Astral Ascent

After the free weekend, decided to make the purchase because I wanted to keep playing the game more. Which I wasn't expecting due to my multiple Rouge style games already installed lol! Rouge fatigue can be very real ha!.. It's a game that's difficult to understand when you watch videos of it, that might be its biggest hurdle. It can appear very "Spam everything you have till the screen is empty of baddies" look. Even after playing it, it took a few hours to actually understand what the heck is even going on. Because the games been out for a few years now and has had many updates, it throws a lot at you while you're still trying to piece together all the basic mechanics and what the heck things actually mean and do! But once it starts to click...Once it all starts to come together and you begin to grasp how to do proper builds and put the mechanics together...Its really something special! A lot of love has been poured into this. (+) Combat and spell synergies feel superb, especially once you start unlocking multiple weapons and putting it all together via synergies/combos. (+) I enjoy the art style and vibe. It's bright and colorful with some soothing music at times. Probably because I play a lot of 'Dark' games, its a nice change. (+) The story and character interactions are fun. Considering its a small team and limited budget, it gets the job done. Don't expect Hades level here but that game is also one of the holy grails of the genre too lol. Voice acting is also a nice touch! Only minor personal gripes is the UI can feel clunky at times with what can feel like a plethora of clicks and scrolling. There are quick "Collect all" QOL features built in at least, which keeps things flowing. The pacing can feel a tad erratic in combat style rooms with the amount of times you'll be stopping to upgrade your stats and spells. It's a game were these types of choices do matter, so you'll have to stop for a few moments and consider the paths and builds you're really aiming for (at least starting out). This complaint is likely due to me getting used to other Rouge-type games of just basic Don't think - click and go ha! This does incentivize exploration, so I understand the purpose/reward all things said. All in all, Very solid so far and deserves to be looked at in the upper echelon in regards in the genre!