Don't judge a game by its name, Ascendant Infinity is nowhere near as dull as it sounds

I can't think of a worse name than Ascendant Infinity for a game about high-action, tactical shooting, PvPvE chaos on a procedural map with a brash and loud, 80s inspired aesthetic. Like, what does Ascendant Infinity even mean? It's a nonsense name that really doesn't sell how energetic and fun this upcoming title can be!

A quick search in our CMS brings up a bunch of games with 'Ascend' in the name – Ascend New Gods, Ascend: Hand of Kul, Ark: Survival Ascended, Astria Ascending, Tribes Ascend, Underworld Ascendant. They're all as uninspired as Ascendant Infinity and honestly, the word Ascend is the ass end of where you should be looking to find a standout name for a game like this one.

Ascendant Infinity is such a snoozefest to read that my eyes nearly glazed over when I read the invite to the recent hands-on session that I attended. If it hadn't been for the cheesy, 80s sitcom stylized trailer that accompanied the email, I probably would have politely declined it, but you know what? In the end I'm glad I didn't because, as bad as Ascendant Infinity's name is, I had a lot of fun playing two matches of the game's core multiplayer mode, Battle for the Biocore.

Now, I'm a sucker for 80s nostalgia. Far Cry Blood Dragon, Stranger Things, Turbo Kid, anything like that instantly has my attention and, as you'll see from my gameplay, Ascendant Infinity is dripping with neon pinks and purples, synthwave soundtracks and more glam rock mullets than you can shake a spacehopper at. That also means that, if unlike me you hate that kind of thing, you are not going to like this one bit – that faux 80s aesthetic is everywhere and I mean everywhere – especially when it comes to character customization.

Ascendant Infinity's core gameplay is based around a mode called Battle for the Biocores. Here, 4 teams of 3 battle it out on a single map called Harmony in order to steal and process things called Biocores, which hold a super vaulable resource called Amber. Depsite the tactical nature of the gameplay, Ascendant Infinity is an arcade shooter with a heart, so that means things like no fall damage and no friendly fire. Think Apex Legends but without the 'royale' part.

Instead, Battle for the Biocores is a bit like Capture the Flag, with each team spawning on different ends of the map and then racing to capture the three Biocores that spawn in random locations. Once one Biocore is captured it will disappear from the match for good so the action ramps up as the number of available Biocores drops and more teams start scrapping for those that are left.

This, combined with the procedural nature in which the Harmony map changes each time you play on it, should make each match of Ascendant Infinity feel different from the last. You see, it's not just the paths and the way through Harmony that are randomized, some buildings are closed off during one match and then open the next. Each map also features multiple dynamic events too, like giant monsters called Burrowers, which, when defeated, drop loads of high level loot including level 4 armor and a BFG-like gun called the Hyper Cannon that can down enemies in one shot.

One of the coolest moments in my hands-on (and you can watch it in the video above) happened during the first match I played. I was guided to a big airstrike building near the center of Harmony by the team I was playing with and, once there, we were able to use a giant map on the wall to select our enemies location in real time and then drop an airstrike on their heads. This building wasn't there the second time I played but, in a different location, we found an EMP launcher that, when fired, launched a mine that took down our enemies shields whenever they came close to it.

This procedural nature should hopefully bring a lot of replayability to the single map that the Ascendant Infinity offers, but it's not just the Battle for the Biocores game mode that has some unique little touches. The main lobby for the game, the underground vault where your character wakes up after being frozen for 1000 years, has a fair few distractions in there to help pass the time between matches.

You can take part in games of Hide 'n' Seek, which will help you realize just how large this lobby actually is. There are loads of little nooks and crannies to crouch in and I even stumbled across some kind of underground cavern complex while searching for 'Hiders' so you won't be short of places to hide if you decide to take part. Not only that though, you can also challenge other people in the lobby to 1v1, 1st kill wins duels in a special little side arena that other players can spectate on. This is a great way to practice your shooting skills while also trying out any new modifications you've made to your weapon of choice.

There's loads more to Ascendant Infinity than just the points I've just listed though, so I'd urge you to check out my preview video above if you want the full lowdown (shoutout to the vehicles which are a load of fun too!) .

If you'd like to try out Ascendant Infinity for yourself, I was told to expect a closed beta on PC within the month and a launch into Early Access sometime around May or June.