oOo: Ascension

In conclusion, oOo was an average, middle of the road game. It’s a fun little maze game that tests your speed, offering fun obstacle courses to dodge and deal with, but there really isn’t much worth talking about here. It’s good, basic fun, but after three worlds I felt like I already saw everything there was to see, and got rather bored, since it felt like a bunch of the other sorts of “maze to the goal” games I played in the computer lab during school.

If you're looking or a fast-paced twitchy arcade/puzzle game, then oOo: Ascension is certainly going to scratch that itch.

Unfortunately oOo: Ascension falls into the category of ramping it up to the point that it drains the fun out of some clever level design. Early stages hit a nice balance of tough but rewarding, however later stages stack too many different ideas to the point of being downright infuriating. I'm sure there are some masochists out there that will find enjoyment in the brutal difficulty, but those looking for a more approachable challenge, you may want to look elsewhere.

A single developer made a great game that will challenge your timing and dexterity. It adds something new to the gameplay every couple of levels, is rewarding, and well thought out. None of the levels will relay on luck, everything can be achieved with a little bit of finger sweat.

There are times you will hate oOo, and I came pretty close to deleting the game on more than one occasion. But if arcade thrills are your thing and you can view failure as a learning experience, then oOo Ascension will be right up your street.

oOo: Ascension is enjoyable enough for what it is. It sometimes has a bit of an identity crisis trying to figure out what it wants to accomplish with its design, but when it manages to intertwine its puzzle and precision elements, you will find some satisfying stages. These don't come that often, however, and the fact that there's no online leaderboard or any challenging optional objectives means there's barely any replay value, either. If pictures and trailers of the game pique interest levels, then you might get something out of the full product, but otherwise most won't lose much by skipping it.

oOo: Ascension is a unique, 3D platformer with a couple major flaws that prevent it from reaching its fullest potential.

Really, with a few tweaks this could become easily recommendable, but the inconsistency of the current experience, combined with some inexplicable slowdown that made carefully maneuvering around hazards more difficult and imprecise than it needed to be toward the end when levels would get busy, is just enough to cause me to hesitate.

oOo: Ascension is a great puzzle game that focuses less on huge, high-budget components to distract the gamer, and more on clever gameplay design that is entertaining as it is challenging. It squarely emphasizes great puzzle design to each level that brings something new from orb to orb, while encouraging the gamer to keep going from level to level as it becomes more difficult. That's a good puzzle game, ladies, and gentlemen, and one you should check out.