Underworld Ascendant is out now, OtherSide Entertainment’s crowdfunded non secular sucessor to Ultima Underworld. For the youthful amongst us, or those that had higher issues to do within the early 90s than trawl imaginary dungeons, meaning it’s a first-person motion RPG with a concentrate on puzzling out artistic options to issues. There’s stealth, parkour and a number of methods by way of each stage, along with your decisions on a three-branched talent tree affecting your choices in a while. It additionally has a really glowy high-fantasy aesthetic that jogs my memory a little bit of Trine. The launch trailer lies beneath.
While no one has despatched out overview code but (as far as I’m conscious), some people on YouTube have been poking across the game early. Vicariously experiencing it by way of them, the game seems to be like a mix of comfortingly acquainted components from immersive sims previous. Thief’s water arrows are again and important for extinguishing lights if you wish to sneak previous undead guards. The runic spellcasting system from the unique Underworld (and Arx Fatalis) is again, too. Players may place their very own checkpoints (in case of loss of life) by planting magic seeds the place fertile floor permits.
Physics appear to play a significant half within the game too, pleasantly reminding me of the glut of wildly bouncing objects and ragdolls we noticed in games after Half-Life 2’s launch. Hitting enemies with heavy assaults has an opportunity of knocking them off ledges or tumbling down staircases and slopes Dark Messiah Of Might And Magic fashion – all the time enjoyable. There are additionally crates to be abused, stacking them to permit artistic entry to areas that you just in all probability shouldn’t be in. I’m curious to see simply how properly designed the degrees are, and the way resistant it’s to gamers getting actually wild with its methods.
Underworld Ascendant is out now and prices £21.24/€25.49/$25.49. You can discover it on Steam and Humble, and its official page here. It’s printed by 505 Games.
