The first thing that’s sure to grab you about Ascendant Infinity is just how 80s everything feels. This is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the end of the world didn’t happen now in our time of rapidly advancing AI and robotics, but rather saw the last vestiges of mankind put into a cultural stasis in the era of cheesy sitcom title music, ludicrously big hair, synths and bumbags. Also, wildly advance biotech
You see, the game’s history diverged from our own back in the early 1900s with a combination of both manmade and natural disasters shoving us down a different path in a period known as The Cascade. Through this there were huge investments in biotech, which naturally led to bioweapons, and those naturally led to wars that worsened the situation, until the only option left was for the privileged few to be shoved into cryosleep and wait until things (hopefully) get better.
Even those best laid plans don’t quite go to plan, so while each vault’s Earthtree is planted a few hundred years later, starting to clean the soil and water, you don’t wake up until around 1000 years later than intended. And now there’s a fresh war for resources between the various vaults.
Ascendant Infinity puts a fresh spin on the sandbox of online first person shooters. Instead of a joining the throngs of battle royale attempts, or going old school with more simple head-to-head game modes, it’s a fusion of the two styles. This is a 3v3v3v3 competitive game with PlayFusion unashamedly referring to Apex Legends in terms of the gunplay feel that they’re going for, but there’s a different ethos for the game structure, both in terms of objective and how the map changes between rounds.
Each mission takes you to the nearby Earthtree of Harmony, where all the survivors have mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind a bounty of previous Biocore Amber that is the vital resource to your own continued survival. The goal is to get in, get a Biocore and get it back out, but there’s only enough juice for three cores, and there’s four teams. Someone is going to go without… but it’s going to be rare for an easy extraction, because once that first core has been lifted, there’s now four teams fighting over two cores, and then just one.
PlayFusion brand Ascendant Infinity as an ‘Adaption Shooter’, but what does that really mean? Well, instead of having a Battle Royale style ring closing in on you, instead the map of Harmony has different areas and potential events that can open up depending how the AI game director chooses to remix it each time. A lot of these can be triggered and directed by the players, with things like missile strikes, EMPs, bosses and hulking great big vehicles all liable to appear.
It might feel like a no-brainer to launch missiles at rival teams – you even get a handy map that pinpoints them for you to target – but at the same time, this reveals your position and gives another team the opportunity to come in and try to get one over on you. It’s the same story with the Biocores, with a carrier pinpointed for rivals and it taking time to first extract the amber from the randomised repository, and then to load it into your base vehicle. You’ll have to look before you leap if you want to win.
Ascendant Infinity goes all in on player customisation as well – there’s no predefined heroes here, or specific character classes. You can pick up to four passive Perks that will boost your character and let you really define your role in the team, and there’s a fifth booster in the form of a BioCore ability that gives you a big enhancement if you’re the designated BioCore carrier.
Even the weaponry is fully customisable with a bunch of different parts and tech that you can apply to a gun – take a sniper rifle and make it a long-range boom stick, add poison to your SMG’s bullets, and so on. However, to ensure there’s a more level playing field, you don’t have your customised guns right from the off, and have to purchase them mid-match. The more powerful your weapon, the more it will cost to grab from the weapon station, meaning that your favourite gun could end up as more of a late game call-in that leaves you a bit weaker in the earlier stages.
Another factor is that, even if you and your team die, you aren’t out for the count. You’ve got multiple lives and when you respawn, you’ll still have the guns and improved shields that you unlocked through the match. Naturally you’ll have lost time and position on the map, but a little like a MOBA, you’ll have the chance to claw your way back into the fight.
Honestly, it’s probably a little bit unfair to talk about Ascendant infinity in terms of other games and genres, but PlayFusion’s taken and thrown all of these influences into the melting pot to create something that’s new and distinct. If you’re looking for that next game to break up the battle royale or boomer shooter grind, then Ascendant Infinity might just be it.
Asscendant Infinity is heading into Early Access on PC and Mac later this year, with a PlayStation and Xbox version then planned for the game’s full launch. Before that though, a Closed Beta test is coming soon, and you can register your interest at ascendant.com.
