Ascent DX

Crashing on a strange, alien world and taking on the role of a disorientated character is a rather well-used trope in Metroidvanias. The trouble is, it’s the perfect setup, giving the player a connection with the protagonist as both need to explore the unknown and make discoveries together. Ascent DX follows this trope to the letter, setting the scene of a pilot crash landing on a strange planet and given the task of exploring this unfamiliar environment to try and find a way home. 

The original Ascent was originally conceived at a LowResJam back in 2022. Solo dev Johan Peitz squeezed the development of the game into a two-week period, and the work paid off, finishing 5th overall in the competition. With Johan continuing to work on the game after the game jam finished, they are now ready to unleash the DX version of the game onto Steam for the first time.

The game itself follows a well-worn road for Metroidvanias. Explore different areas, encounter unreachable paths and items, and find new powers or upgrades. Use these upgrades to access those unreachable areas and explore more. But what I wasn’t expecting and something that this game has in abundance was heart. The way in which the story is told pulled at my heartstrings, and I was genuinely invested with the nameless protagonist and their plight. This was all the more impressive considering the average completion time for Ascent DX is 30–35 minutes, and it’s told through text, light radio messages, and our travellers own thoughts.

Part of this heartfelt journey consists of finding orbs scattered around the planet, with each telling a small part of a past civilisation’s story and asking for our friends’ help. The game includes different endings that depend on how many of the 8 orbs you collect, increasing my delight at how much more Johan has squeezed into this mini adventure. Of course, some orbs are not easy to access, with you needing certain abilities to reach them. 

These abilities consist of some fun upgrades that are unusual to the genre and kept the gameplay fresh throughout my play-through. What I loved was the emphasis on these powers changing our survivor in some kind of physical way, letting the player know that these are uncomfortable and are causing harm, but it is also a necessity if they are to escape back to their home and family. Take the first upgrade, which increases their arm muscles so you can grab hold of and pull yourself up onto higher platforms and an ability to drop dash-down large drops, which otherwise would kill you instantly. They continue to not only affect the way you transverse through the game, but they also weave themselves into the narrative in a satisfying way.

One other heartfelt element of Ascent DX was the radio messages that you received from home. These were available through finding power cells that are hidden throughout the world, and once found, they can be installed into your ship, increasing its power and its ability to receive radio signals. The contents of the messages might seem mundane, telling them about their garden or how they were being missed, but they set up what sounded like a happy life, which now seems completely out of reach, and I couldn’t help but feel sad for the situation that they had found themselves in. These power cells also helped to upgrade other parts of the ship, which will eventually give you a map and some other useful features. 

Throughout my play-through, I was constantly impressed with the level design. Every corner felt well thought out and enjoyable to explore, and the out-of-reach sections were well implemented. It’s one area that you can’t fail with, especially in a Metroidvania, and I am pleased to say it is a success here. The other impressive feat is how much bigger the game feels than it actually is, thanks to the mixture of big open areas and small, windy passages. When I did eventually gain access to the map, I was shocked to see just how small of an area the entire game actually is. 

Visually, Ascent DX may not resonate well with some. I can see the 64×64 pixel graphics being a bit of a turn-off. Personally, I thought they were great, lending a heavy lift to the ambience and giving the game this wonderful presence and charm. I found the details impressive throughout, from the clear changes in each biome landscape to the upgrade stations; it all oozed otherworldly, and it told the story in a uniquely perfect way. This feeling carried over into the soundtrack and sound design. The excellent chip tune music and effects were composed by VavMusicMagic, and they managed to capture the strangeness of it all through low-key background music that never grated on me and aided the atmosphere to thrive through the entire game. 

But, I did mention earlier that this was a DX version, bringing new features to the original, with the biggest being that this version is double the size of the Itch.io edition. Johan has also worked on improving the graphics, adding in more lore and challenges, and a very handy save feature. All in all, it’s a great little package that will be 100% free of charge upon release!