Underworld Ascendant now surfacing in November
A little later than planned...
Several years after escaping the dungeon hell of Kickstarter but a little later than planned, Underworld Ascendant has announced a release date of November 15th. Y'know, the action-RPG coming from OtherSide Entertainment? Y'know, the studio co-founded by Ultima Underworld designer Paul Neurath and Deus Ex director Warren Spector? Y'know, whose legacies are felt in immersive sim-y elements from sneaking to stacking boxes to pass obstacles? That one, them lot, that stuff. Have a gander in the new trailer fresh out of Gamescom today.
It's a continuation of the Ultima Underworld games (without the Ultima name), see, and a first-person action-RPG immersive sim doodad. You're turned loose with goals to achieve but a fair degree of freedom in how to approach them, working as you please within intermeshing systems of physics and AI and whatnot. All those emergent toys: stacking, throwing, burning, splashing, shoving, distracting, stealing, manipulating, and who could forget murdering? Or that's the plan.
I've heard and read mixed reactions from folks who played preview versions and found the systems not that interesting to muck about with - and not much more effective than just murdering everything. Perhaps that's why this release date is a little later than planned; as recently as June it was slated to launch in September. Hopefully the extra time helps enough, as I don't want to live in a world where fire feels wrong.
Underworld Ascend is due on November 15th via Steam, priced at $30.