Darkblade Ascent

Darkblade Ascent is a dark-fantasy action game built around strategic melee combat. You fight through hostile locations, learn enemy attack patterns and decide when to dodge, parry, use your ultimate ability or strike. Each run brings randomized layouts, weapons and upgrades, so you adapt your tactics and build as you go.

Combat and builds

Choose how to shape your character as you play. You can focus on elemental abilities or physical damage, dart around enemies and attack from range with spears, or use massive axes to deliver slower, heavier blows. Combat rewards reading enemy patterns and choosing the right moment to act.

Weapons and upgrades

Weapons and upgrades drop from monsters and for completing stages. Their combinations of appearance and stats are randomized, and the selection you find changes from run to run. Weapons include two-handed swords, fast spears that keep enemies at range, and slow but powerful axes.

Classes and talents

You unlock classes as you progress, each with its own talent tree and game-changing effects. At each stage, choose one upgrade from three randomly presented options. Classes include fire mages who use large area attacks, burning damage and multiple projectiles; lightning users who shock enemies and make them vulnerable to melee attacks; and frost specialists who apply chill and freeze effects to slow enemies.

Locations and enemies

You fight through hand-crafted dark-fantasy locations with randomized layouts, including dark dungeons filled with aggressive skeletons, abandoned medieval villages, derelict cathedral libraries and courtyards, and gloomy cemeteries. Enemies have individual abilities and attack patterns, so you use different tactics against different foes. Bosses have several phases that require strategic responses.

Progress between runs

Death is not the end of progression. You gain experience the longer you stay alive and can improve your character after each playthrough with perks from the talent tree, making it more powerful and better prepared to advance further.