ast year I played a game called Refunct in my Backlog to the Front quest. I praised it and had a good time, but as similar as Ascendance is, it’s not quite on the same level. It’s an overall bummer that instead makes me want to replay Refunct.
Much like Refunct, Ascendance is a minimalistic first-person platformer. The goal is traversing the level to reach a checkpoint of sorts. As each checkpoint is reached, more platforms are generated with a new point to gravitate to. Usually, these locations are at high areas leading to risky leaps and hopes of hitting the right platforms. The player will run into some assistance or obstacles from moving platforms or bounce plates, but for the most part, it’s all on the player.
The biggest problem is movement. It’s more sluggish in both speed and jumps than Refunct. I found myself less confident getting around and really needing to push the limits of jump distance. There is also no wall jump leading to less interesting ways of reaching great heights. The speed was initially jarring because the run button was tied to the L Bumper on the Nintendo Switch, a button I apparently never thought to try for running. So until the second level, I never knew there was a run option.
But unfortunately, that’s not it. A big deterrent is the frame rate. Ascendance begins to chug as the level loads in more structures. Jump pads, in particular, felt like single-digit frame rates as I levitated upward and have to give the game a second before moving. In a platformer like this, a drop in frame rate can kill momentum in travel leading to death. While resurrection is immediate, it also means starting back at the last checkpoint. If that checkpoint is on the other side of the map, interest wanes more and more after each attempt.
With that negativity out of the way, Ascendance is a real stunning game in the same way as Refunct. The placement of platforms leads to a great visual by the end and the colors and simple geometry make it stand out as well. Also, like Refunct, Ascendance also features some chill and relaxing music for a game meant to be played with the same mindset.
I know I keep bringing up Refunct in this mini-review of Ascendance. It’s clear they are cut from the same cloth. Though Ascendance features more levels and similar gameplay, Refunct feels more polished and less troublesome to play. Also, unlike Ascendance, my game didn’t crash while playing. So please note that while I do suggest playing this game (I did still have fun), I would recommend playing Refunct before playing Ascendance.
Much like Refunct, Ascendance is a minimalistic first-person platformer. The goal is traversing the level to reach a checkpoint of sorts. As each checkpoint is reached, more platforms are generated with a new point to gravitate to. Usually, these locations are at high areas leading to risky leaps and hopes of hitting the right platforms. The player will run into some assistance or obstacles from moving platforms or bounce plates, but for the most part, it’s all on the player.
The biggest problem is movement. It’s more sluggish in both speed and jumps than Refunct. I found myself less confident getting around and really needing to push the limits of jump distance. There is also no wall jump leading to less interesting ways of reaching great heights. The speed was initially jarring because the run button was tied to the L Bumper on the Nintendo Switch, a button I apparently never thought to try for running. So until the second level, I never knew there was a run option.
But unfortunately, that’s not it. A big deterrent is the frame rate. Ascendance begins to chug as the level loads in more structures. Jump pads, in particular, felt like single-digit frame rates as I levitated upward and have to give the game a second before moving. In a platformer like this, a drop in frame rate can kill momentum in travel leading to death. While resurrection is immediate, it also means starting back at the last checkpoint. If that checkpoint is on the other side of the map, interest wanes more and more after each attempt.
With that negativity out of the way, Ascendance is a real stunning game in the same way as Refunct. The placement of platforms leads to a great visual by the end and the colors and simple geometry make it stand out as well. Also, like Refunct, Ascendance also features some chill and relaxing music for a game meant to be played with the same mindset.
I know I keep bringing up Refunct in this mini-review of Ascendance. It’s clear they are cut from the same cloth. Though Ascendance features more levels and similar gameplay, Refunct feels more polished and less troublesome to play. Also, unlike Ascendance, my game didn’t crash while playing. So please note that while I do suggest playing this game (I did still have fun), I would recommend playing Refunct before playing Ascendance.