Underworld Ascendant world-premiere hands-on: So far, it’s Underwhelm Ascendant

Enlarge (credit: OtherSide Entertainment)

SANTA MONICA, California-You'd be forgiven for losing track of Underworld Ascendant. The first-person RPG emerged in early 2015 as another entry in the "game-dev veterans launch a Kickstarter" fray, though this one stood out by emphasizing its Looking Glass Studios heritage. Some of the names behind the original Thief and System Shock games were back to try again, the game's Kickstarter campaign announced-and to renew the classic Ultima Underworld series, at that.

Many years later, a backer-only pre-alpha has been the only proof of life for this crowdfunded game, but that changed during a pre-E3 press event. There, we got to see exactly how Underworld Ascendant's promise of "no right way to play-only your way" has so far turned out.

In short: an action-RPG revelation this ain't, at least so far. And while standard-issue adventuring and a mountain of bugs in a preview aren't entirely uncommon, the latest build's issues make us wonder how, or in what state, Underworld Ascendant will launch this September.

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