Ascendant

About

"Ascendant is a hack and slash game featuring stunning graphics, excellent mechanics, and a good soundtrack. Play single-player or in local co-op mode with up to 2 players in split-screen. As a demigod, invade planes controlled by rivals in a brutal roguelike experience with permadeath and procedurally generated environments. Explore, discover weapons, spells, and blessings to survive and prevail in this unforgiving world."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Local Multi-Player Play with friends in the same physical space using split-screen or multiple screens
2-Players Play with one other player, either online or locally, in a cooperative or competitive game mode
Multi-Player Compete or cooperate with other players online
Co-Op Team up with friends to complete levels or missions together
Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo
Split Screen Play with multiple players on the same screen, often with divided or shared screen real estate

75%

Audience ScoreBased on 170 reviews

gameplay28 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Ascendant features a unique blend of brawler mechanics and rogue-like elements, providing a fresh and engaging gameplay experience.
The art style is vibrant and visually appealing, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
The game offers high replayability with procedurally generated levels, a variety of unlockable characters, and numerous items and blessings that change each run.

The combat can feel repetitive and lacks depth, with limited enemy variety and simplistic mechanics that may lead to button-mashing.
The game has a steep difficulty curve, which can be frustrating for players, especially with the lack of a save function and the punishing permadeath mechanic.
Some players may find the controls unresponsive or clunky, particularly when using a keyboard, which can detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
44%
5%
The gameplay is generally praised for its smooth and responsive mechanics, engaging brawler elements, and rewarding progression, making it enjoyable for players who appreciate roguelike and beat 'em up styles. However, some players express frustration with certain "instant death" mechanics and awkward controls that can detract from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the game offers a unique aesthetic, a variety of combat options, and significant replay value, appealing to those who enjoy strategic gameplay and cooperative modes.
- “The mechanics, for the most part, feel smooth and responsive.”
- “The replay value is incredible, and the mechanics always work perfectly with just the right amount of challenge to them.”
- “It has fun gameplay mechanics, where you're able to blink to attack enemies from afar, parry attacks, dash, etc., and I've never felt that at any point in time the mechanics in the game weren't important.”
- “These 'event spike rooms' stand for the 'instant death' mechanics we should have left in the dark ages, even though the game tries to shine them up as 'hard challenges'.”
- “Some of the controls and mechanics are really awkward, but it could just take some getting used to.”
- “As for the gameplay itself, it's very simple combat, nothing too complicated; the only thing I've had a slight struggle with is being precise in smacking enemies into other enemies that aren't right next to you, and timing the block/parry attack (which is very useful if you can perfect it).”
graphics
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
38%
6%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising its unique and vibrant art style, which is often described as beautiful and appealing. However, some players criticize the overall quality, noting issues such as flat texturing, low asset variety, and a lack of polish in the 3D animations. While the aesthetics contribute positively to the atmosphere, the execution can feel inconsistent, leading to a divide in player opinions on the visual experience.
- “The art style is gorgeous, the environments are amazing, the music is lovely, and the enemies are unique!”
- “Beautifully stylized graphics.”
- “It looks fantastic and has a superb graphic style and atmosphere.”
- “Graphics are pretty mediocre.”
- “Unfortunately, despite the halfway decent visuals, the texturing is decidedly flat, the asset variety is low, and the level design has the distinct procedurally generated feel about it.”
- “The game's amateurish art and uninspired sound hardly make for the most aesthetically pleasing package, and the steep learning curve will probably lead some to shelve this one prematurely.”
music
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
55%
34%
10%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its thematic fit and overall quality, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety, often described as short loops that can become tedious over time. Despite these criticisms, many acknowledge that the soundtrack complements the game's vibrant art style and enhances the overall atmosphere. Overall, while the music is generally regarded as good, it may detract from the experience for those sensitive to repetitive soundtracks.
- “The art style is gorgeous, the environments are amazing, the music is lovely, and the enemies are unique!”
- “Ascendant is an excellent roguelike platformer with beautiful art and design and wonderfully tailored music.”
- “A incredibly challenging platformer, possibly one of the most challenging ones I have ever played, great music, with a beautiful look to it; this game is truly one of a kind, the best kind.”
- “The music is kind of 'meh', but repetitive.”
- “The only real criticisms I have is that the soundtrack, whilst suiting the visuals most of the time, is repetitive and lacking in variety.”
- “Although it fits the theme of the game, the music can detract some from wanting to play it, and because of that I give a warning to those who are easily bothered by repetition to not purchase this game.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
21%
21%
The game boasts high replayability due to its numerous upgrade combinations, unlockable content, and the generation of new worlds with each playthrough. While some players may find the lack of variety in boss encounters a drawback, the overall mechanics, character variety, and engaging combat contribute to an addictive experience that encourages repeated play. Many reviewers highlight the game's balance of challenge and randomness as key factors in its replay value.
- “The replayability in Ascendant is absolutely brilliant as each playthrough will generate a completely new world, with new enemies in each room that are waiting for you.”
- “It's like Rogue Legacy but without the frustrating permanent progression system and much more randomness, which makes it very fun and replayable.”
- “Boss rooms being a big part of the game, the lack of variety easily halves replayability for people who don't have the patience to wait for Son of Grunty's shield to go down for the millionth time.”
- “Replay value????”
- “There are a lot of combinations of upgrades you can get, as well as some unlockable content, which lends to the game's replayability.”
story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal and lacking depth, with many players feeling it is almost nonexistent. While there are hints of individual demi-god narratives, the overall plot fails to engage, leaving the experience feeling hollow and unfulfilling compared to other titles in the genre. Players seeking rich character development and a compelling storyline are advised to look elsewhere.
- “Each demi-god has its own story and reasons for wanting to be god.”
- “It reminded me a lot of the kind of story mode in Super Smash Bros Brawl, except it was fun.”
- “If you would like a more detailed reasoning behind why, keep reading; there will be very, very minor gameplay/story spoilers as it is impossible to talk about certain mechanics of the game without referencing them.”
- “The game feels hollow and empty, almost without a story.”
- “The story is nonexistent for the most part, the music is nothing but about 15 second loops.”
- “There's no story at all.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its unique aesthetics and superb graphic style, creating a vibrant and immersive experience. The music complements the visuals well, enhancing the overall ambiance, although some players felt that the combat did not match the high-quality atmosphere. Overall, it stands out as a delightful and engaging environment for a platformer.
- “The aesthetics and general atmosphere of the game are really unique for a platformer.”
- “The music and atmosphere are great, and there's a wide variety of items to be had.”
- “It looks fantastic and has a superb graphic style and atmosphere.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience, as unlocking all spirits and weapons involves tedious RNG-based tasks, particularly with some bosses being frustratingly repetitive. Technical issues with controllers can also detract from the experience, though these are often resolved with a simple restart.
- “Grinding achievements: yes, unlocking all spirits/weapons that drop with RNG.”
- “Some of the bosses are obnoxiously tedious.”
- “I have issues with my controller working properly with the game occasionally, which is always fixed with a single restart of the game.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization is generally well-received, providing a smooth experience; however, occasional crashes have been reported. Players appreciate the character movement, which adds a unique feel to the gameplay, despite the story's Greek influences.
- “The optimization is pretty good; the game feels smooth overall, although it can crash occasionally. The character movement feels like I'm playing with a samurai, even though the story is based on Greek themes.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is not directly addressed in the provided text, which focuses more on gameplay mechanics and controller compatibility. Therefore, no specific insights into the emotional experience can be derived from this review.