Underworld Ascendant - More Reviews

More reviews for the disappointing Underworld Ascendant.

IGN - 3/10

The Verdict

Underworld Ascendant is just broken. What little roleplaying game fun there might've been is taken off the table by technical failings, a save system that feels like cruel and unusual punishment, and a bland story that takes place in similarly repetitive environments. Not one of the core systems for interacting with the world, be it combat, magic, or stealth impresses on its own, and that's when they even work right. Our beleaguered Ascendant is thus sent, over and over again, into buggy dungeons to complete fetch quests and assassination missions to the best of their unimpressive abilities. Underworld Ascendant is a swing and a miss so powerful that it knocks itself off-balance, and the seeds of interesting ideas fail to be realized at nearly every juncture.

Wccftech - 3/10

The immersive sim is a genre that is constantly under siege. Some developers seem nervous to work on such a title, while larger genres continue to blend its interaction with more mainstream successes. But when they strike the right chords they are wonderful. Even though Prey didn't quite break through the mainstream, the game was a masterpiece of open ended puzzle solving just like Deus Ex and Dishonored. Unfortunately, Underworld Ascendant simply cannot be counted as one of these successes.

Eurogamer - Avoid

Perhaps the only "successful" immersive sim, then, is the one you can genuinely break. About an hour into my time with Underworld: Ascendant, I made a calculated hop onto a boulder and fell through into the very last level. I'd read that such a glitch existed, but I found the point of entry all by myself, and it's probably the most "meaningful" choice I've made in the Underworld. There I was with nothing but an Argos-brand wand and a bone club to my name, facing the Big Bad in a hellish cathedral surrounded by lavafalls. I couldn't complete the level without all seven keys, and struggled to make headway against its menagerie of spellcasters and spooks. But still - wasn't I, in fact, playing the game as its developers would like? Preying on the gaps in the stage machinery, osmosing through its facade? It wasn't much fun, either way, but in all my time with Ascendant, I have never felt more immersed.

Screenrant -1.5/5

It's hard to justify that Underworld Ascendant is a finished product. Indeed, the game released at 'version 0.3', and it shows. A horrific and nonsensical save mechanic sets the tone for a game rife with broken systems: terrible enemy AI, confusing map design, a shell of a plot, and a mountainous pile of bugs and glitches have mixed together into an abominable heap of problems that became Underworld Ascendant. Every mechanic to the game needs drastic improvements, and it's just plain unfortunate that Otherside Entertainment released the game as-is. The atmosphere can occasionally look pretty, but it's a fleeting moment. This game has plenty of ascending of its own to do before it's a worthwhile purchase.

Thanks Farflame!

More information.

Underworld will go in the loss column of games I have kickstarted. What was I thinking and how did they raise that much money?

Originally Posted by Hastar
Underworld will go in the loss column of games I have kickstarted. What was I thinking and how did they raise that much money?

Because they promised things they never intended to fulfill (Ultima underworld clone). Fell for the same thing..

I would ask the question how did they produce such a horrible game (ignoring it is no where close to what they promised).

Originally Posted by vidder
Because they promised things they never intended to fulfill (Ultima underworld clone). Fell for the same thing..

I think these guys believed their own hype. They could have fronted up like men to the Kickstarter backers way earlier about what they were able to deliver. Instead we got some brief forum communication close to the release date after some prodding. "Oh by the way feature x,y and z is not in the game - hope you enjoy it!"

Just sad really. I wonder how many of the veterans got into the nitty gritty of programming and level design because the game plays like intern level stuff.

While I dodged it, I can understand people hoping it'll turn out good and backing it - same happened with my backing of Earthlock where developers thought mushroomscentered checkpoints grinder is something backers will like.

Was it broken promises, incompetence, lack of time or stubborness the case here too, dunno. I do know however this is not the first or the last KS project that turned out not good which is a shame as those who backed only this one will never give a chance to another KS project.

Ouch those reviews have got to hurt.

Not a single one above a three.

I don't know how widespread it is, but I know that this year I have diminished *greatly* my Kickstarter support based on the results of past campaigns in not just games but a variety of areas. Not sure what it will take for me to pledge on another project.

Ouch, and the hits keep coming. Yeah, one of the few kickstarters that I'll regret sponsoring, but my heart was in the right place. To me, they simply lied and overpromised from the very beginning, for now I'll just keep hoping that eventually the game gets patched to where it's at least a little fun.

I can't remember a review roundup like this one where the reviews were any worse (but maybe my memory is failing me). I think its a record. Glad I didn't back this one. What a catastrophe.

Zero positive reviews on metacritic. Zero. At least Fallout 76 had 3. Ugh. Guess I'll watch a let's play video and see, rather than downloading.

Backed this KS. I was hoping it would be a true UU successor, but yikes. I couldn’t get my backer key to work, but it looks like I’m not missing anything. I used to work for Warren, and though I don’t know the other guys, I know their legacy and expected at least some redeeming factors. Considering it’s a pre-built engine, I don’t know where the money went; looks like it was just wasted. Even though $1M isn’t much for development these days, it should at least provide an intriguing indie experience.

Originally Posted by txa1265
I don't know how widespread it is, but I know that this year I have diminished *greatly* my Kickstarter support based on the results of past campaigns in not just games but a variety of areas. Not sure what it will take for me to pledge on another project.

Yeah, the only way i will contribute to another KS is if Larian or Obsidian did one. At least i have a pretty good idea how those will turn out.

I won't let this failure stop me from backing promising kick starter campaigns, although it does make me wary. Their are a lot of genuine people who have believed they could do it and given their everything to keep their promises, but failed for what ever reason.
If Devs have misused pledges and failed because of their incompetence, then shame on them and I hope they get their comeuppance.

I still believe firmly in the kick starter philosophy, but backing several bad apples has certainly made me more wary now. I tend to research projects a bit more these days, and watch the feedback of the initial pitch with clearer eyes.

This was a dud but I'll still back games I would like to play. I've gotten more than enough enjoyment out of the successful ones to compensate for the failures.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
I still believe firmly in the kick starter philosophy, but backing several bad apples has certainly made me more wary now. I tend to research projects a bit more these days, and watch the feedback of the initial pitch with clearer eyes.

One lesson the turds that are SotA and now Underworld along with shakey and uncertain release of BT4 is that "veteran developers" is no longer a marketing ploy that will easily secure my dollars.

Imagine how the developers will camouflage their CV's and carefully leave out any Underworld Ascendant work. What a trainwreck. Can also be a result of bad teamwork!

Whenever I see one of these projects sold on the strength of the people involved with them, I'm always reminded of something Bruce Campbell once said:

“I’m Frank Marshall, I’ve produced all of Steven Spielberg’s movies. Interested? Okay, I’ve got a book written by Michael Crichton. I’m going to get John Patrick Shanley, the Academy Award-winning writer of Moonstruck, to adapt it. It’ll be shot by Allen Daviau, who did E.T. Will you make this movie? Well, congratulations! You just made Congo.”

I love Bruce Campbell (not like that, not that there's anything wrong with that).

Anyway…has anybody here actually played this? I backed it, so I own the damn thing, but I was kinda wanting to avoid it until it's patched up. Is is really so bad that updates couldn't make it worth playing?