Ascension: Deckbuilding Game

About

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game is a single player and multiplayer tactical strategy game with fantasy and science fiction themes. It was developed by Playdek, Inc. and was released on December 16, 2014. It received positive reviews from players.

**Legends Expansion Now Available!**

Skip User Reviews

86%Audience ScoreBased on 1,168 reviews

gameplay46 positive mentions

stability35 negative mentions

The game is very polished and well-made, providing an enjoyable experience both in solo and multiplayer modes.
The digital version allows for easy access to various expansions, enhancing replayability and strategy.
The mechanics are straightforward, making it easy to learn while still offering depth for experienced players.

The room creation and joining process is counter-intuitive, making it difficult to set up multiplayer games.
There is no option to increase the honor pool in multiplayer, leading to shorter games that can feel unsatisfying.
The AI can be slow during turns, and there are occasional bugs that disrupt gameplay.

gameplay
159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
69%
2%
The gameplay of this deck-building game is engaging and offers a rich variety of mechanics, especially with the numerous expansions that introduce new strategies and challenges. While there is a moderate learning curve, players appreciate the depth and replayability, though some express frustration with the interface and the need for clearer guidance on mechanics. Overall, the game is praised for its fun, dynamic gameplay that caters to both casual and hardcore gamers, despite occasional issues with presentation and online play.
- “The game's mechanics are easy to learn but offer plenty of depth and complexity for experienced players, making it a great choice for both casual and hardcore gamers.”
- “The gameplay is smooth for the most part, except for sometimes I'll accidentally buy a center card while looking at my dreamscape.”
- “Every expansion comes with a brand new mechanic that is always refreshing and not generic at all.”
- “My only issue is that there isn't a place, unless I have yet to find it, that spells out the different mechanics for the expansions.”
- “Some expansions add new mechanics that give a different flow to the game, so if you play with all expansions active, the deck becomes too diluted and makes some of those mechanics lose their impact and synergies.”
- “However, there doesn't appear to be any guidance on how the additional add-on packs work (which do introduce some new game mechanics), which makes it a bit confusing the first few times you play with them enabled.”
graphics
63 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
55%
5%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the unique and stunning artwork, intuitive interface, and overall aesthetic appeal. However, some users report issues with graphical glitches, scaling problems, and a lack of significant improvements over previous versions. While the art style is often described as refreshing and engaging, it may not appeal to everyone, and there are concerns about the game's graphical quality in certain aspects.
- “The graphics are great; despite the weird topics, the artwork is wonderful.”
- “The intuitive interface and stunning artwork create an immersive game world that draws players in and keeps them engaged.”
- “The artwork is fantastic and keeps a consistent art style across each set of cards.”
- “Terrible graphics, confusing gameplay, and simply not fun.”
- “While I like the concept behind this game, the graphic design and the small font they used for each card makes the game pretty much unplayable.”
- “There is absolutely no option to modify the resolution or graphics (besides fullscreen/windowed) and the online multiplayer implementation is a joke.”
stability
37 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
95%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting occasional bugs and glitches, particularly related to the AI and interface. While some players find the issues frustrating, others note that the game is still enjoyable and has improved since its initial release. Overall, it is considered somewhat buggy, but not to the extent that it detracts significantly from the gaming experience.
- “Some people complain about the UI, but it does its job. It's not buggy, it plays well, and is great fun.”
- “Initially the game was a port from iOS to PC, with all the UI design choices (read: limitations) that come with such a thing, and frequent bugs and glitches of all kinds.”
- “After years, you think they fix the problem, still crashing and freezing.”
- “However, this PC version is buggy, frustrating, and broken.”
replayability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
44%
9%
The game offers exceptional replayability, bolstered by a wide array of expansions that introduce new cards, challenges, and strategies, keeping gameplay fresh and engaging. While some users noted limitations in multiplayer due to fixed honor points, the overall consensus is that the game remains highly enjoyable and replayable, making it a worthwhile investment for deck-building enthusiasts. Despite minor bugs, the core experience and extensive content ensure that players can enjoy limitless fun for years.
- “Infinitely replayable for limitless fun.”
- “A great deckbuilding game, Ascension offers solid strategy, beautiful card art, and a lot of replay value.”
- “The game now runs perfectly and with all the expansions included in the base game, it's fantastic value for money and endless replay value.”
- “A fixed honor pool caps the game’s replayability, which would otherwise be quite extensive given its numerous expansions that yield different cards, challenges, and resource types.”
- “So as a purely solo exercise, it's fun to see what's in the various card sets and test strategies, but the lack of challenge hurts replayability.”
- “Many of the sets are playable on their own letting you switch up if you get bored playing the base set.”
music
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
60%
12%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its ability to enhance the atmosphere and gameplay experience. However, some users note a lack of variation and repetitiveness in the soundtrack, particularly during longer sessions, and express a desire for more control over music settings. Overall, while the soundtrack is enjoyable and fitting, it could benefit from additional diversity and improved volume controls.
- “A very good deckbuilder: engaging gameplay, bizarre art, fitting soundtrack, immense replayability, and a fine balance of chance and planning.”
- “I love the aesthetics of the game and the music is quite enjoyable as well.”
- “The music is there to set the mood and reinforce your decisions.”
- “The music soundtrack might've had more variation.”
- “Card art looks good, music is nice, although it can get repetitive in longer games.”
- “Definitely better with the music off, and the sound of cultists getting kicked really doesn't get old.”
story
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The game's story is minimal, primarily serving to enhance gameplay mechanics rather than provide a deep narrative experience. Players build armies to combat evil monsters, with expansions offering limited lore and flavor text, but the absence of a cohesive campaign or mission structure detracts from long-term engagement. While some enjoy the competitive multiplayer aspect, others express a desire for a more substantial story mode to enrich the overall experience.
- “Good system with great story and art.”
- “Each new expansion adds a few paragraphs about the lore in the rulebook section of the menu, and some cards have tidbits of story written on them.”
- “Ascension has a thin layer of lore and story, but those elements are primarily there to give the mechanics of the game some flavor.”
- “The simplistic story is that the player is building an army to face the evil monsters of the fallen one.”
- “I can get it fresh again by moving on to the next set of 2 expansions, but overall the lack of an overriding campaign or mission structure hurts long-term play.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
Overall, the game's optimization has improved significantly since its initial release, particularly on PC, where it runs smoothly with intuitive controls and enhanced graphical quality. While some users still report occasional performance issues, many have noted that bugs have been largely resolved, making the gameplay experience more enjoyable across various devices.
- “It's obvious the game was originally developed for mobile, but Ascension runs smoothly on Windows, and the controls are intuitive.”
- “I've played lots of Ascension on mobile and can happily say that the PC experience is excellent in terms of graphical quality and performance.”
- “It also has some performance issues sometimes.”
- “While I still think it's a wonderful game with some serious flaws, the performance issues at least seem to have diminished and it feels a lot more playable across my several devices.”
- “Do play it if you want a good game that I expect will be rock solid in time, as gameplay is optimized.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as genuinely hilarious, with players enjoying funny moments and amusing sound effects. While comparisons are made to other games, the lightheartedness and comedic elements contribute positively to the overall experience.
- “Hilarious moments that keep you laughing throughout the game.”
- “It has great mechanics, a really good working online mode, beautiful art, and funny sounds.”
- “Funny enough, a friend and I started playing Dominion online, then found Ascension online... once again, a drastically better game.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as exploitative, resembling a demo for an overpriced physical board game rather than a standalone product. Players are frustrated by the heavy reliance on microtransactions and DLC, which detracts from the overall experience, and the requirement for a separate account raises concerns about marketing tactics and spam.
- “This is MTG: Duel of the Planeswalkers all over again. This game is an advertisement/demo for their extremely overpriced physical board game that they are charging players for, and if you want to play the full game with friends, you'll need to pay tons of money.”
- “It is simple: it is like MTG: Duel of the Planeswalkers all over again. This 'game' is actually just an advertisement/demo for their extremely overpriced board game that they are charging people for.”
- “Heavily laden with microtransactions and DLC, Ascension is trying to compete with heavyweights like MTG and Hearthstone.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that the game eliminates grinding and pay-to-win mechanics, allowing for a more balanced and enjoyable experience.
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its fun and engaging qualities, complemented by impressive original artwork that enhances the overall experience.
- “Fun, atmospheric, and features great original artwork.”

Skip Game Offers

Buy Ascension: Deckbuilding Game

147h Median play time

138h Average play time

50-163h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

Skip Videos

Videos

Skip Games Like Ascension: Deckbuilding Game

87%1.6kreviews

Star Realms

2016

Tactical Turn-based Strategy

71%1.2kreviews

Small World

2013

Casual Strategy

91%599reviews

Race for the Galaxy

2017

Casual Strategy

89%10.3kreviews

Wingspan

2020

Casual Management

+15

91%2.4kreviews

D&D Lords of Waterdeep

2017

Casual Strategy

83%334reviews

Age of Rivals

2017

Casual Strategy

92%3.1kreviews

Root

2020

Turn-based Strategy

79%8.4kreviews

Armello

2017

Tactical Role Playing

+15

68%4.2kreviews

Pathfinder Adventures

2017

Role Playing

92%2kreviews

Sentinels of the Multiverse

2014

Casual Turn-based Strategy

More games like Ascension: Deckbuilding Game

Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game is a tactical strategy game with fantasy and science fiction themes.

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game is available on PC, Mac OS, Phone, iPad and others.

On average players spend around 138 hours playing Ascension: Deckbuilding Game.

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game was released on December 16, 2014.

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game was developed by Playdek, Inc..

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked Ascension: Deckbuilding Game for its gameplay but disliked it for its stability.

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game is a single player game with multiplayer support.

Similar games include Star Realms, Small World, Race for the Galaxy, Wingspan, D&D Lords of Waterdeep and others.

Ascension: Deckbuilding Game

Platforms

gameplay

graphics

stability

replayability

music

story

optimization

humor

monetization

grinding

atmosphere

Buy Ascension: Deckbuilding Game