The wizard Savant is jettisoned from his tower by a malicious orb which turns his surrounding into enemies. Now he must ride the elevator back up while dodging and shooting waves of enemies. Savant Ascent is a fast-paced action shooting game, a collaboration between indie developer D-Pad Studios and Norwegian dubstep artist Aleksander Vinter aka SAVANT. The game’s protagonist is even pulled from the cover of Savant's fifth album, Alchemist, designed by D-Pad Studios' art director Simon S. Andersen. Savant Ascent first launched on PC, Mac and Linux as well as iOS and Android in December 2013.
Savant is centered in the middle of the screen, with two placement options that player can swap between with quick hops or rolling dodges. Use the mouse to aim and shoot, holding down the left mouse button to rapid fire. Enemies stream in from all sides, most of them pretty simple, quickly-dispatched things and Savant must blast them all. Managing some of the more frenzied segments with such a boxed in moveset can be frustrating, but just as often, the restrictions add to the game’s tension and excitement. Also, hoping quickly between the two platforms becomes the key to survival. Get hit three times and it’s game over. Players have to start from the beginning of the last stage the next time they play.
The game is divided into three modes; Story Mode, Time Attack and Endless. The second and third modes are self-explanatory: beat the game as fast as you can, and survive for as long as possible, respectively. Story Mode plays out through three acts; the opening area at tower’s base, the rapid upward climb, and the final battle against the boss at the pinnacle. Along the way certain enemies will hold golden CD fragments that once all collected can grant new abilities and new soundtrack for the background. While selecting which CD to play is purely an aesthetic choice, it also determines the movement of enemies. Trying to earn new skills is risky, but new skills are always useful in getting farther and makes the game more manageable in later playthroughs.
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