If you like a good elderly dungeon crawler full of wizards and battle mages and like a bit of chaos in your games, look no further than Ascendant. Roguelike hell Imagisphere lands on Steam January 31st and it looks like a really good time. Prepare to immerse yourself in magic, face legendary abominations, and emerge victorious and free from the grip of the dungeons.
Ascendant will have seven bosses, 11 mini-bosses and 30 enemy types in three unique biomes, ranging from sticky green poison to scorching balmy lava. But you’ll have much more than just your trusty wand to take on them. There are over 800 skills and items to acquire in every corner of the dungeon, and this is where Ascendant really starts to shine with its intricate build system.
Careful planning of different item combinations provides enormous possibilities for creating configurations in Ascendant. Various item synergies will have their advantages in certain battles, but you may need to shake things up on the fly if you hit a particularly tough enemy. The ability to tinker with builds on such a gigantic scale is the basis of Ascendant’s infinite replayability, with no two runs being the same. There are almost endless possibilities to create and choose ways to defeat each enemy.
One of my favorite learning paths in games is experimenting with optimizations, and I feel that Ascendant’s potential for dozens of unique builds will be just that for me. From discovering items we haven’t encountered before, to deeply understanding their system and how exactly to make it work for me. They say knowledge is power, and Imagisphere seems to have taken this mantra with the Ascendant and taken it to the extreme. It offers a unique experience not found in other bullet hell dungeon crawlers that should have you casting spells during many dungeon dives.
All this is wrapped in brilliant graphics, presented in a top-down view in a handsome visual style that is reminiscent of older video games. It’s handsome, has just the right amount of visceral feel as all good dungeon crawling games should, with high quality animations. The style really shines on the seven main bosses, with huge and intricate designs that won’t bother you taking up half the screen trying to kill you and complete your escape.
Equipment changes even appear on your character with different colored robes and hats, which is something very vital to me personally. Plus there’s a frigid, very statuesque witch with a massive hat called the Sorceress. He is your first ally to lend a hand you through the first tutorials of the game once you have regained your strength.
If statuesque, pretty witches aren’t enough to pique your interest, maybe the fact that it’s an excellent Steam Deck game will. Imagisphere delivers a pristine experience on our beloved mobile devices, making it the perfect game to take with you on train rides, flights, or those pesky weekend trips to the in-laws.
If you are a streamer, there is even more to attract you. Imagisphere runs the game with Tangia support, so you can play it in chat and let her take control of the wheel (or wand) for you, which I’m sure can only cause chaos of the best kind.
You can Ascendant wishlist now on Steamready for release on January 31st. Up to 10% off is available for the first seven days, meaning the already affordable $9.99 price will be even lower at launch.
