"An Undeniably Addictive Roguelike" - Astral Ascent Review

screenrant.com:

I wasn't expecting to hook me like it did, but Hibernian Workshop has combined nearly all the most entertaining aspects of games like ,, and in such a way that it has done something unthinkable in 2023 — it's gotten me interested in roguelikes again. It's not a perfect game, but with an undeniably addictive gameplay loop, great characters, and the addition of local 2-player co-op, it's impossible to call anything less than a great time.

begins with story beats that echo — the player is tasked with making their way through multiple types of worlds, guarded by god-like guardians, while trying to find a way to escape the astral prison they are stuck in. Unlike, however, isometric camera angles and members of the Greek Pantheon are nowhere to be found. Instead, it's the Zodiacs (Capricorn, Taurus, etc.) who serve as bosses, but rest assured they are every bit as fleshed-out and difficult to defeat as their Greco-Supergiant peers.

After the game's brief intro, players have the option to choose from two different characters, with an additional two available to unlock later on. Each character has their own fighting style and special ability, but I settled on Kiran (an orphan who genuinely loves training to fight more than most people love their own children, and looks remarkably similar to the design of the Prince in the original ) for the majority of my playthrough just because I found his interactions with the game's bosses and NPCs to be endearing and entertaining.

The four playable characters in are Ayla, Kiran, Calie, and Octave. Players begin as Ayla and will unlock Kiran once they reach the game's main hub.

Not only are NPCs fun to talk to, they are also incredibly well-designed. The game is stuffed with high resolution