Ascension is desperately in need of a clean tactical map, to sit alongside its moody isometric representation of the claustrophobic corridors. There’s a first-person camera shown at the top-right of the screen whenever a unit is selected, and it’s a lovely atmospheric touch that calls back to the 1993 adaptation and its panic-inducing time-limited engagements.
Robbing the Terminator player of the safety of a turn-based mode was the original computer adaptation’s big gamble. Each mission, crucially, still followed the formula explained above – control of space and perimeters – but planning for survival and victory was a panicked and pressured affair. Ascension doesn’t attempt anything quite so bold but does build on the boardgame and last year’s release by introducing persistent abilities and choices across three campaigns.
The campaigns work. Three Space Marine chapters are represented, with the Ultramarines a completely new addition (the others are last year’s Blood Angels and the Space Wolves, previously available as DLC). There are branching missions, weapon and skill upgrades and flash points at which mini-missions within missions are triggered, offering high risks for (possible) plentiful rewards.
It’s a rich bounty, with more than a hundred missions across the trio of campaigns, and Full Control have given their digital adaptation a life beyond the tight rules of the boardgame, without directly contravening or discarding them. As well as automating genestealer movement, in a similar fashion to the boardgame’s Deathwing expansion, Ascension adds layers of complexity in the guise of new weapon and enemy types.
However, no matter how intriguing the additions to the game are, the wrapper that contains it is about as robust as a balsa wood Logan Grimnar cosplay outfit. The combination of the sometimes illegible layouts and fog of war makes exploration a chore of zooming, checking and rechecking to make sure a misunderstanding won’t lead to the death of your whole squad. The interface, with radial buttons appearing when a Terminator is selected, is fiddly rather than entirely unfit for purpose, but even after hours of playing I was running up against the same misclicks and mild frustrations.
The consequence of one major complaint – the lack of a clear tactical map – and many minor complaints is that I’m reluctant to recommend Space Hulk Ascension, despite the hugely improved campaign structure and increased variety. There’s a good game hidden in the grimdark corridors, and it’s best qualities aren’t just borrowings from Games Workshop, but Ascension has taken two steps forward and one step back. And, as in the game, the backwards step is twice as costly.
