Review: ASCENSION: ETERNAL Is A Strong, Small Package

Deck-building games have really grown over the last decade, but one game that has the longest history in the genre is the Ascension series. Ascension has many expansions and its straightforward gameplay and amazing art have led to another fantastic expansion. Ascension Eternal is a great entrance to the Ascension franchise and good addition to other expansions or the base game.

The game is basically boiled down to getting points through purchasing cards and killing monsters. Players will purchase heroes and constructs from a row of available cards or kill monsters that appear in that same row. This goes on until all the points are fully distributed from the middle and then all the points are added up to find out who is the winner. 

The quality of the game’s material is better than most deck-building games. The art is beautiful and simple, invoking the styles of classic Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. The cards themselves are pretty good quality and feel like they can endure many, many hours of shuffling and playing. I do wish that the board was oriented a little different, having enough space for all of the cards to be on the board instead of some of them hanging off the sides, but it’s not a deal breaker, just a personal note.

But what to really stands out here is the gameplay. I am impressed with how easy the game is to understand while being terribly nuanced and steeped in choice. The first couple of rounds and turns are forcefully dictated by what you draw. But after that, choosing what cards to purchase and when to purchase them starts to matter every turn, making each purchase or kill important. I do wish there was a mechanic that could refresh the purchasable lineup of cards for players, allowing for a little bit more gambling and emphasis on choice. I was also impressed with how well the game is balanced. I never found a faction to be stronger than the other, a strategy to be best or dumb luck winning out in the end. Ascension strikes a perfect balance of luck and tough decisions.

It’s a deeply replayable game that offers more and more as you learn the game, while still giving fresh players a hearty chance to win. It is impressive how well the game can integrate with other expansions or still allow for plenty of hours of gameplay on its own. Ascension: Eternal is a fantastic way to hop into the deckbuilding genre as a whole, a great game for veterans and a strong addition to other Ascension expansions and sets.