Ascendant Hearts

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In "Ascendant Hearts," a visual novel game, Hayato finds himself in a fantasy world similar to the video games he plays, after waking up with amnesia. He embarks on an RPG-style adventure with a mage named Shiori, completing quests and fighting monsters to uncover the truth behind deadly attacks on the town of Lightshire. Along the way, Hayato learns to navigate the strange new world, upgrade his skills, and manage his inventory. The game features humor, action, and a touch of romance.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 74 reviews

story28 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Ascendant Hearts features a charming and humorous storyline that parodies classic RPG tropes, making it an enjoyable experience for fans of the genre.
The game boasts beautiful artwork and well-designed characters, which enhance the overall visual appeal and immersion.
With multiple endings and choices that impact the story, players can enjoy replayability and explore different character routes.

The writing and dialogue can feel unpolished and clunky at times, detracting from the overall narrative experience.
Some players found the story predictable and the characters one-dimensional, leading to a lack of emotional investment.
The game is relatively short, with some reviews noting that it feels rushed and lacks depth in world-building and character development.

story
82 mentions
34 % positive mentions
62 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The game's story is a humorous and engaging parody of classic RPG tropes, featuring a protagonist from the real world who navigates a fantasy setting filled with familiar clichés. While the narrative offers multiple endings and enjoyable character interactions, it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of depth in character development, leading to a mix of entertaining moments and predictable plot points. Overall, players appreciate the lighthearted tone and comedic elements, though some find the story's execution to be somewhat shallow and unpolished.
- “With its lovable characters, engaging storyline, and beautiful artwork, it captivates players from start to finish.”
- “The story is a funny parody of anime and especially old-school JRPG tropes where the hero from our world is thrown into an RPG adventure and needs to party up to save everyone.”
- “The characters are interesting and likeable, the story is exciting until the end and the artwork is just outstanding.”
- “However, the main driving plot and the story dialogue and text in general has an unpolished feel, not surprising given the very small team that is behind the game.”
- “The story was okay but the characters were one-dimensional, romance seemed forced, and the story was brief and predictable.”
- “The story so far is predictable and I'm finding myself just clicking through it all to get to the choices.”
humor
17 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in "Ascendant Hearts" is widely praised for its clever parody of classic RPG and anime tropes, featuring a protagonist from the real world navigating a whimsical fairy tale setting. Reviewers highlight the game's blend of hilarious jokes, charming characters, and self-aware commentary on video game logic, although some found certain comedic elements, like a character's persistent negativity, to become tiresome over time. Overall, the humor is described as a standout feature that adds both enjoyment and heartwarming moments to the visual novel.
- “The premise of the story is good and funny - the protagonist is someone 'from the real world' who somehow ends up in an RPG fairy tale, with all the clichés and stereotypes associated with them to boot.”
- “This game has amazing characters, a good blend of serious and silly moments, and hilarious jokes that poke fun at classic RPG tropes and video game logic.”
- “The humor is pure gold; the fact that the story shows self-awareness at times about it being in a game world is really amusing.”
music
14 mentions
43 % positive mentions
36 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as pleasant and well-polished, but often criticized for being generic and lacking a strong connection to the fantasy medieval theme. While some players appreciate the soundtrack for enhancing the mood and find it appealing, others feel it lacks variety and impact. Overall, the music is serviceable but not particularly memorable.
- “The art and music are great, and it is quite well-polished.”
- “Music is really nice and adds to the mood of the game.”
- “Music is generic outsourced music that, while nice enough to listen to, lacks oomph and does not exactly fit the fantasy medieval theme of the story.”
- “Art is high quality, music serviceable but not particularly noteworthy.”
- “The music and the storyline were pretty decent.”
graphics
10 mentions
60 % positive mentions
20 % neutral mentions
20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, featuring lovable characters and beautiful artwork that captivates players. While the visuals are described as good to average, with some standout designs, there are critiques regarding the limited scope and a desire for more variety. Overall, the art style is praised, but some players feel that better graphics can be found in other free games.
- “With its lovable characters, engaging storyline, and beautiful artwork, it captivates players from start to finish.”
- “The characters are interesting and likeable, the story is exciting until the end and the artwork is just outstanding.”
- “Great art style and good background music; however, I really missed some voice acting.”
- “There are multiple free games with better characterization, better romance, better worldbuilding, and better graphics out there, though you won't find any of this genre for free.”
- “The artwork is limited in scope, but well drawn with some good monster designs that would fit right in with a real RPG.”
gameplay
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
Gameplay experiences vary significantly among users, with some praising the extensive 20+ hours of enjoyable interaction and development, while others criticize the game for its short, underwhelming experience and mediocre mechanics. The inclusion of a 'skip' mechanic is noted as a positive feature, though overall, the writing quality is seen as a major area for improvement.
- “With Crystalline, you get what you pay for: a thoroughly enjoyable 20+ hours of gameplay, interaction, and development. I maintain that it is the best money I have ever spent.”
- “The 'skip' mechanic is very nice.”
- “This game isn't even worth the 10 dollars you have to pay for it for just under 5 hours of underwhelming and mediocre gameplay.”
- “While not as funny or charming, Ascendant Hearts will give you your fair share of chuckles with how ridiculous the RPG mechanics of the story get.”
emotional
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the visual novel is characterized by its charming blend of fantasy, romance, and adventure, creating an immersive and heartwarming experience. However, some users note that the story can feel short and shallow, typical of the isekai genre, while still offering moments of humor and excitement.
- “This charming visual novel combines fantasy, romance, and adventure into an immersive and heartwarming experience.”
- “This is a funny read, and can be heartwarming and exciting in spots.”
replayability
3 mentions
100 % positive mentions
-67 % neutral mentions
67 % negative mentions
The game offers strong replayability through meaningful choices that influence outcomes, along with likable characters and multiple endings. Its cute visual novel style, complemented by appealing character designs and CGs, encourages players to revisit the story for different experiences.
- “The choices you make throughout the game shape the outcome, adding a layer of interactivity and replayability.”
- “Characters are likable and different enough to encourage replayability; the main character is not overly dense, and you get some nice CGs.”
- “A cute visual novel with several different endings that enhance replayability.”
- “Characters are likable and different enough to provide some replayability, and the main character is not overly dense, plus you get some nice CGs.”
- “Cute visual novel with a few different endings for replayability.”
character development
3 mentions
67 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is primarily focused on the main protagonist, Shiori, leaving other characters underdeveloped and less engaging. While the setting and premise are captivating, the lack of depth in supporting characters diminishes the overall emotional investment in the story.
- “It was a simple 'in another world' story with good character designs.”
- “The character designs are appealing.”
- “The setting and overall premise are engaging, but I found it hard to care much about any of the other characters besides the main pink-haired heroine, Shiori, since she gets the lion's share of the content and character development.”
grinding
1 mentions
0 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Players appreciate that the game offers a rich narrative and dialogue without requiring extensive grinding, allowing them to engage with the story more readily than in many other RPGs.
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I find the grinding mechanics to be overly repetitive, which detracts from the overall enjoyment.”
- “The amount of grinding required to progress is frustrating and feels like a chore rather than a fun challenge.”