Hi everyone, ⋆˙⟡ We’ve been hard at work polishing ASCEND and learning so much along the way. We’re a small, no-budget indie team who built this game out of love, and we’re honestly so proud of how far it’s come. Thank you so much for the patience, feedback, and support that helped us able to focus on our priorities for bugfixing.
This update fixes a lot of the issues you’ve been reporting - especially around controller navigation, puzzle stability, and performance. Annnnnnd, we've added a few Halloween surprises to discover too 👀.
Oh, and one more thing… Ascend has been nominated for Best Indie Game Made in The North 2025! 🏆WAHHHHH! ⋆⭒˚.⋆ You can support us by voting here 👉Vote for Ascend
Every vote means the world to us! And we’re truly here to stay. 💫
🎃Halloween Event🎃
Pumpkins have appeared throughout the Fire Level!
Collect them as you play. Every 5 pumpkins triggers a surprise.
Gather 20 pumpkins and press P to unlock something very special.
A Halloween-themed Tarot Card is hidden somewhere in the level. Can you find it?
Tutorial
The Starweaver was lingering on screen when interacting with the Gaia statue.
Pass on the twilight crystal tutorials.
Gotten rid of the VFX when you pick up the flowers.
Text on tutorials should be bigger.
Flowers have had a pass to show up correctly when picked up.
🐏Aries Puzzle🐏
Made the pressure plates go down when you step on the reset or push the blocks on the puzzle ones.
Added noise in for the reset button on the Aries puzzle.
Pass on Aries puzzle for sound and controller.
Dialogue pass.
🐂Taurus Puzzle🐂
Messaging on the Taurus quest is better.
Re-arranged the area to now include pickables.
Re-arranged the area to now show where you put the Yaks.Dialogue pass.
🦁Leo Puzzle🦁
It says "that’s not right" when you add the telescope lens to the telescope. Adjusted. 💅🏼
Reminder to switch to daytime if you haven’t done so yet in the Leo puzzle or delete the riddle.
Added audio messaging of the sun beam powering down when you exit daytime, while the sun beam is active.
'Sparking' particle effect was not appearing when in daytime, and sunbeam glass has been added.
Pass on the Leo puzzle from an audio perspective.
🦀Cancer Puzzle🦀
Terrain pass on the platforming area for the moon fragment.
The crab claw moved, and platforming is now needed to find it.
The camera added when the crab claw let's go of the moon ball.
Moons have been adjusted when you pick them up.
Dialogue pass.
🦂Scorpio Puzzle🦂
Cleaned up of the waterfalls that disappear after activating the 3rd Scorpio pressure pad.
Switched the switches around for raising and lowering the water.
Riddles are now up to date on the Scorpio puzzles and provide better support on what you're meant to be doing.
The panic attack scene has been looked at. Adjusted the comic scene and 3D scene.
Dialogue pass.
♊Gemini Puzzle♊
Add in breaking building bits to the entrance.
Air Level (🏺Aquarius🏺 / Climbing Gorge)
Dialogue pass.
There were multiple areas where Aurora could go beneath the snow during the climbing gorge.
There was no dialogue on the first lines as Aurora approaches the Aquarius puzzle.
Water Level
The player was able to get underneath the split path area.
Waterfall VFX near the 1st pressure plate pad is too high.
Lighting Pass on the split path area.
Global / Cinematics / UI
Added riddle prompts to UIWidgets so they appear/show during cinematics correctly.
There are occasions where the player can sometimes not skip a cutscene. Fixed. 💅🏼
Pass on the panic attack scene.
The interact button stays when talking to Gaia.
If the player picks up the Moon Ball from the grove first, it doesn't update the mission. Fixed. 💅🏼
Books & Scrolls
Added all scrolls to the game.
Added in all books related to the Starsigns.
Polish & Misc Fixes
The main menu widget didn't stretch on the screen.
Music didn't play on the splash screen.
Community & Thanks
We’re still a small team doing our best with what we have, no external funding, just doing what we love, persistence (as much as we can handle!), and the belief that ASCEND can keep growing into something truly special. We’re aiming to add more content before the end of the year.
Come hang out, share your ideas, and show off your discoveries in our Discord:
👉 https://discord.gg/mNCRehKv Award Nomination
We’re honoured that Ascend has been nominated for Best Indie Game Made in The North 2025!
🗳️ Vote here: Vote for Ascend
🗓️ Voting closes: 10th November 2025
🏅 Winner announced: GaMaYo WX – 13th November 2025
Thank you for believing in us and for being part of this journey!!
Thanks, Nareice
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