Underworld Ascendant Launch Trailer, Previews

Otherside Entertainment’s immersive sim Underworld Ascendant should be launching in less than two weeks, on November 15, 2018, acting as a successor of sorts to the beloved Ultima Underworld series. And if you’re curious to see the game in action and get a brief overview of its features, you should check out the official launch trailer:

And then, you can also read a couple of fairly positive previews:

Gamereactor offers an overview of the game’s systems:

Magic, stealth, and combat form the three pillars of gameplay in terms of the mechanics, so to complement these OtherSide provides you with an extensive skill tree to upgrade your character. We focused mainly on the latter two, and with stealth our first port of call was to unlock an ability that showed us how visible we were at any one time, which translated to an eye symbol on the screen which worked almost identically to the Elder Scrolls series. Then we unlocked an ability to deal extra melee damage on enemies whose backs were turned.

With regards to the combat skill tree, this is also similar to what you’ve seen in other RPGs, improving your potency with particular weapons as well as other elements like the speed of your swings. There’s a ton of stuff to unlock but as with any good RPG, you have to really think about how you invest your limited skill points to try and maximise the effectiveness of your chosen play style.

N3rdabl3 praises the game for its fresh ideas:

Besides those niggling issues, the game seemed very enjoyable and a lot more creative than your usual Elder Scrolls rip-off fantasy RPG. There are a lot of interesting ideas at play and the developers actually seem like they want to deliver a thoughtful, engaging challenge to the player. If you are in the market for a new RPG and are sick of endless fetch quests that only serve to pad out the experience, you should definitely consider Underworld Ascendant.

And TechRaptor mentions the game’s tutorial among other things:

The most notable change from my previous demos is that I was able to sample Underworld Ascendant‘s tutorial. This is especially vital in immersive sims, a genre where experimentation always trumps explanation. In this vein, Underworld guides you through a few scenarios with obvious solutions, but it doesn’t spell anything out for you. The player has to figure out what’s going on, and it’s a great way to acclimate those who are more used to hand-holding experiences. Even though this is my third time descending into the depths, the tutorial still had a few things to teach me. After finally getting a grip on the basics, I felt more than capable of jumping into later levels.

I hope that feeling carries through to the final product. I’m no expert at these sorts of games, just an interested participant. Still, I’m seemingly not in the target demographic for Underworld Ascendant. As I spoke with Warren Spector, Tim Stellmach and several others at the studio, one strong feeling came through. This is a game designed for veterans first and foremost. That might make sense if you consider the game’s Kickstarter origins, but I’ve found that its appeal could be wider.