And yes, I played the first game of the Reignited Trilogy when it came to Steam. Those colourful graphics are joyful indeed!

Just take a look at this screenshot and tell me it doesn't look better, despite the simpler graphics:
https://node2.projectplanet.cn/@steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2509183567

Ashen is a great game! It's super friendly and doesn't take anything for granted, all the conventions and commonplaces of the genre are meaningfully justified and integrated into the game's lore, making it truly feel like a foundation of the genre, which fits the theme of the founding myth it's built on very well. There is a reason behind those simple graphics, everything makes sense once you start playing, and it develops beautifully as you progress.

I was expecting something like that here as well, but sadly this is a more conventional game.

Funny you mentioned that. I always respected Ashen but I never got around to playing it myself specifically because the minimalistic art style made me feel like it was an alpha build with the textures missing. This game on the other hand looks beautiful to me. I'm glad that different people are able to appreciate different things.

On a related note, did you ever play Spyro the Dragon? There something about the color palette of that game that I just can't stop admiring.

Looks interesting

It looks pretty, but it's no Ashen. Ashen managed to be minimalistic graphically and essentialized in storytelling without feeling empty and lifeless. This one improved the gameplay exponentially, but conceptually it's much simpler and blander. And the sad part is that the two games don't even seem to go in the same direction -- Ashen wouldn't be improved by the type of combat they designed here -- like they're different games, made by different people.