I’m thrilled to disclose the Xbox model of Ascend to Zero, a time-bending motion roguelike from Flyway Video games that was a part of final week’s Xbox Companion Preview broadcast.

Let’s begin with a query: what wouldn’t it truly really feel wish to cease time within the warmth of battle? That single thought is the place Ascend to Zero started — and it’s the thread that runs via every little thing we’ve constructed.

A Prototype Born from One Small Query

Ascend to Zero began with a really small second. I used to be taking part in a survival roguelike when enemies swarmed in from each path, slicing off each doable escape route. In that prompt, one thought crossed my thoughts: “What if I may cease time, only for a second?”

A number of days later, I revisited the concept and began constructing a small prototype. Much less about grand design, extra about answering one query: “Would this truly be enjoyable?” In chasing a solution, I had an necessary realization — the act of freezing time and letting it circulation once more creates a strategic “flip” inside a real-time motion recreation.

I mixed that with a construction I’d all the time liked from Inflation RPG: explosive progress packed inside restricted alternatives. That’s how the primary prototype ofAscend to Zero got here collectively.

The Enjoyable, Formed by Participant Voices

It didn’t take lengthy to hit the boundaries of constructing alone. I began by asking associates and colleagues to play, and those who noticed the potential on this recreation joined the group one after the other. From there, testing steadily expanded to the neighborhood, and we paid shut consideration to what gamers liked and what pissed off them.

The loudest suggestions was in regards to the thrill of progress. Gamers wished extra highly effective gear and methods that permit them push that gear to its limits. We responded by introducing tools units past the mythic tier, over 200 new gadgets, and three brand-new enhancement methods.

Many gamers responded positively to the time-bending idea, and we obtained a number of suggestions describing the sport loop as addictive. On the identical time, we observed that some gamers have been dropping off within the early recreation earlier than totally greedy what made it enjoyable, and that was one thing we couldn’t ignore.

After a number of inside dialogue, we decided: don’t make gamers look ahead to one of the best components. We redesigned the early expertise from the bottom up in order that gamers may really feel what makes Ascend to Zero particular from the second they begin: time-bending and explosive development.

Save the World in 30 Seconds

All of which leads us to the ultimate recreation you’ll quickly have the ability to play. It’s 2225, and humanity has been dropped at extinction by a mechanical invasion. Because the final survivor, you’ll journey again in time to rewrite that destiny.

You will have simply 30 seconds — however with the ability to cease time in your fingers, you possibly can flip the tide of any battle, hanging down highly effective enemies to maintain reclaiming time your self. Not passive survival, however an energetic breakthrough, that’s the core expertise Ascend to Zero is constructed to ship.

A New Form of Motion Roguelike

Ascend to Zero is the results of years of growth and testing, and it goes past the roguelike system. Stats inflate at a staggering tempo, and the satisfaction of watching your numbers climb by orders of magnitude delivers an RPG-style sense of accomplishment that almost all roguelikes merely can’t match.

Layer on prime of that the spectacular talent results cascading throughout a high-quality pixel artwork world, fast-paced fight, and strategic gear selections that demand a call at each flip — each run you full makes the subsequent one richer. Each problem builds towards one thing stronger.

A Small Begin, and What It Grew to become

Ascend to Zero started with that single query: “What wouldn’t it really feel wish to cease time within the warmth of battle?” That small thought was formed by our group and refined via the suggestions of numerous gamers, rising into one thing way more thrilling than the place it began. I consider that is the ability of indie video games. New concepts all the time begin small — however that smallness can sharpen them into one thing extra targeted, extra distinct, and extra enjoyable.

Ascend to Zero launches July 13, 2026, on Xbox Sequence X|S, Xbox on PC and Xbox Cloud. It is going to be an Xbox Play Wherever title and obtainable day one with Xbox Recreation Cross. Add it to your wishlist now, and prepare to bend time to avoid wasting the world.

Ascend to ZERO

Flyway Video games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

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[Game Overview]
Ascend to ZERO is a time-bending roguelike the place you might have the ability to control time and battle your strategy to the highest. Play as distinctive avatars, wield highly effective weapons and gadgets, and expertise fast-paced development as your construct evolves with each run.

[Story]
Within the yr 22XX, humanity constructed an enormous underground Time Lab to grasp time journey. Nevertheless, when the portal to the longer term lastly opened, it wasn't hope that greeted them—solely despair. A legion of unidentified mechanical monsters poured via the portal, laying waste to civilization.
To stop the upcoming apocalypse, humanity created the “Chrono Baby”—the one being able to touring again via time. The mechanical legion raided the lab on the day of her awakening—as if they’d foreseen her delivery. In a determined try, the lab's director forged the “Chrono Baby” right into a rift in time to avoid wasting her from the invading machines.
Now stranded in a ruined future along with her recollections fragmented, she stands because the final survivor. With the assistance of a mysterious aide, she should embark on a journey again via time to defeat the monsters and restore a shattered world.