Underworld Ascendant
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video game development |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Founder | Paul Neurath |
| Headquarters | United States |
Key people | Paul Neurath |
| Products | Underworld Ascendant |
Underworld Ascendant is a first-person action role-playing game developed by OtherSide Entertainment and published by 505 Games. Serving as a follow-up to Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss and Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, the player takes on the role of the Avatar who ventures back into the Stygian Abyss. The title focuses on open-ended progression, simulated systems, and emergent gameplay. It was released for Microsoft Windows on November 15, 2018.
Gameplay
Character creation allows players to assign skills freely without adhering to predefined classes, continuing the design philosophy of the original Underworld series. Gameplay unfolds from a first-person viewpoint. Within the Stygian Abyss, three factions—the Dark Elves, Dwarves, and Shamblers—compete for dominance; players’ alignments with these groups impact interactions and NPC behavior.
The game’s "Improvisation Engine" models complex systems that enable multiple unscripted methods to overcome obstacles, encouraging emergent gameplay rather than fixed puzzle solutions.
Development
Paul Neurath, who designed the original Underworld titles, obtained a license from Electronic Arts in 2014 permitting use of the Underworld universe and lore but excluding the Ultima trademark. He established OtherSide Entertainment and revealed Underworld Ascension in July 2014.
In February 2015, OtherSide launched a Kickstarter campaign with a $600,000 goal, ultimately raising $860,356. However, certain stretch goals such as modding tools and cooperative multiplayer were not funded. Neurath deliberately kept the development budget lean to cater to a specialized RPG audience instead of aiming for broad commercial appeal.
The development team consisted of six members working closely with veterans from Looking Glass Studios including Tim Stellmach, Steve Pearsall, and Robb Waters. Austin Grossman and Warren Spector served as advisors. Additional funding beyond Kickstarter reached over $932,000 through direct sales. In August 2017, publishing responsibilities were taken on by 505 Games.
Early in 2018, Fullbright contributed to level design and environmental art via Nina Freeman, Tynan Wales, and Kate Craig. Although initially scheduled for a September 2018 launch, the Windows edition was released on Steam on November 15, 2018. Ports for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One arrived in June 2019, followed by Linux and macOS versions in August 2019.
Reception
At launch, Underworld Ascendant was met with largely unfavorable reviews, holding a Metacritic rating of 37/100. Reviewers criticized its incomplete condition, numerous bugs, and missing features. IGN labeled it as "just broken," while GameSpot pointed out its widespread lack of polish. Rock, Paper, Shotgun declined to review the game altogether, stating it was "not in a fit state to be released." The save system attracted significant negative feedback for forcing players back to level beginnings regardless of progress made.
On February 14, 2019, Otherside Entertainment released a substantial update that addressed many issues. This patch introduced a proper free save system, reworked level layouts and pacing, enhanced gameplay mechanics and enemy AI behavior, improved lighting effects, and resolved numerous bugs.
External links
- Articles with short description
- 2018 video games
- 505 Games titles
- Action role-playing games
- Dungeon crawler games
- Immersive simulation games
- Kickstarter-backed video games
- Linux-compatible games
- MacOS-compatible games
- Single-player games
- Ultima series
- Video games developed in the USA
- Windows-compatible games
- Ultima (series)