Ember

Overview

Ember is a single-player action role-playing game from N-Fusion Interactive, published by 505 Games and released in 2016. It looks to classic RPGs for its structure, pairing a branching story with exploration, character skills and crafting. Its Steam genres also include adventure, indie and strategy.

The story begins in a world once plunged in darkness, where stars called Embers brought light and life. After these beings are hunted and captured, a war breaks out. You take the role of a resurrected Lightbringer, summoned to protect the remaining Embers as the world faces collapse. The journey starts in the Deep Barrows and leads toward the City of Light, through settings that include forests, deserts and underground regions. Encounters with other characters bring decisions that shape your character’s destiny.

Ember is described as a long-form adventure, with more than 70 quests and over 30 hours of play. Its story draws on a broad cast of characters, lore and humor, while its environments support exploration above ground and below it. The premise and scope place narrative choices alongside combat and character development rather than treating the journey as a series of isolated fights.

Key features

• Branching story: Encounters with strangers include pivotal decisions, and the story follows a deep branching structure.
• Quest-led adventure: More than 70 quests offer varied gameplay and let players choose their path.
• Party-based combat: Combat unfolds in real time with tactical elements, giving the party a central role in encounters.
• Character progression: A robust skill system supports developing the character through the adventure.
• Crafting: An intricate crafting system complements exploration and combat.
• Large environments: The journey spans changing above-ground and underground regions, from lush woodland to deserts and dark abysses.

On Steam, the game also includes Achievements, Trading Cards, Steam Cloud and Family Sharing. These are platform features rather than parts of the story or combat systems.

Platforms

Ember is available for Microsoft Windows and macOS. Steam lists Windows as a supported platform, and its Steam feature list includes cloud saves. The listed modes and features center on solo play; no multiplayer mode is listed.

Who it's for

Ember is suited to players looking for a single-player RPG built around a substantial story, many quests and exploration across varied settings. The branching decisions may appeal to players who want choices to inform a character’s path, while the party-based real-time combat offers a tactical element within the adventure.

Its skill and crafting systems give progression more than one dimension, and the scale of over 30 hours and 70-plus quests makes it a sizeable commitment. Players primarily looking for multiplayer or a competitive mode should note that the listed feature set is single-player.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Extensive quest content, with more than 70 quests and over 30 hours of adventure.
• Story decisions, party-based tactical combat, skills and crafting provide several distinct parts to the RPG experience.
• Environments include both above-ground and underground settings.

Cons

• The listed feature set is single-player, with no multiplayer mode specified.
• The available platform information is uneven: Windows is listed for Steam, while macOS appears in the broader platform list.

Alternatives

For other games from the same developer, see Games by N-Fusion Interactive. The directory also lists Leisure Suit Larry: Reloaded, Elite Warriors: Vietnam, Line of Sight: Vietnam, Deadly Dozen: Pacific Theater and Deadly Dozen.

Verdict

Ember combines a classic-RPG framework with a story about protecting the source of the world’s light. Its strongest defined draws are its breadth of quests, choice-led narrative, party combat and complementary skill and crafting systems. Players seeking a long solo adventure across varied environments have a clear set of reasons to consider it; those who need multiplayer should look elsewhere.