Quick Look: Ascend: Hand of Kul

I like Toy Soldiers, and this looks like it could be fun. I'll let this quick look persuade me one way or the other.

Why would you comment on a video before watching it? Oh wait.

I like it. Got in the beta and I had fun. Didn't get too far into it and didn't see much apparently compared to how much there is.

EDIT: I really liked how you could send enemies into passer-bys games.

Titans?!

I played this at PAX and it seemed fun.

I really liked that "run with the hatchet" joke that completely flew over Brad's head.

I've missed Brad-helmed Quick Looks. Welcome back, Brad!

The banishing stuff actually looks pretty fucking cool. Reminds me kind of the gravelord servant stuff from Dark Souls. Well, a lot of shit here takes inspiration from Dark Souls it looks like. Just saw it was out for windows too, might give it a go, looks interesting enough.

"I want more loot"

*Runs past 2 chests*

O Brad, you so silly.

This isn't like Dark Souls at all.

Go play Dark Souls and I dare you to compare them again. Want more loot?, look at the mini map for chests.

This looks like the worst thing ever. How about we combine every bad game design idea ever, and also make you pay for all of it? How about every 3 min we urge you to visit the store? Disgusting.

They're playing this junk instead of stuff like Wind Waker HD? Where yo priorities at?

"If you're at the point in your life where you have more time than money..."

Like say, during a government shutdown?

Also: lol at the the sheer amount of crap to manage/pay for.

Well, the gameplay of course isn't (looks rather cookie-cutter, like Overlord or something) but to be fair: sending monsters into another players world is kinda like DS' gravelord servent covenant.

Anyway, the F2P model means this game is automatically shit and not worth my time.

Really wish Brad wouldn't just jump to conclusions so much - I feel like he adopts a negative attitude almost immediately and then retains it regardless of whether his first thought on any given mechanic/function is actually correct.

I guess I'm also just sick of his snarky attitude for every game as default. I get that reviewers get jaded over the years but I feel like Brad either treats a game like it's one of the ten best of the year or it's total shit and there isn't an in between; he doesn't seem to have "fun" playing games unless the game is phenomenal in most regards (from his viewpoint).

have you considered that Wii-U games are a major fucking hassle because you have to bring your console everywhere you want to play the game due to nintendo's backwards ass infrastructure?

I don't know why they didn't try ascending when they were never going to play it again. That would have been instructional for the viewers.

I've been playing this for the past few days and I like it. It's pretty simplistic and grindy, but what's there is entertaining.

@benny: Nope, I hadn't considered that since I don't own a Wii U. But as far as I've gathered they usually play the games in the office anyway.

I came to post this exactly.

You couldn't be more wrong. I agree that free to play is normally terrible, I've never gotten into one before this. But they do free to play in a really fair way. I've played this for about 15 hours so far, haven't spent a single penny on it and I haven't felt like I was being forced to grind even once.

It's a really good game and assuming its garbage just because MOST free to play games are garbage isn't really fair.

Yep, just like during the GTA V multiplayer stream when he just reduced the whole thing down. Something like, "So... wait. Is this just team-based multiplayer modes that instance in the open world? I feel like I've been lied to," and then facepalmed. And it's just like... shut up, dude. Stop always looking at things so negatively. You haven't even gotten out of the tutorial missions during the intense, heavy load first day and you're already judging the game as a crapshoot. C'mon.

I wasn't going to watch this Quick Look anyway just because they post too many Quick Looks and videos and podcasts for me to consume in a day so I have to heavily prioritize, but your comment (and some others) solidified that this is definitely one to skip. Thanks, duder.

What's up with all these mediocre terrible medium-sized games lately? Were they inspired by Ride to Hell?!

I get what Brad's saying, this seems like Dark Souls filtered through Dynasty Warriors, which, if you're a Dark Souls fan, is the absolute worst.

I heard there was a PC version of this, but I can't seem to find it.

Is it a Windows 8 thing?

Looks competently made, but boring.

It's free to play though, so really who can complain?

Did someone say Dark Souls?

Wait, what the heck is this? GET THIS GARBAGE AWAY FROM ME

I've been playing this for a bit and still have no real idea what is exactly going on.

My anti-drug?

Ascend: The Hand of Kul.

(it's cheaper than cigarettes)

These guys (Brad) should put more time into games before playing them for a QL, so they are infuriating TERRIBLE at them! :P

@rcath said:

For the nonexistent quest, obviously.

The look of this game kind of reminds me of Overlord, except that game was charming and fun and this looks ugly and clunky.

I came here to post the exact same thing!

Whenever Brad likens anything to Dark Soul the comment section goes ape shit with "what the fuck is this" comments. though to be fair he likens a lot of things to Dark Souls despite never having played the damn game.

That apparition/multiplayer visual effect is quite shamelessly Dark Souls-esque.

The UI in general is pretty... euughhh. It looks like each piece of it was designed by someone different, with tons of conflicting typeface usage.

And I still resent the usage of the over-saturated XBox buttons in everything. There is no design that those don't conflict with.

Those are just my own pet peeves though.

Has some interesting concepts, but not a ton going on in this game. I suppose there are worse free to play games you could be playing.

All F2P games are garbage, except if the microtransaction part is of cosmetic nature only. Period.

@tikicobra: yea it is. i played it and was not a fan....

... is this the Giants: Citizen Kabuto spiritual successor I've been waiting for?

I am amused that the wretch/goblin mobs would basically be uber fast giant troll armies to the little dudes.

@draxyle: The xbox buttons might be a standards issue. I think Microsoft mandates certain button icons on XBox games, if I recall from Alpha Protocol. Could be just making things up, though.

The art style and what not of this game reminds me of Terry Gilliam films.

Ya, seems like they had some good ideas but poorly executed the game play. Looks really tedious to play. Could be alright if you want something mindless, though, i suppose.

@generalzod37: Is that an ICP joke? I feel like it might be an ICP joke.

Been playing this for a few days and it's... alright? I guess?

Most of the micro-transaction stuff can be ignored, but it's a huge grind early on if you do, since repairing your gear costs so many souls. It's pretty fun if you're looking for something simple to play for a few hours.

I've been stuck the point of my life where i have more time then money and have been for 15 years and no end in sight

I figured as much. Really a shame; I feel like those icons cripple the visual continuity of a whole lot of games. At least with the Playstation buttons the colors themselves are much less emphasized by default.

OMG! I'm so sick of these guys constantly say "Ummm ... I do know maybe I wish this was just $15 with no micro-transactions?" You never review games starting with "is this or is it not worth it's asking price." If you can't change your mind sets then just buy $15 worth of widgets to spend and then talk about whether or not it is worth it. Waxing on how you lament the change in a business model every single game is quickly losing it's charm.