A Thug’s Ascension is by all intents and purposes a game that should not have worked. Yet here it is. A slow paced Crime Drama with a cinematic approach, dialogue-driven story, intense fps moments and driving gameplay. Everything that the developer set out and promised to deliver.
It’s not a perfect game by any means, but it works. It also has moments that are not great, but it still works.
Screenshots led me to believe this would be a janky mess as if it was straight out of a random Roblox directory. So I came in expecting a rough time. But that was far from the case.
And while I'm positive this art style will push a lot of potential gamers away, by the time I made it to the end it had grown on me. The large blocky shapes and awkward character models gave everyone this quirky quality. That paired with the low poly environments created this mismatched cohesion bringing a schoolyard charm to serious moments and had charming moments feel more personal. All this came from a feature of the game that on paper shouldn't have worked.
As the events of the story played out, all these rough and tough characters straight from the ghetto swore and cursed at each other while discussing progressively darker topics. And I’m
pretty sure it’s that stark contrast between the atmosphere and art style that made its story and world work so well together. In the heat of those moments I couldn't get enough of it.
On the other end of the spectrum, I struggled the most with the writing of its dialogue. Which unfortunately was a large part of the game. The story was dark, well thought out and fairly complicated. Everything I would want from a good solid crime drama. It just had a lot of filler and padding between all of the important parts.
In my YouTube review I mentioned this caused a problem where I had no idea how to differentiate between what was important and what wasn’t. So most things ended up feeling pointless until proven otherwise. As a result, I didn't know what I should be remembering or focusing on. Some of what I thought was important ended up meaning nothing and then other information was lost all together. Or at least I think that’s the case. There were a few characters that kept getting referenced but I could never remember who they were or why they were significant.
I don’t mind when things are slower paced. I’m a huge fan of casual farming sims that are just slow in general. I’m also a fan of taking side quests in RPGs so I can learn more about the game's world and the people that inhabit it. But in those situations, I get to choose when I consume extra content in those games. I get to choose to focus on the main story. That makes a world of difference.
When it comes to a text only story focused linear game, you don’t get to control the pace. The pace is controlled and decided for you. How it delivers information, when it delivers information, and how much information it delivers needs to be balanced. Imagine following a recipe for baking a chocolate cake and then part way through the instructions it starts explaining how to peel a carrot even though there’s no carrots in the recipe for the cake.
- side note, in some ways that sounds kind of funny and appealing in its own weird way. It would be like baking on hard mode. But that’s not the point I was trying to make xD
I hope I get the chance to experience more games like A Thug’s Ascension. Ones with darker stories that take darker turns I wasn't expecting with art styles that I start out disliking and grow to love by the end of it.
If you’re still on the fence on whether you should try this game or not I have a simple way to help your decision. Just ask yourself what kind of gamer you are. If you’re hard core into experiencing everything gaming has to offer, then pick it up and push through it. It’s definitely a unique game. And if you are the kind of gamer that isn’t a sociopath hellbent and focused on playing games that are somewhat experimental, then let it pass by. There’s so many other games out in the world that you’ll be alright.
For adding this game into the spreadsheet, I’m going to have to give it a solid 3/5. If I was half way through the game it would be a 2/5. But now that I’ve completed it, it's a 3.
But hey, if you made it to the last part of this article, hello! I’d love to know about a time in your gaming history where a game took you by surprise when it hit you with some darker twists!
I talk about Life is Strange a lot when it comes to games like this so instead I’ll mention a game that’s kind of similar but also slightly different. Heavy Rain. From the earliest moments it kept delivering progressively darker and darker moments. Each time leaving you with the thought of, “my god. At least it can’t get any worse than this.” It was a special gem. JASON!! Take me to your YouTube review now! I'd want to go back to the top.
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