Underworld Ascendant

 PC
Metascore
37

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 19
  3. Negative: 14 out of 19
  1. Vandal
    Nov 21, 2018
    60
    If everything else worked as expected, it would be a great game, but at the moment all its good intentions fall behind too many technical issues.
  2. 4Players.de
    Nov 22, 2018
    59
    Really, I’ve had it with the premature release of unfinished projects and their bugs. But even when everything works, this is a rather mediocre fantasy adventure that vainly tries to recapture the fascination of an Ultima Underworld.
  3. GameStar
    Dec 16, 2018
    55
    Despite all the freedom for the player, Underworld Ascendant is a bug-spectacle that, in spite of its great looks, is more boring than thrilling.
  5. The Games Machine
    Dec 7, 2018
    50
    There’s a game behind the many issues and flaws of Underworld Ascendant; we just don’t know when (or if) we might see it one day.
  6. Multiplayer.it
    Nov 22, 2018
    50
    Underworld Ascendant is clearly an unfinished game, full of technical bugs and poor in content. This isnt’ the way backers and many fans of the series should have been treated.
  7. Everyeye.it
    Nov 25, 2018
    48
    Not even the evidence of an excellent level design resolves, therefore, the fate of a title that should have, together with System Shock 3 (which the same team is working on), revive the genre of immersive sims.
  8. 3DJuegos
    Nov 22, 2018
    45
    Underworld Ascendant is a good idea poorly executed.
  9. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 10, 2019
    40
    Technically unfinished RPG full of dubious content choices that kills the fun instead of expanding the legacy of Ultima Underworld. It’s not even a good RPG. [Issue#292]
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  10. SpazioGames
    Nov 27, 2018
    40
    Bad ideas and bad errors, with glitches and bugs. The feeling is of a game not completed, with no polishing at all.
  11. Eurogamer Italy
    Nov 21, 2018
    40
    Unfortunately the game is an unrefined mess, full of bugs, framerate drops and bad physics. It’s more a puzzle-platformer with stealth and some basic rpg elements instead of an rpg dungeon crawler, and it’s not so immersive and free as the developers think. Maybe it will be improved, in fact the graphic it’s good and so the locations design, but right now it’s not the spiritual successor that backers deserved.
  12. PC Games
    Dec 6, 2018
    35
    Even truckloads of patches couldn’t save this roleplaying mess from being one of the worst releases we’ve seen the entire year. Avoid at all costs.
  13. Screen Rant
    Dec 21, 2018
    30
    Every mechanic to the game needs drastic improvements, and it's just plain unfortunate that Otherside Entertainment released the game as-is.
  14. Wccftech
    Dec 2, 2018
    30
    Underworld Ascendant touches on something but never really grasps it. It doesn't utilise any of the improvements from its long absence from the industry and even falls flat compared to the game it is meant to be the successor of.
  15. IGN
    Nov 29, 2018
    30
    Underworld Ascendant is a buggy, repetitive, and boring mess of an RPG.
  16. PC Gamer
    Nov 21, 2018
    25
    Riddled with bugs and bizarre mechanics, Underworld Ascendant is a bafflingly poor debut from OtherSide Entertainment.
  17. Jeuxvideo.com
    Nov 30, 2018
    20
    The game is a failure due to an obviously rushed development from a team that is known to be skilled. Filled with bugs and poorly scenarised, it’s an RPG with a repetitive and bad combat system, set in a universe with a very limited art design.
  18. GameSpot
    Nov 21, 2018
    20
    Framed as a spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld, Underworld Ascendant misses the mark with almost every shot, much like my aforementioned hapless archer. At the same time, even freed from the expectations its historical baggage brings, it is a clear failure. The spirit of Ultima Underworld lives on elsewhere.
  19. CD-Action
    Feb 6, 2019
    15
    Underworld Ascendant is a disgraceful mess in terms of both design and execution. [01/2019, p.85]
    All this publication's reviews
  20. The Overpowered Noobs
    Dec 5, 2018
    10
    Underworld Ascendant is surprisingly unpolished and actively difficult to play. Without patches addressing the myriad bugs present in the current product, this one is a hard pass.
This publication does not provide a score for their reviews.
This publication has not posted a final review score yet.
These unscored reviews do not factor into the Metascore calculation.

In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Eurogamer
    Nov 29, 2018
    A blatantly unfinished and uninspired nostalgia project that sheds a certain, peculiar light on the immersive sim at large. [Eurogamer Avoid]

Awards & Rankings

94
#94 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
88
#88 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
2.1

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 47 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 47
  3. Negative: 38 out of 47
  1. GameLord3000
    Nov 19, 2018
    0
    This "game" is neither a RPG nor an Underworld successor, it is just an unfinished Unity project made by amateurs. The developers gave theirThis "game" is neither a RPG nor an Underworld successor, it is just an unfinished Unity project made by amateurs. The developers gave their backers dozens of promises how great this is going to be, experimenting with the environment, immersive sim, honoring Ultima Underworld, having all the old veterans on board, this game will be a blast. Not a blast, just blabla. Forget about the name, forget about the veterans, just look at the game itself, it is absolutely underwhelming. Can you imagine having to revisit half a dozen levels again and again to collect a worthless item for non-existing parties and all this without a functioning save system? And what about the hundreds of bugs: AI, physics, items, level geometry, all messed up. How dare these "developers" charging any money for that?… Full Review »
  2. Ereborn389
    Nov 18, 2018
    0
    The countless bugs are just the tip of the iceberg. The game itself is the most boring RPG I've played in the last 20 years: after playing forThe countless bugs are just the tip of the iceberg. The game itself is the most boring RPG I've played in the last 20 years: after playing for a few hours I had to realize that the game designers want me revisit the same small and few levels again and again just to find meaningless objects for a faction that is not present in any way. And the quests aren't given by a NPC, no, you have to pick a letter from a wall. Is this good quest and story design, why should I be motivated to spend another minute with this game? There are other games like Diablo where it can be fun to take the same quests repeatedly just to get better equipment with harder enemies but in this game the very few items look all the same and have no visible benefits, the enemies and environments are the same all the time. There are games, especially multiplayer games, where the concept of taking countless generic missions can be fun IF the rest of the game is rewarding. But for a game that claims to be an immversive RPG this is a disgrace. Please, OtherSide Entertainment, tell me where the entertainment lies and what this "game" has to do with a RPG? This is the weakest RPG game design I've ever witnessed for a game that costs 30 $.… Full Review »
  3. mau_v
    Nov 19, 2018
    3
    Feels more like an unfinished, uninspired technical demo than an actual game. The first two leves (out of eight, including the hub) areFeels more like an unfinished, uninspired technical demo than an actual game. The first two leves (out of eight, including the hub) are almost ok, even though filled with bugs, but the others are clearly unfinished. Movements are clunky (you get stuck in the environment quite often); the much vaunted physics system is broken and not funny; the game lacks a meaningful save system; the missions are just a bunch of semi-random fetch quests, where you have to go through the same levels over and over, and the levels will reset after each visit (i. e. the enemies you killed, the doors you burned down, the chests you looted are all back again, like nothing happened). Finally, the user interface feels cheap: many objects share the same icon and the inventory slots give you no clear indication about the kind of protection currently in use (be it leather or steel).… Full Review »
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