KickStarter Underworld Ascendant is a disaster

[Nyast]

Oh wow, opening their log file is an eye opener. 200 MB for a single session, full of various exceptions and material issues.

 

[BEvers]

How long does it usually take for Valve to report launch day revenue to a developer?

 

[Zep Zepo]

I dunno about him...But I'd think twice about putting that on my resume/cv anytime soon.

Zep--

 

[BEvers]

Did any Codexers attend this event?

 

[Zep Zepo]

Didn't mindx2 go interview these fools?

mindx, any feeling you had during that make it feel like you were being lied to?

Zep--

 

[Nyast]

"Two lucky audience members got a copy of the long-awaited Underworld Ascendant".

Lol, let's wish good luck to these two poor souls that do not know (yet) what they've stepped into.

 

[Child of Malkav]

Did any Codexers attend this event?

Is this for real?

 

[BEvers]

There it is:

 

[Curratum]

"If we had a brain in our head, we would be selling 3D printed versions of the (enemies, items and props in the game, designed to look like painted D&D miniatures)"

Warren Spector, everyone! This is a real quote from the above video.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

It's a joke?

 

[Zep Zepo]

Customer: My Lizardman miniature won't stand up, it keeps falling over on its face.

OE Support: Have you played the damn game? Working as intended.

Zep--

 

[Hines]

There it is:

"How's the launch for Underworld going, Warren?"

"It's going great!" - senile, old fool Spector.

That goes beyond making putting on a brave face and focusing on the positives. If this game's having a great launch, then there's never been a bad one. Then again, he repeatedly said Otherside were going to push the immersive sim forward!

 

[Latelistener]

I refuse to believe this is the death of immersive sims.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

There it is:

is this serious?

 

[BEvers]

The first professional review is out.

Underworld Ascendant - Review

Underworld Ascendant was born 3 years ago from a Kickstarter campaign initiated by some of the original authors of the two Ultima Underworld, who founded OtherSide Entertainment.

For those who do not know them, Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, and his sequel, Ultima Underworld 2: Labyrinth Of Worlds are unanimously recognized as the founders of 3D RPGs in the first person - although many years have passed, they still remain among the best ever. With these premises many believed in the project (this is demonstrated by the $ 850,000 collected during the campaign), and a few days ago it was finally released on Steam as a finished product.

Thanks to a key kindly supplied to us by 505 Games, we have been able to fully test this promising role-playing game. The requirements for a success were all there, but something, obviously, went wrong along the way. We'll talk about it in our article ...

Story

As you have already understood Underworld Ascendant has not kept the original promises, being released in a condition to say the least embarrassing.

But let's go in order.

The story is rather trivial: our hero, the Ascendant (call it "Avatar" could not, since it has made its own semi-exclusive brand Richard Garriott) after a sleepless night finds himself in the parallel world of Underworld, to deal with the horrors and traps of the Abyss Stigiano. "Kindly" convened by Cabirus, a curious ghost who wears a mask vaguely inspired by the ancient Greek theater, is entrusted with a precise task: to reach the end of the labyrinth and to destroy Typhon, a terrible and omnipotent being who has recently awakened and threatens to destroy the two realities.

It starts with the "creation" of our character, in a somewhat unusual way: you can choose the name, the color of the skin and the build of the same, but being able to see only the forearms and hands. No traces of initial classes or abilities.
The initial part that follows is all dedicated to the tutorial. During this phase we are taught all the rules that govern the world of the Abyss Stigiano and the game mechanics.

Only those who adapt prosper

The gameplay takes place in the first person, barely able to see a part of the protagonist's arms.
After a few seconds we immediately realize that something is wrong: the pace of our hero is uncertain, elusive, almost seems to slip on the oil. The floor of the Abyss caves is irregular, as it should be, but a small difference in height is enough to stop the advance of the great hero destined to save the two worlds. Something does not come back, but luckily the "jump" mechanics come to help us.
Apart from the rather straightforward tutorial, the game presents a series of levels with increasing difficulty, starting from a central with shops and a series of portals: you choose the mission, exchange items with merchants and finally you enter the portal that takes us to your destination.

Some dungeons require the resolution of simple puzzles such as the activation of levers, platforms and other mechanisms - nothing particularly innovative. As in any good self-respecting RPG we must often deal with hostile beings, and obviously we must fight
The combat system is rather standard: you hit with a button and you can go with another one; it is also possible to load the slash to make a higher damage. The enemies respond to the attacks in a fairly predictable way: the IA immediately reveals itself dull. In general, an attack / parade alternation is enough to defeat any enemy, just watch out for timing.
During the tutorial we are presented also the modest stealth component of the game, which can be activated simply by crouching. In full Thief style you must stay away from the light to avoid being seen, and you can also pull water arrows to extinguish the uncomfortable light sources. However, like all other factors in the game, this too has been implemented hastily. The bow, curiously, is not an object to be found: our hero obviously has one with him, even if to us, perhaps mischievously, it seemed a convenient way to lighten the development.

Interaction

The interaction with the environment, for once, is quite advanced. Every object or piece of furniture can be manipulated, simply by approaching and pressing a button. As soon as he is grasped, the weight is indicated accurately (only in pounds ... patience), and he becomes a prisoner of our grasp. It can therefore be moved, rotated and launched at will. Fire spreads from flammable objects simply by bringing them together convincingly, and can also be used as an instrument for destroying locked objects and wooden doors.
When you meet water sources such as rivers or lakes you can also "swim", but this aspect has been cloned directly from the games of the 90s: our character floats and swims exactly as when walking, and you can not dive (even a simple animation of the arms would have been welcome).

The tools of the trade

Some objects, at the sole discretion of the developers, in addition to being manipulated can also be collected in the inventory (for example plates and bottles, but not stones, bones and other objects).

In Ultima Underworld, for those who had reminiscences, the weapons and armor worn by the Avatar were rendered in delightful two-dimensional graphics; well, not here.

In Underworld Ascendant inventory is cruelly poor. The objects that are collected become roundish icons that reveal - grossly - their contents. These seem to be almost designed by a child: they are rough, with a very limited color palette and remotely recall a comic or the cards of a board game, so as to be totally out of place compared to the semi-realistic 3D graphics proposed in the world of game - they are also few and recycled. For example, a dagger or a sword looks the same, as do the various sticks and armor. Whether the protection is leather or steel makes no difference: the icon is the same. The result is that, when there is the need to use an object, one can make so much confusion: without reading the description of the various elements it is impossible to distinguish them.

Almost all the wearable garments collected do not even have a model in the view of the three-dimensional world, and are shown in the shape of a huge backpack (!?!).
In this regard, the section dedicated to clothing worn is even worse: seven colorless slots, without explanation. If you wear a piece of clothing the related slot will "light up", but does not show the icon of the worn object.
We really were incredulous before this component of the game, which is really rough, ugly and not very functional; the developers, obviously, have considered it an unimportant element for gameplay: we do not really agree.

There is an automatic map function that is very useful to avoid getting lost in the proposed dungeons, and is simply activated during the initial tutorial.

It's a kind of magic

The magic is composed in two ways: through the sticks, and through the runes (concept borrowed from the old Ultima). The rods are inexhaustible objects, which can compose a unique spell (consuming mana), while through the runes you can compose any magic, but you must first find them and then discover the combinations. Generally these are found on graffiti painted in the walls (since the scrolls do not exist in this game).
The spells are indeed a bit 'weird, apart from the classic cure, there are some on the genre "Move Wood", which allows you to grab a wooden object in the distance, or "Flaming Globe" which produces a ball of fire without of gravity, which can be collected and launched like a stone (but what's the use?). Even here, obviously, since there is no property or magic card, sometimes you find yourself a bit lost and to be able to discover the function of a certain spell you need to do some field tests.
The mana is really limited, barely enough to do two spells in a row; this makes spells impractical to combat, but only in cases of real utility to solve puzzles.

Technical department

Those who have developed and decided to release Underworld Ascendant in these conditions really have some guts. Considering that it is a game developed with Unity, certainly not expected a graphic worthy of God Of War, but here it is not even the mediocre. Let's start by saying that environments, light effects and textures are at times pleasing, but very little different: after doing over 10 different levels we always find ourselves facing the same enemies and in similar settings.
The graphic style proposed is completely off topic: unrealistic like the old Ultima but in a sense more like a cartoon. To make a comparison is how to compare Torchlight with Diablo 3.

Apart from the unmanageable inventory, we can make a list of practically unlimited problems: the unrealistic and uncertain movements of the character, bats that cross walls and floors, elements of the landscape superimposed on others, immobile animals that collect as objects. Sometimes the inventory is not emptied by reloading the bailouts and you find yourself with duplicate objects, you also experience inexplicable framerate drops (sometimes under 1 fps - prepare your best ALT + F4 for these occasions), unaligned textures that show the empty behind walls and floors, enemies that fight each other for no reason, invisible barriers that do not let us pass on roads already traveled, columns that vanish in the void before your eyes, rivers of lava where objects float unharmed, etc. In short, we have made the idea.

The audio section is composed of a single delightful music in the title screen, remake of the theme of Ultima Underworld, and a series of sound effects that float in modesty; the latter are few and not very inspired, and sometimes they have inadequate volumes, such as when we hear very loud sounds of burning objects, tens of meters away. The voices of our mentor and the villain are quite convincing (the voice of Typhon, deliberately, is very similar to the Guardian of the various Ultima, especially in laughter).


In conclusion...

Perhaps it is not necessary to add anything else. Underworld Ascendant is little more than a hasty and scrappy demo. Let's recap: a trivial story, an embarrassing interface, a plethora of endless bugs, an inadequate AI and very little variety of objects, enemies and settings.
We could rarely see such a low level realization without the appellation of Early Access, a fact that unfortunately shows how the developers are perhaps not completely interested in completing their work (among the Acknowledgments proposed in the initial menu there are also a certain number of people dedicated to the "Quality Assurance" - we have to ask what they have played for).

As avid fans of the classic series of Ultima, after the disappointment of Shroud Of The Avatar we had a strong hope in this title, but unfortunately we are forced to reject it, across the board.

WE LIKE

The title screen music is a delightful tribute to Ultima Underworld.
Interaction with objects pleasant, even if uncertain.

WE DO NOT LIKE

Far from the atmospheres and settings of the original Underworld
Awkward inventory.
Almost every aspect of the game is full of bugs and flaws.
Clearly automatic Italian translation, sometimes incomprehensible.

Conclusions

Difficult to find a reason to buy a game designed and made so bad. Under these conditions, perhaps it would be better to remove it from sale, or at least review it as early access. You decide if you are willing to bet on the resolution of all the problems that are afflicted, because, basically, some ideas were good.


3.5/10

https://www.cyberludus.com/2018/11/underworld-ascendant-recensione/

 

[rusty_shackleford]

inxile is probably happy that at least their game won't be remembered as the biggest RPG disappointment of 2018

 

[RNGsus]

So this guy rates a game 2/5 that's designed so poorly it should be difficult to justify purchasing? That is a clear , and "take your game back and finish it this time".

 

[BEvers]

So this guy rates a game 2/5 that's designed so poorly it should be difficult to justify purchasing? That is a clear , and "take your game back and finish it this time".

Italian magazine reviewing a game from an Italian publisher.

 

[†††]

I don't know why people still fall for nostalgiabux attempts. It ends badly all the time

 

[glass blackbird]

inxile is probably happy that at least their game won't be remembered as the biggest RPG disappointment of 2018

This makes Fargo's crowdfunding scams look honest

 

[bataille]

Only those who adapt prosper

I doubt even Prosper could adapt to such grueling conditions!

 

[Background Character]

I installed UA but I haven't played it yet, my cursor hasn't even come close to the icon I am scared of it.

I can't uninstall it either. It's gonna live in my pc forever.

 

[agris]

Take the 8 minute challenge. You’ll change your tune.

 

[Doctor Sbaitso]

I don't know why people still fall for nostalgiabux attempts. It ends badly all the time

Because when you have disposable income there is no risk and projects such as this (albeit failed) would not have gotten off the ground without it.

 

[newtmonkey]

Bought this on a lark while drunk thinking I could at least laugh at it while getting more drunk. This is on the level of some asset flip. IMMEDIATELY after starting I get caught trying to walk up a slight incline in the ground, I thought it was an invisible wall, but after turning the camera to and fro and switching between crouching and jumping, I was able to break free and finally walk down a corridor.

Stacking and climbing boxes is simply a comedy. It reminded me instantly of Jurassic Park Trespasser.

The save system is even worse than the one in BT4. Everyone's already covered it a million times in this thread, but it particularly stings during the tutorial and first area, where it seems you basically need to complete the whole thing before you reach a checkpoint. At least in BT4, you can quit the game and you'll be in the same exact spot when you restart (or, if you are really paranoid, you can travel back a couple minutes and touch a save point).

I had a growing suspicion that the game would be 7-10 hours of smacking skeletons on the head, slowly burning down doors, and shooting water arrows at lamps, so I quit while I still can and refunded the game.