Ashes of the Singularity II Review: Huge Battles, Thin Campaign

What it is

Ashes of the Singularity II came out on 10 November 2026 as a full release, not early access. It is developed by Oxide Games, published by Stardock, and it is PC-only via Steam. The standard edition is EUR 38.99, down to EUR 31.19 with a 20 percent launch discount until 17 November. A Premium Edition at EUR 67.99 (EUR 54.39 during the discount) adds the soundtrack and three upcoming DLC.

Up front: this is a launch-week verdict built on the store page, the first critic reviews and early player reception, not on a finished ladder season.

How it plays

This is large-scale real-time strategy in the Supreme Commander tradition. Three factions fight over continent-sized maps: the United Earth Forces, the Post-Human Coalition and the AI Substrate. Strategic Zoom takes you from a map-wide overview down to the frontline, and Stardock's pitch is explicit that the game rewards planning over micromanagement and reflexes.

The best idea is the army system. You group units into numbered armies, set them to replenish losses automatically and add reinforcements on the fly, so you command fronts rather than babysit individual tanks. Orbital upgrades let you drop reinforcements and special towers mid-battle. Modes cover a single-player campaign, skirmish against the computer, and online multiplayer in both PvP and co-op.

The highs

- Scale that actually works: thousands of units without the interface collapsing under them. - The army system removes the busywork that kills most big RTS games. - The story stands alone, so you do not need the first game. - Skirmish and the computer opponents get the most praise from players who like it.

The lows

- The campaign is told only from the United Earth Forces' side, and launch reviews call it short and repetitive. - Building and strategic options are lighter than the scale suggests. Slow pacing is by design, but it will not be for everyone. - Technical rough edges: one launch review reports random stutters over many hours and audio that is too quiet even at full volume. - The AI row. Stardock's own Steam disclosure says AI was used for cutscene animation and post-processing, and that some unit barks and minor lines use pre-generated stock AI voices. That is a strange look for a full-price game about a war against a rogue AI, and it dominates the negative user reviews.

Reception so far

Steam user reviews sit at Mixed, 67 percent positive from a little over 200 reviews. Critics are split too, from a cautious 3/5 at GamingOnLinux to an 8/10 at Output Lag.

Requirements

Minimum is a Ryzen 5 2400G or Core i5-8500, 8 GB of RAM and an RX 580 8GB or GTX 1660, with 50 GB of storage. Recommended jumps to a Ryzen 5 5600X, 16 GB and an RTX 3070.

Verdict

There is a good large-scale RTS in here, and the army system is something I want every game in the genre to steal. But at nearly forty euros, a one-faction campaign that reviewers finish quickly, launch stutter and cut corners on voice work add up to a game that feels a patch and an expansion short. Skirmish and multiplayer fans can jump in during the discount. If you want a campaign, wait.

Score: 6/10

Image: Brian Wong / CC BY-SA 2.0, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gaming_PC-Setup_-_Astaroth-_The_Completed_System.jpg