Darkblade Ascent

About

Darkblade Ascent is a single player role playing game. It was developed by PST Games and was released on October 23, 2025. It received positive reviews from players.

Fluid & strategic melee combat with tight controlsSmooth, responsive and strategic combat mechanics. Think critically and make tactical decisions to ensure your success. Learn your enemies attack patterns and know when to dodge out of the way, when to parry, when to use your ultimate ability and when to strike back. Create your build as you play according to your playstyle: be a master of the …

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 396 reviews

gameplay31 positive mentions

grinding13 negative mentions

Combat is fun and satisfying, with a good parry and dodge mechanic that enhances gameplay.
The game has a solid foundation with potential for expansion, offering enjoyable mechanics and a variety of weapons.
The graphics and atmosphere are appealing, creating an immersive experience despite some technical issues.

The game lacks content and variety, leading to repetitive gameplay and a feeling of sameness in enemy encounters.
There are significant bugs and performance issues, including problems with enemy AI and hit detection.
Meta progression feels shallow, with limited impact from upgrades and a lack of meaningful choices in builds.

gameplay
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
55%
6%
The gameplay of Darkblade Ascent is characterized by fast-paced melee combat with a focus on parrying and dodging mechanics, which many players find enjoyable despite its repetitive nature. While the core mechanics are solid and engaging, the lack of enemy variety and depth in gameplay can lead to a sense of stagnation after a few hours. Overall, the game offers a fun experience with potential for improvement, particularly in expanding its roguelike elements and enhancing the variety of combat encounters.
- “The combat is definitely fun if you like simple, fast-paced melee combat with a parry and dodge mechanic.”
- “The gameplay loop is incredibly addictive and engaging all the way through with satisfactory rewards that entice you to explore further.”
- “The core gameplay is fun, without a doubt.”
- “Overall, the gameplay is repetitive.”
- “The gameplay itself is very repetitive, but enjoyable in small doses.”
- “It seems like most of the creativity and passion went into the numbers and build options, but ultimately the gameplay itself is boring.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the stunning visuals and immersive environments, while others criticize the texture resolution and overall quality, describing them as outdated or mediocre. Many users note that the graphics are functional but lack the polish expected from a modern title, with some expressing a desire for more customization options. Overall, the aesthetic leans towards a dark fantasy style, prioritizing atmosphere over high-end spectacle.
- “Graphics look amazing, the combat is smooth, and the spell craft is quite satisfying too.”
- “Stunning visuals: despite what appears to be a limited budget, you’ve managed to create beautiful and immersive environments that make the game a pleasure to be in.”
- “Visually, Darkblade Ascent adopts a restrained dark fantasy aesthetic that prioritizes atmosphere over spectacle.”
- “I think the graphics in 4K look bad, mainly because the texture resolution doesn't seem to be 4K, even if I set the upscaling to native.”
- “Despite having very poor graphics, the framerate makes it unplayable.”
- “I don't recall whether it was like that before, but the graphics are somewhat disappointing.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
46%
23%
Overall, "Darkblade Ascent" offers a mixed experience in terms of replayability. While its roguelike structure and engaging combat provide a solid foundation for repeated playthroughs, the lack of level randomization and depth limits its long-term appeal for some players. Many appreciate the fun and strategic elements, but a significant number feel that the game currently lacks sufficient variety to sustain replay value over time.
- “The roguelike structure gives Darkblade Ascent much of its replay value.”
- “A ton of replayability, good enemy variety, lots of good fun to be had, especially at this price point.”
- “It's fast, fun, extremely replayable, and full of creative potential.”
- “In deviation of what we might consider the roguelite approach, during the campaign there seems to be no randomization in the levels, which limits replayability somewhat.”
- “Worth the price and your time but definitely has a limit to replayability.”
- “The game has very little replayability at the moment, but if it were cheaper I probably would have not refunded it and finished the content.”
grinding
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and dull, particularly in the early stages where progression feels overly reliant on leveling up and gear upgrades. While some appreciate the variety of builds and the need for grinding as part of the roguelike experience, others criticize the cumbersome item management and slow-paced gameplay that can detract from enjoyment. Overall, the grind is seen as a necessary but often frustrating element of the game.
- “It's backfilled being just grindy and rather dull as mentioned more succinctly by other reviewers.”
- “I understand that roguelikes are supposed to be a bit grindy, but it feels like this game is actively working against the player.”
- “Incredibly slow and tedious gameplay.”
story
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and narrative engagement, with players noting that it relies heavily on gameplay mechanics rather than a compelling storyline. While there are two modes—Ascend (story mode) and Hideout (extraction gameplay)—the environments are described as generic and devoid of storytelling elements, leaving many players wishing for a more developed narrative experience. Overall, the game offers a fun experience for skill refinement, but it falls short for those seeking a rich, story-driven adventure.
- “Developed and published by PST Games, the title presents itself as a gritty, systems-driven experience where mastery comes not from scripted storytelling but from learning enemy behavior, refining builds, and adapting to the unpredictable nature of each run.”
- “While it may not satisfy players looking for expansive exploration or story-driven progression, it offers a compelling and steadily rewarding experience for those who enjoy refining their skills through repeated attempts.”
- “There is not much depth, and I wish there was an actual story mode, but the game is still loads of fun.”
- “Not a fan of the barebones arena setup, the jarring first-person camera animations, the awkward weapons swap system, and not a fan of there being no story or context.”
- “There was no intrigue or story to speak of: you run from room to room with your left-click macro, blasting enemies left and right, while more enemies keep spawning... mostly behind you for some reason.”
- “Environments are generic and offer no storytelling elements.”
optimization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag, with some players experiencing minor performance issues and frame drops, particularly on high settings with advanced features like DLSS. While it is marked as "verified" for Steam Deck, the controls are not well-optimized for controllers, and visual clarity suffers from excessive sharpening. Overall, while some users find it playable, there are notable concerns regarding optimization that could impact the experience, especially during intense gameplay.
- “It has slight, and I do mean very slight performance issues at times when there are several effects going on at once, but it's nothing I can't overlook.”
- “It could use a bit of optimization, but when it's good, it's good.”
- “The game is somewhat well optimized for high-ish FPS and doesn't get my CPU too hot.”
- “The game is marked 'verified' for Steam Deck, but the controls were certainly not optimized for controller.”
- “I will say, there are times where my computer struggles to run this game (even on some of the lowest settings), so I wonder if there's some optimization issues present.”
- “Performance optimizations - on my RTX 3080 12GB on high settings with DLSS set to quality, I sometimes get massive frame drops where the FPS tanks under 100, which can be a real deal-breaker when you're in the middle of a pack of enemies on low HP.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The atmosphere in the game is consistently described as grim and immersive, effectively utilizing a dark fantasy aesthetic that enhances the sense of tension and survival. Handcrafted levels, such as dungeons and eerie villages, contribute to a compelling environment, although some users noted inconsistencies in audio design that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game successfully establishes a haunting atmosphere that prioritizes mood over spectacle.
- “The handcrafted levels are genuinely atmospheric — dungeons, crypts, eerie villages, cathedral libraries.”
- “From the outset, it establishes a grim atmosphere built around cursed environments, monstrous foes, and the constant pressure of survival, framing every ascent as both a test of skill and a gamble shaped by procedural design.”
- “Visually, Darkblade Ascent adopts a restrained dark fantasy aesthetic that prioritizes atmosphere over spectacle.”
- “What's there is so basic and unpolished that even the audio design isn't calibrated to match in terms of volume or atmosphere.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with some players experiencing significant bugs and glitches that detract from the overall experience, while others report a relatively smooth gameplay without major issues. While some glitches are minor and may be resolved quickly, the game is generally considered unpolished and shallow, leading to frustration for many users. Overall, stability appears to vary widely among players, with a notable presence of bugs that can impact enjoyment.
- “A promising game at first, this game shows within the first few hours that it's a buggy, unpolished and super shallow mess.”
- “Play for more than that and more and more glitches and bugs will show their face.”
- “The game is also very buggy at the moment, the following are some issues I encountered:”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
28%
43%
The music in the game is praised for its impactful sound cues that enhance gameplay and a symphonic soundtrack that creates a tense atmosphere without being intrusive. Players appreciate the variety and emotional depth of the music, although some have reported inconsistencies with it turning on and off. Overall, the audio design significantly contributes to the immersive experience, reminiscent of high-quality titles like Skyrim.
- “The audio design reinforces this approach, using impactful sound cues to signal attacks, hits, and successful actions, while the soundtrack underscores tension without drawing excessive attention to itself.”
- “This game is absolutely tremendous, enjoying the music and the variety of weaponry/boons thus far!”
- “Music inconsistently turns on and off regardless of disabling it.”
- “Lulled into a trance by the mournful music.”
- “The atmosphere, the music.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game to be derived from its amusingly broken mechanics, which lead to entertaining and unexpected situations during gameplay.
- “I recorded that run if you want to see how hilariously broken (and fun) this system can get.”