girl named Ash chases a hungry spirit boy through a door into a Japanese-flavoured spirit world to recover her late mother’s pendant. The afterlife setting spans cities such as Shuta, Jakara and Chigara, where a chain of item-trading favours drives the search.
The trading loop recalls classic adventure games, with tasks such as fixing a boom box, catching a bun thief and washing dishes standing between Ash and her goal. The shared Stranga Games universe links the game to Red Bow and My Big Sister, and the connections between the titles are the highlight of the experience.
The music carries a consistent theme across the game and ranks among its best elements. The dialogue writing also stands out for many characters, particularly the sassy shopkeeper banter.
The spirit-world cities have a striking aesthetic, and the jump-scare gags plus the creepy Witch’s House segment add a touch of horror. The game is short and sweet, easily finished in a single sitting.
Gameplay is minimal by design, mostly walking and talking, which sits comfortably within the adventure genre. The item-trading quests occasionally cause friction over fetching rice, cigarettes, soap and meat.
The dialogue-loading sound is obnoxiously loud, and the cuckoo-clock puzzle confuses because its purpose stays unclear and its stop-start ticking raises soft-lock worries. These are minor complaints against a short, warm adventure.
Overall, trading and the connected Stranga universe make Ashina: The Red Witch a gentle, pleasant adventure. The minimal gameplay and the loud dialogue sound are small costs for the charm of the spirit world.