Astral Ascent Review

Progression in roguelites can be a mixed bag. Veterans of the genre know to expect the unexpected and just go with the flow. For newcomers or casual fans, the opening hour can make or break your interest. I remember when I first tried out Dead Cells way back during its Early Access period. I lasted maybe 5 to 10 minutes at most for what seemed like several hours. Through a combination of engaging gameplay and the ability to jump right back, I was soon on my way to 20-minute runs and eventually a full clear every time I played. This balance is no easy feat though as games want to pull the gamer into the fold while maintaining a difficulty that seems just out of reach. Once it clicks though, it becomes hard nigh IMPOSSIBLE to stop playing. Is it time for a new game to become a household name like Dead Cells or do we have on our hands just another roguelite?

Developed by Hibernian Workshop, Astral Ascent is a 2D roguelite platformer that has you, as one of 4 heroes, attempting an escape from an astral prison. This is no normal prison (outside of it being an astral one) and the guards are no normal guards; good luck breaking out when the 12 Zodiacs are watching your every move. Today’s horoscope: things are looking bleak and the walls are closing in (get it? GET IT?). Oddly enough, the guards do not seem to care that you are armed to the teeth so maybe this escape plan is not as half-baked as it would seem.

Your first escape attempt begins with the assassin, Ayla, who comes equipped with two daggers that strike incredibly fast. As you progress normally through the game, you will eventually unlock the remaining 3 heroes, Kiran, Calie, and Octave. From the main hub, players can swap between each character before any run. Each character has a basic attack that not only does a decent amount of damage but refills your mana bar which is needed for your spells. Players can also dash and double jump, both of which are reset when in combat allowing for some entertaining air juggling of enemies. Last but not least is the signature ability unique to each hero: Ayla teleports behind a target causing them to take additional damage, Kiran can perform a parry and if successful, unleashes a powerful punch, Octave summons a drone that fires off rockets before exploding and causing AOE damage, and Calie recalls her thrown projectiles causing damage on their return.

At the beginning of a run, the heroes have 4 spells they can cast (provided there is available mana). Casting a spell brings up the next one in order. To start, you have 4 of the same spell, specific to each character. For example, Ayla’s base spell summons knives that home in on the nearest enemy. As you progress through the run, you will have the opportunity to replace the spells with different spells. Additionally, spells can be augmented by Gambits. These are modifiers to the spell that are triggered upon casting said spell. Most Gambits are of the “chance on hit to apply X” or “every cast summons Y.” Gambits are not locked in, so to speak, so if you find a better one later on, you are free to swap it with an old one. Spells are also replaceable but you will lose the Gambits applied. To round out their arsenal, players can equip Auras which act as passive buffs that require no player management. These can range from summoning slime every time you perform a downward smash or restoring a percentage of life every time you enter a new room.

All runs begin the same way. After choosing your character, the NPC Sova will fly you off to Fragmented Plains, the first of 5 different level biomes. Before proceeding through the levels to reach the Zodiac Guard, you can choose a new spell and a single upgrade for your signature move. At this point, you are presented with a choice of levels. Generally speaking, you pick either a fight room or an exploration room. Technically, you fight in either choice but the fight room forces you to defeat all enemies while the exploration room does allow you to hustle towards/run away to the exit and escape (Pro tip: fight everything because you also earn experience when defeating enemies - after playing for a bit, you are more likely to die in a boss fight than from some run of the mill enemy).

The fight and exploration rooms are further divided by their possible rewards; keys, quartz, gambit, spells, auras, or special rooms. Keys are needed for special chests found throughout any area and you are given the choice of an altar or Pavo’s spell. The altar allows you to choose a stat upgrade (similar to the scrolls found in Dead Cells) and Pavo’s spell upgrades a spell of your choice which will increase the overall power. Quartz is a currency used before any boss fights to buy new gambits or spells. A gambit/spell/aura room will contain a choice of either adding and/or replacing existing ones. Special rooms can range from healing to trials from defeated Zodiacs (whenever and not just on the current run). All room choices also grant stars which can be used at Andromeda’s Bar, the penultimate section before every boss. Stars are used to either refill your heal or purchase stat drinks. Stars also determine the difficulty of the room you are about to enter. Auras can also be upgraded or traded in for additional stars. Once you are ready, you can take on the boss. None of the Zodiacs are tied to any specific level so who you fight is completely random. If you do manage to defeat the Zodiac, you are presented with a choice of Aura (in most cases, a higher level than the ones you have picked up so far), and, if you did level up (this is why defeating everything is important), you can upgrade your signature move. On to the next area and repeat the cycle.

When you inevitably fail in your escape attempt, you are sent back to the Garden which serves as a main hub. Before doing so, the game provides a neat little graphic showcasing everything you defeated along the way as well as everything you unlocked based on the progress you made. The Garden is where the roguelite progression comes into play. I have to admit, there is a lot, possibly too much going on here. For starters, this area is massive. It reminded me of the original tower in Destiny where it felt like you were running back and forth and all the NPCs were spread out as far as they possibly could. In Astral Ascent, you will find an eclectic group of human and anthropomorphic NPCs, all of whom are rooting for you to succeed in escaping. Yet another currency is used exclusively in the hub which is earned per escape and by completing tasks during said escapes like killing X number of enemies with your signature ability or x number of kills in a certain zone. You then use that currency to purchase upgrades like increases to health and mana or how much quartz/keys/stars you have when starting a run. New moves can also be purchased for each hero as well as the chance to create different styles of gear.

For a roguelite to work, it either has to provide a clear progression route to keep the player engaged or nail that “one more run” feeling. Astral Ascent is a bit of column A and column B. Even after 10+ hours, I was still unlocking new things at the end of every run regardless of my total success. This fact alone makes you want to try again whether it be because you unlocked a new move set or bought a few upgrades. The game plays extremely quickly as well which makes wanting to jump back in after failing that more appealing. Most rooms are finished in under a minute and a run that reaches the final boss can be done in about an hour. The tediousness of the Garden’s size eventually goes away when you know what you need to do between runs. On top of all of the variety and randomness of runs and builds, there is also co-op mode. Unfortunately, it is only local co-op BUT share play on the PS5 worked very well. When asked about online play, the developer said it was not planned but never say never. Since day 1, Dead Cells has been that game that I always keep installed and will jump back in for a run or two every so often. Astral Ascent is on that same level and can provide both that quick fix/”one more run” or a few hours of quality gameplay. Do not sleep on this title.