There’s a new Affinity System being added to the lovely 2D action roguelite, Astral Ascent, and this synergy-inducing feature is the standout addition in the 1.3 update that just dropped (on PC, it’ll follow on console platforms hereafter).
Before we get to that, however, if you’ve wandered in here without a clear idea of what Astral Ascent is: it’s a 2D roguelite with excellent pixel-art and an emphasis on challenging combat gauntlets and boss battles. It’s all wrapped up in a lovely zodiac theme and lots of eye-popping magic spells. Check out the Rogueliker review for more info!
Astral Ascent’s Affinity System
As detailed by the developer, the “game now suggests slightly more often loots that could synergize with [the] player’s build.”
The new system “increases synergies of the loots depending of your current build so you are more likely to make a fully coherent build at the end of your run. Keep in mind that keeping some flexibility on the loots you find is still important, if you find something very powerful, you might still want to re-orient your build during your run!”
There is loads more to unpack, but it’s clear that emphasis of the 1.3 update is community requested features, and ways of helping players get to the best parts of the game.
One key improvement is that players will now be able to earn up to three so-called Destiny Fragments per Zodiac victory. Now, if you can stretch yourself a bit further and tackle a boss at a higher level, you can get more fragments (up to 15 per run).
On top of that there are improved descriptions across in-game effects, player statuses, and elite aspects. I also like the addition of an option to toggle on a spell icon above your character, so you know at a glance what magic you’re rocking. You can also turn the background darker, to increase visibility and contrast.
Astral Ascent’s Arsenal Update
Finally, Hibernian Workshop also teased us with information about the 1.4 update, also know as the Arsenal Update.
According to the devs, this next update will give each hero two new weapons and three new passives, thus “modifying [the] gameplay of each hero, including for their base weapons.”
Ayla will get a katana, Kiran is getting double falchions, Calie will gets new spears, and Octave is getting a rocket launcher and a gunblade.
The plan is to get this weaponised update out by the end of April, 2024. In the meantime, all the patch notes you could possibly need are waiting for you over on Steam.
P.S. The below embedded video is by a fellow content creator called Gellot, who was sponsored by Hibernian Workshop to bash up the bosses in the game without getting hit. If you want to get better at this challenging action-platformer, you’ll get a few tips simply by watching this video (which is riddled with spoilers, I should add).
