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Underworld Ascendant gets its first trailer

by: Sean Colleli -
More On: Underworld Ascendant

Warren Specter, legendary creator of Deus Ex, System Shock and most pertinently Ultima Underworld, has been working on multiple new projects but a lot of them are starting to look trapped in development hell. Thankfully we're getting a first look at Underworld Ascendant, the Ultima reboot Specter has been developing with Otherside Entertainment. This new trailer shows off multiple combat and puzzle solving scenarios and the game looks to be pretty far along in Alpha stage at this point. Ultima Underworld predated Doom and pioneered many of the staples of first person RPGs, so it looks like Underworld Ascendant is going for that same gameplay mix.

I'm glad at least one of Specter and Otherside's projects is coming along as fans have been waiting years for anything concrete to surface. It's clear Underworld is their focus right now but I'm getting fairly impatient for news on System Shock. The folks over at Night Dive have put their remake of the original System Shock on indefinite hold, with the release pushed back to 2020 after feature creep derailed the project. Specter keeps talking up System Shock 3, which he's making with Otherside, but so far he has only released the occasional piece of concept art.

Specter is one of my heroes but I think he might have bitten off more than he can chew, promising to reboot many of the groundbreaking game series he started. I'm glad Underworld Ascendant is making progress so hopefully it will still release sometime this year and then the floundering Shock projects can move forward.

505 Games and OtherSide Entertainment are thrilled to share with you the first trailer for Underworld Ascendant, the next project from the studio founded by iconic game developers Warren Spector (Ultima Underworld, System Shock, Deus Ex) and Paul Neurath (Ultima Underworld, Thief).

Coming to PC in 2018, Underworld Ascendant taps a best-in-class development team that includes writer and game director Joe Fielder (BioShock InfiniteBoom Blox) and lead designer Tim Stellmach (System Shock, System Shock 3, Thief), who have innovated upon the signature player-authored, immersive sim experience in bold new ways. Players will return to the breathtaking fantasy realm of The Stygian Abyss, rife with danger and full of intrigue, as they journey through the unfamiliar and unlock their creative potential in this action RPG designed to maximize player gameplay choice.

Also released today are new high-res game screens and a brand-new development diary that offers players and fans insight into the Improvisation Engine behind the game, a series of interwoven systems carefully crafted to give players freedom of choice in a truly immersive environment – and features interviews with Joe Fielder, Tim Stellmach and lead engineer Will Teixeira.