Got the game following this review. No regrets - what a genuinely fantastic game. For myself, it goes up there with Hades as my favourite roguelike. Lovely atmosphere in this one. The pixel art and music are something different to the usual dungeon mood in the genre. And the later game builds go really wacky. Try it out if you liked Hades or Dead Cells at all. And give it a couple of hours to sink in, lots of gameplay mechanics!
As someone with close to 100 hours since the game released on early access, I can confidently say there's no other game like this. The combat feels quick and responsive, the spells are flashy, and builds get VERY crazy if you know what to look for. The art is sick and the OST is amazing as well. Very hot take: dead cells and Hades got NOTHING on Astral Ascent. They're great, but they're lacking in some department. And I've played both for hundreds of hours. Astral Ascent is truly a 10/10, and the devs pump out updates nonstop.
This comment has me strongly considering getting this game. I didn’t enjoy Dead Cells, not quite sure why. Loved Hades and games like Rogue Legacy. Are there many similarities between those games and Astral Ascent? And what do you think makes Astral Ascent better in your opinion?
@@marshallrankin168 rogue legacy shares a bit of the cartoon-esque visuals, but that's about it. And if you want my honest opinion, Astral ascent is better starting on combat fluidity. It feels like you have complete control over what you do all the time. No delays, no weird timings. The many different spells and auras open up super interesting builds that you just can't find in other games, and the difficulty scaling through the levels feels very appropriate. I will say though, the only slightly weaker link is the OST, which is a tiny bit too calm for me (I'm a huge fan of Doom and the DMC series, so it is what it is). All in all, the game just feels right to play, in every way you choose to. But ultimately, as with every other game, it's you who has to decide if it's good or not, fun or boring. There's no wrong opinion. Just try it, and enjoy yourself.
Thanks for the video. That country side area and how the paragraphed enemies are gives pretty strong SKUL vibes, looking very similar, are they from the same devs? The artstyle seems pretty similar too. But this sure looks smoother.
Welp, looks like the next game I'll get lost in for hours. Got a love/hate relationship with roguelikes as the end bosses are usually steep difficulty spikes, but the best ones are some of my favorite games.
I really would've liked to see this review take advantage of the video format and show us clips of the voice acting rather than just telling us about it. The same is true for music and sound effects, which in some cases can break a game for me(For instance, I love pixel art, but find 8-16 bit sound effects grating).
Castlevania SotN is one of the all time greats, my only issue with it is it's wwaayy too easy. I've always wanted a metroidvania with soulsbourne difficulty.
I had this one on my wishlist for ages... so it's out now as well. :O There's so many amazing indies coming out it's hard to keep track of them all, even as someone who checks Steam almost daily. What an incredible year for gaming, i haven't even touched half of the "bigger" titles i've bought because i keep gettig sidetracked by gems like this.
@@Gharon Single player story driven games, metroidvanias, roguelikes/lites, character action, soulslikes, (J)RPGs, platformers, FPS... kinda hard for me to narrow it down honestly. Right now I'm playing Nioh 2, Astral Ascent and Returnal after checking the reviews and love all 3.
@@thishandleistacken Yeah those are all great. Most of the games i'm going to list you probably know but still, loved them and highly recommend trying them out if you haven't. Afterimage, Blasphemous 2, Everspace 2, Sea of Stars, Cobalt Core, Astrea Six-Sided Oracles, Hi-Fi Rush, Lies of P, Dave the Diver and the System Shock Remake (which also reminded me i had never played Prey so i did that right afterwards). Those and my slight addiction to FFXIV have kept me from playing any of the "big GotY" candidates. 😅
Hey yall. If you this, can 99.7% guarantee will also like both Trinity Fusion, think Dead Cells, with unique mechanic in unlocking characters with different weapons, abilities and movesets and then later finding portal area where you merge your character and obtain the other characters features. Polished controls. Deep combat, fast fun and frenetic. Also. Dark Light (on ps5 now but coming soon to Xbox) Fantastic combat, platforming a bit. Unique builds, badass weapons and explosives abilities that you can deepen by inserting 6 or so different body armor which you find often and which each come with certain buffs that you can stack and even improve by both upgrading weapons (both melee and ranged) and also slotting blood, lightening, poison or freeze gems into melee and guns. Each weapon has its own unique moveset or gunplay, making it super exciting to check out your new weapons power moves. Melee weapons in particular each have thier own animations that you can switch among to best certain foes. Both deserve mad love. If you like Asteral Ascent, gaurantee you’ll also like these two. And that’s my good gamer deed for the day. Have fun.
The whole combo thing is really up to you if that’s how you wish to do your run. But even going for the same spell 4 times offers variety because you can slot gambits into your spells essentially making their overall effect all different from each other. Like for example one of the four playable characters named Calie has a unique spell that lets her shoot out a bunch of homing arrows. If you have four homing arrow spells you can have each one deal a bunch or different effects such as burning, freezing, electrifying and poisoning just to name a few. So the game is not necessarily combo focused but more build focused as in how perfect can you make your build or how unique and creative can it be. TLDR; game focuses more on your spell builds rather than chaining for combos(even though you still can)
@@-pressxtostart- What's this have to do with Schematics? .... Oh you said Semantics. See, just like Semantic and Schematic, Roguelike and Roguelite are 2 different words with 2 different meanings. A conensus around the meaning of a word is what allows us to communicate. Its called language.
Roguelite is a made up word. Rogue like means its based on having multiple runs of a game to get to the end. People invented rogue lite to sound clever when really, every rogue like has a different difficulty.
LMAO! Roguelikes are the same thing. Roguelikes/lites are the best games out there b/c EVERY RUN CAN BE DIFFERENT. You seriously didnt like Hades or Returnal?@@sdtrawick
@@coopstain1728 Every level lacks handcrafted touch with a bit of jank/special easter eggs missing. Each run is at a different power level; never know when you'll be a god or you'll be hitting sponges w/ a wiffleball bat. You end your runs knowning that you aren't expected to win until you fill up on persistent upgrades, so you're just wasting your time now. Sure, Hades is one of the best games of the decade, but the genre is mostly eww.
How is this a roguelike in any way, shape or form? Roguelike means "like the game Rogue", as in the classic PC game. Go look up Rogue and tell me how this game is like it.
Technically it's a rogue-lite because of meta progression but that distinction is more of less pointless these days because almost no games are true roguelikes. But just like every game in the genre you start over from the beginning when you die and re build your character over the course of each run, that's how.
@@tj3423 you realize that description you made could also apply to games like Castlevania and super mario bros on the NES. Are they roguelites too? How about Ninja Gaiden on the NES? They all have permadeath and require you to start over from the beginning once you lose, seeking out power ups to rebuild your character's strength. See how silly this is? Roguelite means nothing nowadays either.
Dumb comment man. Souls like games are suppose to be "like the game souls" and are most of them similar and have similar gameplay, mechanics, etc? YES!? Then roguelikes/lites have the same type of gameplay loop as rogue. SMH
@@kyler247 Ur are so wrong. Castlevania and SMB doesnt have random levels and progression duh. Roguelite vs like is the meta progression difference. There are of course classic roguelites but those cant be compared and nowadays every gamer know what roguelike means
In the past I was just like you and said rogue-lite games is not for me, but when I actually gave them a chance I really liked them. Same thing with souls like games.
inherently bad game design created to needlessly pad playtime. it can magically extend what a naturally 1 hour game into a 20-30 hours game. There's no more need for devs to put effort into creating much contents anymore. @@NoisyPixelNews
The primary appeal of a good action roguelike is the gameplay experience itself, where combat and movement are so well crafted that the game is, first and foremost, a joy to play. That is then reinforced with procedural and RNG systems that ensure no 2 runs are alike and a progression system that provides a satisfying sense of accomplishment. I've never played Ultros so I can't speak to how well it accomplishes those goals but you may be familiar with big names in the genre like Hades or Dead Cells which excel at them. I just got Astral Ascent so I can't speak too much on how deep the procedural and RNG systems go or how rewarding the progression system feels but after 10 hours with the game I can definitely say that the gameplay experience is as refined, polished and satisfying as the aforementioned Hades and Dead Cells, an impressive accomplishment in it's own right. Unless the game drives off the cliff at some point down the road, in my limited experience Astral Ascent is among the best in the genre.
God damn it 2023. You’re making my wishlist larger than my Steam library!
Got the game following this review.
No regrets - what a genuinely fantastic game. For myself, it goes up there with Hades as my favourite roguelike.
Lovely atmosphere in this one. The pixel art and music are something different to the usual dungeon mood in the genre. And the later game builds go really wacky.
Try it out if you liked Hades or Dead Cells at all. And give it a couple of hours to sink in, lots of gameplay mechanics!
Definitely up there with them 2
Try Skul: The Hero Slayer if you like this, it's very similar, both great games
So first we had Astria Ascending, and now Astral Ascent. There is alot of ascending of Astras these days.
Don't forget Astlibra
@@cjtxp There was also Astral Chain, but no ascending there that I know of.
@@Estoriumastral chain is so underrated, deserves a sequel
I AM PLAYING THROUGH THIS NOW AND HOLLLLLLY SHIT!!!!!! SO MUCH FUN ON PS5. I love it.
Love that the roguelike/lite layout is so simple and yet so rewarding. I think it’s the best genre in gaming if done right
Is it from the same studio who did Children Of Morta ??? The art style and the UI definitely looks very similar to that
The best review.
Straight to the point, but with enough details without it being overwhelming.
Seems like action platformer heaven.
Imma buy it now.
I had high hopes for this one, wasn't sure how well it was going to play out, glad it turned out good.
Dude, your channel deserv to be more know.. Well done content.
thank you so much
More KNOWN.
@@CrowBoy-p7f sorry, english its not my native language - thanks for the feedback! Greets from Brazil
As someone with close to 100 hours since the game released on early access, I can confidently say there's no other game like this. The combat feels quick and responsive, the spells are flashy, and builds get VERY crazy if you know what to look for. The art is sick and the OST is amazing as well.
Very hot take: dead cells and Hades got NOTHING on Astral Ascent. They're great, but they're lacking in some department. And I've played both for hundreds of hours. Astral Ascent is truly a 10/10, and the devs pump out updates nonstop.
This comment has me strongly considering getting this game. I didn’t enjoy Dead Cells, not quite sure why. Loved Hades and games like Rogue Legacy. Are there many similarities between those games and Astral Ascent? And what do you think makes Astral Ascent better in your opinion?
@@marshallrankin168 rogue legacy shares a bit of the cartoon-esque visuals, but that's about it. And if you want my honest opinion, Astral ascent is better starting on combat fluidity. It feels like you have complete control over what you do all the time. No delays, no weird timings. The many different spells and auras open up super interesting builds that you just can't find in other games, and the difficulty scaling through the levels feels very appropriate. I will say though, the only slightly weaker link is the OST, which is a tiny bit too calm for me (I'm a huge fan of Doom and the DMC series, so it is what it is).
All in all, the game just feels right to play, in every way you choose to. But ultimately, as with every other game, it's you who has to decide if it's good or not, fun or boring. There's no wrong opinion. Just try it, and enjoy yourself.
I agree definitely up there with Hades and Dead Cells. I think they're all good in there own unique way
Makes me feel like Skul the Hero slayer- i’m deff excited to try this one!
Thanks for the video. That country side area and how the paragraphed enemies are gives pretty strong SKUL vibes, looking very similar, are they from the same devs? The artstyle seems pretty similar too. But this sure looks smoother.
Looks fantastic. Will grab it for PS5 soon enough.
This looks like a gem.
I am in the credits. Backed it in kickstarter.. just so gamers could enjoy.
Thank you for your service
🫡🫡🫡
Yeah same, it has come a long way.
🙏 praise be to your name 🙏
Here's the cookie you asked for 🍪
Welp, looks like the next game I'll get lost in for hours. Got a love/hate relationship with roguelikes as the end bosses are usually steep difficulty spikes, but the best ones are some of my favorite games.
I really would've liked to see this review take advantage of the video format and show us clips of the voice acting rather than just telling us about it. The same is true for music and sound effects, which in some cases can break a game for me(For instance, I love pixel art, but find 8-16 bit sound effects grating).
this looks amazing is it on ps5. wow
They definitely took a lot of notes from Hades for what it takes to be an outstanding roguelike.
This is up there with Deadcells, Undermine and Hades.
Castlevania SotN is one of the all time greats, my only issue with it is it's wwaayy too easy. I've always wanted a metroidvania with soulsbourne difficulty.
Dead cells exist
Not a Metroidvania@@pegasus822
I had this one on my wishlist for ages... so it's out now as well. :O There's so many amazing indies coming out it's hard to keep track of them all, even as someone who checks Steam almost daily.
What an incredible year for gaming, i haven't even touched half of the "bigger" titles i've bought because i keep gettig sidetracked by gems like this.
can I have some suggestions from your "smaller" titles you've enjoyed?
@@thishandleistacken Some specific genre you have a special interest in?
@@Gharon Single player story driven games, metroidvanias, roguelikes/lites, character action, soulslikes, (J)RPGs, platformers, FPS... kinda hard for me to narrow it down honestly. Right now I'm playing Nioh 2, Astral Ascent and Returnal after checking the reviews and love all 3.
@@thishandleistacken Yeah those are all great. Most of the games i'm going to list you probably know but still, loved them and highly recommend trying them out if you haven't.
Afterimage, Blasphemous 2, Everspace 2, Sea of Stars, Cobalt Core, Astrea Six-Sided Oracles, Hi-Fi Rush, Lies of P, Dave the Diver and the System Shock Remake (which also reminded me i had never played Prey so i did that right afterwards).
Those and my slight addiction to FFXIV have kept me from playing any of the "big GotY" candidates. 😅
@@Gharon Many thanks! Quite a few I hadn't heard of on top of a few I had but haven't gotten to yet. Much appreciated, cheers :)
hmm ok thank you I'll add it to my wish list.
I now want this game so much but i cant buy it, yey
Nice video btw
Hey yall. If you this, can 99.7% guarantee will also like both Trinity Fusion, think Dead Cells, with unique mechanic in unlocking characters with different weapons, abilities and movesets and then later finding portal area where you merge your character and obtain the other characters features. Polished controls. Deep combat, fast fun and frenetic.
Also. Dark Light (on ps5 now but coming soon to Xbox) Fantastic combat, platforming a bit. Unique builds, badass weapons and explosives abilities that you can deepen by inserting 6 or so different body armor which you find often and which each come with certain buffs that you can stack and even improve by both upgrading weapons (both melee and ranged) and also slotting blood, lightening, poison or freeze gems into melee and guns. Each weapon has its own unique moveset or gunplay, making it super exciting to check out your new weapons power moves. Melee weapons in particular each have thier own animations that you can switch among to best certain foes.
Both deserve mad love. If you like Asteral Ascent, gaurantee you’ll also like these two.
And that’s my good gamer deed for the day.
Have fun.
Khimari is that you?
Hades is still the king. But this is a nice change of pace.
agree. the hades art style crushes this
Both good
Esse jogo tem pra xbox?
I don't really like the spell cycling thing. I'd just get the same spell 4 times instead of cooking up some half assed combo system.
The whole combo thing is really up to you if that’s how you wish to do your run. But even going for the same spell 4 times offers variety because you can slot gambits into your spells essentially making their overall effect all different from each other. Like for example one of the four playable characters named Calie has a unique spell that lets her shoot out a bunch of homing arrows. If you have four homing arrow spells you can have each one deal a bunch or different effects such as burning, freezing, electrifying and poisoning just to name a few. So the game is not necessarily combo focused but more build focused as in how perfect can you make your build or how unique and creative can it be.
TLDR; game focuses more on your spell builds rather than chaining for combos(even though you still can)
Buy it wow
Look up the upcoming game The Adventures of Gorm, if you like games like this ✊
Looks more like a roguelite to me.
No really what gave it away
@@mrwhocares3931 metaprogression
Semantics
@@-pressxtostart- What's this have to do with Schematics? .... Oh you said Semantics. See, just like Semantic and Schematic, Roguelike and Roguelite are 2 different words with 2 different meanings. A conensus around the meaning of a word is what allows us to communicate. Its called language.
Roguelite is a made up word. Rogue like means its based on having multiple runs of a game to get to the end. People invented rogue lite to sound clever when really, every rogue like has a different difficulty.
I wish that game last faith and good graphic’s because it looks good to but not like this good.
This game looks like a reskinned Skul
Way better then skul
@@drorios8864 Not a huge fan of Skul, so I'd love to see it
@dixailia skul is awesome but not like this game. Graphics are gorgeous. It's like poetry in motion and oh so many spells. The bosses are top tier
It doesn't really look at Skul and it definitely doesn't play like Skul.
I'm so bummed that this is a rogue-lite.
Why
@@ps3lover85 I do not like rouge-lites. I hate having to start over or repeat sections.
@@sdtrawick i see
LMAO! Roguelikes are the same thing. Roguelikes/lites are the best games out there b/c EVERY RUN CAN BE DIFFERENT. You seriously didnt like Hades or Returnal?@@sdtrawick
@@coopstain1728 Every level lacks handcrafted touch with a bit of jank/special easter eggs missing.
Each run is at a different power level; never know when you'll be a god or you'll be hitting sponges w/ a wiffleball bat.
You end your runs knowning that you aren't expected to win until you fill up on persistent upgrades, so you're just wasting your time now.
Sure, Hades is one of the best games of the decade, but the genre is mostly eww.
How is this a roguelike in any way, shape or form? Roguelike means "like the game Rogue", as in the classic PC game. Go look up Rogue and tell me how this game is like it.
Technically it's a rogue-lite because of meta progression but that distinction is more of less pointless these days because almost no games are true roguelikes. But just like every game in the genre you start over from the beginning when you die and re build your character over the course of each run, that's how.
@@tj3423 you realize that description you made could also apply to games like Castlevania and super mario bros on the NES. Are they roguelites too? How about Ninja Gaiden on the NES? They all have permadeath and require you to start over from the beginning once you lose, seeking out power ups to rebuild your character's strength. See how silly this is? Roguelite means nothing nowadays either.
Dumb comment man. Souls like games are suppose to be "like the game souls" and are most of them similar and have similar gameplay, mechanics, etc? YES!? Then roguelikes/lites have the same type of gameplay loop as rogue. SMH
@@kyler247 Ur are so wrong. Castlevania and SMB doesnt have random levels and progression duh. Roguelite vs like is the meta progression difference. There are of course classic roguelites but those cant be compared and nowadays every gamer know what roguelike means
@@whocares8269 does the original rogue, the game the genre is named after, have meta progression?
I see so many interesting looking indie games, then I noticed the "roguelike/lite" tag. instant ignorelist. what a shame.
What don’t you like about it?
In the past I was just like you and said rogue-lite games is not for me, but when I actually gave them a chance I really liked them. Same thing with souls like games.
inherently bad game design created to needlessly pad playtime. it can magically extend what a naturally 1 hour game into a 20-30 hours game. There's no more need for devs to put effort into creating much contents anymore. @@NoisyPixelNews
@@warcatbattalionwhat a load of bull. Go play a sony game and never fail by watching 20 hours of cutscene then
Bad explanation. Roguelikes/lites are the best. You have to "get gud" and level up. Game is amazing.@@warcatbattalion
Is this like Ultros, where you have to keep replaying the same thing over and over? I just don't get the apeal of games like that.
The primary appeal of a good action roguelike is the gameplay experience itself, where combat and movement are so well crafted that the game is, first and foremost, a joy to play. That is then reinforced with procedural and RNG systems that ensure no 2 runs are alike and a progression system that provides a satisfying sense of accomplishment.
I've never played Ultros so I can't speak to how well it accomplishes those goals but you may be familiar with big names in the genre like Hades or Dead Cells which excel at them.
I just got Astral Ascent so I can't speak too much on how deep the procedural and RNG systems go or how rewarding the progression system feels but after 10 hours with the game I can definitely say that the gameplay experience is as refined, polished and satisfying as the aforementioned Hades and Dead Cells, an impressive accomplishment in it's own right. Unless the game drives off the cliff at some point down the road, in my limited experience Astral Ascent is among the best in the genre.
new huh
this shit been out