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.

Take on the role of David De Silva, a simple man who did the right thing in an impossible situation, only to find himself the first mayor of lunar city Artemis. It’s the year 2131. Earth’s nations are united under a singular federation, and the people of this new society are subdued into practicing their professions under a new and undeniably competent supervision: The AIA. Artificial In…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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46%

Audience ScoreBased on 48 reviews

story6 positive mentions

graphics2 negative mentions

Engaging political simulation with an interesting sci-fi setting reminiscent of Suzerain, appealing to fans of the genre.
Deep and thought-provoking narrative with meaningful choices that influence the story outcome.
Responsive development team actively working on bug fixes and improvements post-launch.

The game suffers from numerous critical bugs including narrative continuity errors, incorrect choice tracking, and abrupt scene endings, making late-game progression frustrating or impossible.
Technical issues such as spelling/grammar mistakes, UI limitations, and awkward 3D map implementation detract from immersion.
Gameplay balance issues with resource management and pacing; resources become useless mid-game and story progression feels rushed and disjointed.

story
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
64%
12%
The story is praised for its intriguing political intrigue, nuanced conflicts, and integration of relevant sci-fi concepts, offering meaningful choices that engage players. However, many reviewers criticize the plot as feeling incomplete, rushed in the latter half, and often lacking real impact from player decisions, with issues like bugs and unresolved arcs detracting from the overall experience. Despite these flaws, the narrative shows strong potential and is recommended for fans of story-driven and political management games, pending further development and fixes.
- “In the end, this game is highly recommended for those who want to go through some interesting story with a cup of tea doing some choices that matter and affect the final outcome.”
- “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.”
- “Leaving a positive review because this is a very cool story with meaningful choices.”
- “The plot feels nonsensical and there's almost no feedback from your decisions.”
- “Your decisions do not matter, the story will go ahead pretending like you did.”
- “It is very broken, the story and endings do not reflect your choices.”
gameplay
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The gameplay is criticized for its unnecessary and distracting 3D map, which doesn't enhance the predominantly choice-driven experience, leading to frustration and immersion breaking early on. While resource management has some merit, the game's mechanics become unbalanced and buggy, causing diminished engagement and dissatisfaction.
- “The resource management was a good part of the game, but despite being conservative with trade, I ended the game with more budget than I could spend due to projects becoming fewer towards the end.”
- “On release, the game is a hair under $10, which isn't bad for 6-8 hours of gameplay for a single playthrough.”
- “Honestly, I did not get the point of the 3D map (some sort of hologram on the table?); it could have been some cool looking 2D sprites with actual buildings (painted, nice looking stuff) and flying cars could also be some flying sprites. Instead, it loads the computer with strange 3D graphics while the whole gameplay is basically reading and making choices.”
- “Honestly, I did not get the point of the 3D map (some sort of hologram on the table?). It could simply be some cool-looking 2D sprites with actual buildings (painted, nice looking stuff) and for flying cars some flying sprites. Instead, it loads the computer with strange 3D graphics while the whole gameplay is basically reading and making choices.”
- “Gameplay stops after a few turns, as if the entire government collapsed before the first vote in the assembly.”
- “Sooo buggy, broken gameplay.”
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics feature a 3D map and holographic elements that some users find unnecessary and poorly integrated, suggesting 2D visuals might be more fitting. The art style is considered questionable, with interior and character depictions feeling disconnected from the near-future theme. Overall, the graphics appear mismatched with the primarily text-based gameplay.
- “Honestly, I did not get the point of the 3D map (some sort of hologram on the table?). It could simply be some cool looking 2D sprites with actual buildings (painted, nice looking stuff) and for flying cars, it could also be some flying sprites. Instead, it loads the computer with this strange 3D graphics while the whole gameplay is basically reading and making choices.”
- “Although it's my personal opinion, the art style is somewhat questionable. The 3D map of Artemis does not really make sense from a logical or planning perspective, and the depictions of interiors and people seem so far detached from a 'near-future' setting.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers decent replayability with multiple playthroughs appealing to users; however, some bugs and language issues slightly detract from the overall experience.
- “There's replay value-- I'll play several more times-- but I wish they'd ironed out indication/branching indication bugs and spelling/grammar.”
- “There's replay value-- I'll play several more times-- but I wish they'd ironed out indication/branching bugs and spelling/grammar.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game aims for an emotional narrative but falls short, as players struggle to form an attachment to characters like Sam due to a lack of meaningful interactions demonstrating the main character's impact on them. Consequently, the emotional engagement feels limited and unfulfilled.
- “Heartbreaking attempt at Suzerain on the moon.”
- “For one, Sam remains in the story as a potential love interest, but the player does not develop any emotional attachment to her because they did not see how the main character helped her.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music is praised for being atmospheric and immersive, but technical bugs, such as music playback getting stuck, detract from the overall experience.
- “I will say the soundtrack is very atmospheric and immersive even though the bugs hamper it.”
- “Music reading is bugged and stuck.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent bugs and broken gameplay that hinder the overall experience. It feels unfinished and in need of substantial improvements.
- “Great idea but way too buggy and unfinished.”
- “Sooo buggy, broken gameplay.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization is widely perceived as a cheap cash grab, indicating a negative reception towards the game's payment model.
- “Cheap cash grab.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere is praised for its immersive and atmospheric soundtrack, though some bugs occasionally detract from the overall experience.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor is characterized by an exaggerated, unrealistic portrayal of the character's cluelessness, especially regarding the workings of civil service, which some users find hilariously entertaining.