Review: Ascendant

Descendant

We’re getting to the point where the roguelike formula doesn’t inspire “oohs” and “ahhs” like it used to. Where a game could generally have had the label “tough as nails,” and earned instant cred, it’s becoming increasingly harder to do so in this climate, where you can step over a roguelike on your way to work.

Ascendant is one such disappointment, which hasn’t really improved with its move to PS4.

Ascendant (PC, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Hapa Games
Publisher: Hapa Games
Release Date: May 13, 2014 (PC) / September 8, 2015 (PS4)
MSRP: $9.99

While Ascendant is a hack and slash first and foremost, it follows a metroidvania style, with a boxed-base map. It’s only an illusion however, as most of the game’s rooms are standard challenge rooms, with very little in the way of actual exploration. You’ll battle your way through said rooms, acquiring slight statistical bonuses (but never enough to get you pumped) and items, until you die — then you start all over again.

The concept is neat, but it never really follows through, nor does it entice the player to actually keep going with nearly enough carrots to go along with the stick of permadeath. Ascendant sports a cool “seasons” theme, with each portion of the game culminating in a boss fight followed by another art style, but the visual flair begins and ends with that concept. While it may look colorful and vibrant at a glance, the actual in-game visuals are fairly unimpressive. This is exacerbated by the fact that nearly every enemy in the game looks like same.

As most of you know by now, I’m a fan of tougher games, but having an experience focus on that fact doesn’t excuse a dip in quality. Ascendant is difficult, mostly because all of the upgrades you obtain throughout the course of each run aren’t all that great, and you’ll have to rely on your raw combat skill to get by. Each character has a dash (which can be done in the air), a block (with a parry), standard combos, a few spells, and a launcher system.

At first I was on board with the combat, but the way launchers work turned me off a bit. To launch foes, you’ll have to beat them up a bit first, then you can slam them into a specific direction. It’s not really conducive to comboing or juggling — they kind of just speedily fly away. Combat doesn’t have a whole lot of impact, and while the dash system ensures that dodging is paramount, your offensive repertoire feels shallow.

The fact that the game is procedurally generated also doesn’t help its case. Whereas a lot of other similar titles have a variety of different obstacles to overcome, most of Ascendant‘s rooms (particularly early on) are simple boxes with very little in the way of platforming. I get that the team was probably going for a more combat-oriented game, gating off exits left and right, but the end result is rather jarring when you’re fighting the same boring enemies over and over.

Boss fights can be a blast, and highlight the vision of the developer’s quite well — even if there aren’t enough of them. In a confined space with pre-determined rule sets and patterns, Ascendant does a decent job of playing with its mechanics, forcing players to master every element of the game to proceed. But then it’s right back into the open world, completing the same menial actions, until another big bad crosses your path. Playing a co-op game will severely boost your enjoyment, but you’ll encounter all of the same problems over again.

It’s almost like developer Hapa Games had two really cool ideas and tried to integrate them both into Ascendant, with mixed results. At times it has flashes of brilliance with its focus on raw skill and combat, and others, it feels like you’re just aimlessly wandering another barren landscape, in search of a rush.