Astral Ascent review by jeuxvideo.com

After the launch of soulslike dark devotion in 2019, the French studio Hibernian Workshop has therefore focused on: Astral-Ascent2D action platformer with pixel art graphics and roguelike mechanics† Far from the dark atmosphere of their first production, this second project, now available in early access, offers on the contrary colorful and luminous environments, as the action of the title takes place in the Garden, a kind of astral prison protected by 12 guards of the name of Zodiacs that the player must defeat to escape.

When Dead Cells meets Hades?

What stands out most when launching Astral Ascent are the beautiful graphics. With neat and colorful pixel art, the two biomes available in this early access are very pleasant to browse, especially since the title’s soundtrack is just as charming. and offers some very successful tracks. Finally, much of the game’s charm also comes from the highly detailed animations that contrast with the pixel art rendering of the whole. We then get a quite unique visual aspect that gives a real graphic identity to the title. Plus, most of the characters benefit from original appearances, especially the five Zodiacs you’ll have to deal with in this early access, all of which deserve a neat introductory movie.

After asking the player for their astrological sign, information that will affect your relationships with other characters, Astral Ascent offers a short tutorial before being plunged into the heart of the action on your first try. Like most roguelikes, the series is quite classic and will not lose any fans of the genre. So we link the different procedurally generated rooms to gain new resources or improvements to be powerful enough to confront the boss at the end of the biome.† At each end of the table it is possible to choose which level you go to depending on the rewards that interest you most. Finally, death is not punishable because in case of defeat you will return to the central hub with a certain number of points that you can spend to obtain permanent improvements or to unlock new elements that you can find on your next run . †

Besides its quite classic unfolding, it is more in terms of its gameplay that Astral Ascent stands out from the others. If we find simple commands such as hitting, jumping, thrashing or throwing violently from the air to the ground, these actions stand out mainly because of their reactivity, which makes the gameplay very pleasant and nervous.† As for the original mechanics, Hibernian Workshop’s title allows each character to use four skills in a row. During your escape attempts you can change these abilities, improve or even change their order, but no matter what, you can’t use one of these spells again until the other three have been used. Finally, to use any of these skills, you need to have enough manameters that are charged simply by typing.

A roguelike not to put in all hands?

With its reactive controls, Astral Ascent is a very enjoyable game to have in hand, as it offers combat as well as highly dynamic platforming phases. However, it must be recognized that the nervousness of the gameplay makes the action confusing† If the enemy’s attacks are well lit so that the player can react accordingly, it can sometimes be difficult to navigate through all this deluge of effects. We find this slight concern for readability with regard to the game interface. For example, when we get an improvement, we may also have difficulties knowing which skill we are applying a passive bonus to because the way of working is not very intuitive. In any case, nothing to spoil the experience of the game, that remains effective.

In terms of difficulty, Astral Ascent is currently a little less accessible than other productions of the genre, such as Hades† For example, at each end of the attempts, the improvements available in the central hub are much less generous than in the Supergiant Games title. In addition, some bosses are particularly difficult and it is not uncommon to have to do it several times to learn the different attacks correctly in order to better anticipate† But just to lower the difficulty a bit, know that the title allows two players to play cooperatively, locally, or online thanks to Steam’s Remote Play Together. And since the game is still in its early access stage, only two of the four planned characters can be controlled at this time, namely Ayla the Assassin and Kiran the Explosive Fighter. Fortunately, they are not played in the same way, allowing everyone to find their account. Ultimately, the two other heroes to come, Calie and Octave, will be more focused on distance combat.

Conclusion

Strengths

• A colorful artistic direction
• Successful pixel art animations
• Dynamic and responsive gameplay
• Two characters with different approaches
• Co-op local or online for two
• A luscious soundtrack

Weak points

• Sometimes messy fights
• An interface that is sometimes not readable
• A challenge taken that may scare some off

With this early access, Astral Ascent proves it has what it takes to carve a place for itself in the competitive roguelite genre. Thanks to its colorful pixel art graphics, detailed animations and polished soundtrack, the Hibernian Workshop title offers pleasant environments to browse. However, the battles are not left out as the game offers nervous gameplay and lots of building options that make every run interesting. Despite everything, a few minor flaws overshadow the picture, such as readability issues or even a lack of logical early access content. It remains to be seen whether the new elements added over time will ensure that the title will appeal to players in the long run.

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