Lunar Ascendant

About

Lunar Ascendant is a single player strategy game. It was developed by Darts Games and was released on February 13, 2026. It received neutral reviews from players.

In Lunar Ascendant, you play as David De Silva, the first mayor of Artemis, a lunar city offering refuge from Earth’s AI-governed society. Set in 2131, the game explores themes of autonomy and resistance against the Artificial Intelligence Absolute overseeing humanity. Navigate the challenges of leading a fledgling community seeking freedom and a return to natural order.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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41%

Audience ScoreBased on 37 reviews

story4 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features a compelling story with meaningful choices that engage players in a political simulation reminiscent of Suzerain.
There is a strong potential for replay value, especially if the known issues are addressed and the narrative is further developed.
The developers have shown commitment to improving the game by quickly addressing early bugs and expressing a desire to refine the experience.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and continuity issues that disrupt the narrative and gameplay, making it feel unfinished.
Many players have reported that their choices do not seem to matter, leading to confusion and a lack of immersion in the story.
The pacing of the game becomes problematic in the later stages, with resource management becoming irrelevant and abrupt scene endings that leave players feeling lost.

story
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
67%
14%
The game's story is praised for its intriguing premise and integration of relevant sci-fi concepts, but many players feel it suffers from a lack of coherence and depth, particularly in the mid- to late-game content. While meaningful choices are presented, they often feel inconsequential, leading to a disjointed narrative experience. Overall, the story has potential but requires significant bug fixes and more thorough development to fully realize its promise.
- “Leaving a positive review because this is a very cool story with meaningful choices.”
- “The devs and writers did a quality job integrating many currently relevant sci-fi concepts into the plot and worldbuilding while providing a pretty nuanced conflict between opposing political factions that all have their upsides and downsides, which makes many of the decisions concerning resolving conflicts and allocating your two resource currencies genuinely challenging to puzzle through.”
- “Your decisions do not matter; the story will go ahead pretending like you did.”
- “The story, while its premise and the writing itself is quite good, feels somewhat incomplete with a lot of arcs that felt unresolved.”
- “It is very broken; the story and endings do not reflect your choices.”
gameplay
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
17%
50%
The gameplay experience is marred by significant issues, including a premature halt after a few turns and numerous bugs that disrupt immersion. While the resource management aspect is engaging, players often find themselves with excess budget due to a lack of projects in the later stages, leading to frustration. Overall, the game offers 6-8 hours of playtime, but the broken mechanics detract from its potential enjoyment.
- “On release, the game is a hair under $10, which isn't bad for 6-8 hours of gameplay for a single playthrough.”
- “As for the gameplay, the resource management was a good part of the game, but despite me being somewhat conservative with trade, I ended the game with more budget than I could spend due to projects becoming fewer towards the end.”
- “Gameplay stops after a few turns, as if the entire government collapsed before the first vote in the assembly.”
- “But when the core mechanics break, the immersion collapses.”
- “So buggy, broken gameplay.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is largely enhanced by its immersive soundtrack, although some users note that bugs can detract from the overall experience.
- “The soundtrack is incredibly atmospheric and immersive, creating a captivating experience.”
- “The game's environment is rich and detailed, drawing you into its unique world.”
- “The lighting and sound design work together beautifully to enhance the overall atmosphere.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The soundtrack is praised for its atmospheric and immersive qualities, although some users report technical issues, such as bugs that affect music playback and reading.
- “The soundtrack is very atmospheric and immersive, creating a captivating experience.”
- “The music reading feature is bugged and often gets stuck.”
- “The soundtrack is repetitive and lacks variety.”
- “The audio quality is poor, making it hard to enjoy the music.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurdity, particularly through a protagonist who comically misunderstands the workings of civil service, adding a layer of unrealistic yet entertaining charm to the narrative.
- “I’ll go so far as to say that even with a business background, the character is hilariously and unrealistically unaware of how the civil service operates.”
- “The humor in this game is brilliantly absurd, making even the most mundane tasks feel entertaining.”
- “I found myself laughing out loud at the witty dialogue and unexpected situations that kept popping up throughout the game.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers replay value, with players expressing a willingness to play multiple times; however, some users wish for improvements in indication and branching mechanics, as well as fixes for spelling and grammar issues.
- “There's replay value; I'll play several more times, but I wish I'd waited until they ironed out the indication/branching bugs and spelling/grammar.”
- “There's replay value, but I wish I'd waited until they ironed out the indication/branching bugs and fixed the spelling and grammar.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is marked by a heartbreaking narrative, particularly in the context of the moon setting. However, players feel a lack of emotional attachment to the character Sam, as the main character's actions do not sufficiently establish a connection or investment in her story.
- “The heartbreaking attempt at suzerain on the moon.”
- “The character of Sam remains in the story as a potential love interest, but the player lacks emotional attachment to her because they did not witness how the main character helped her.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is criticized for its lack of stability, with users reporting numerous bugs and unfinished elements that significantly disrupt gameplay. Overall, the consensus is that the game's potential is overshadowed by its technical issues.
- “Great idea but way too buggy and unfinished.”
- “So buggy, broken gameplay.”