Underworld Ascendant is the latest game from legendary
Deus Ex and
System Shock developer Warren Spector and
Ultima Underworld creator Paul Neurath.
Ascendant was released on PC last month, serving as a sequel to
Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, which was released in 1992. Spector and Neurath are not the only skilled developers who produced the game, as the OtherSide team also includes
Bioshock Infinite’s writer Joe Fielder and
System Shock’s lead designer Tim Stellmach.
Despite that incredible talent behind
Underworld, it launched as a buggy, almost unplayable mess that received terrible reviews from players and critics alike, currently sitting at a truly shameful 38% on Metacritic. While the video game still is far from being perfect, the studio believes in the title and announced that they are planning to "
address the concerns players have expressed and improve the game; making what is good about the game shine through more brightly."
"
We convinced ourselves that the game was in more robust shape than it actually was. Had we been more objective, we would have held off the launch and worked on the game longer. Instead we pushed hard and hit the planned November launch date," OtherSide said. Considering that
Ascendant couldn’t get any lower even if it tried, let's hope
Underworld will reach new heights in the near future.
From the creative minds behind the acclaimed Ultima Underworld series, in Underworld Ascendant, Paul Neurath and Warren Spector's OtherSide Entertainment is innovating upon the series’ signature player-authored gameplay in bold new ways and bringing the ‘immersive sim’ genre forward in a breathtaking fantasy realm, rife with danger and full of intrigue.
Underworld Ascendant was released on PC on November 15, 2018, coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch in 2019.