Savant – Ascent REMIX mini-review

Showing my enemies what a good beat is like. 

Savant – Ascent REMIX offers a curious twist on the twin-stick shooter. In keeping with the genre, you’ll use the right analog nub to aim bullets at enemies. But the left stick isn’t used for movement in a conventional way. Instead of an overhead standpoint, Ascent’s camera adopts a side-view perspective of the action. Moving the left stick allows you to roll, double-, and even triple-jump, which is essential for dodging enemies and their dogged bombardment of projectiles.

Yes, conflict takes place on two hanging platforms, making Savant – Ascent REMIX feel like a high-wire act. Certainly, the protagonist’s lavender cloak and stylish shovel hat give him the appearance of a theatrical performer. But for the Alchemist, peril is persistent, as opponents adopt Galaga-like flying formulations. After hovering around menacingly for a few seconds, foes like to charge directly at you, testing your timing and ability to predict their behaviors.

Just don’t let their numbers or nimble movement speed intimidate you, as there are a multitude of ways to eliminate Ascent’s threats. Although a rapid-fire deluge of munitions helps to cut them down, you’ll occasionally want to release the trigger. Both a momentary pause in shooting or any kind of physical movement will power-up the Alchemist, sending a trio of homing attacks toward foes. Alternatively, you can deploy a shotgun-like blast that can slaughter an entire section of the playfield. Just don’t grow too reliant on its use, since it’s regulated by a cooldown timer. While conventional power-ups aren’t prioritized, occasionally you can destroy a certain foe to replenish health that you’ve lost.

Undoubtedly, success involves the proper prioritization of adversaries. While some basic enemies can be eliminated with a shot or two, hoovering drones require a few hits before exploding. The only vulnerability for dragon-looking enemies is their heads, requiring players to track their movements and attack rapidly when they are flying right at you. Naturally, Savant – Ascent gradually tosses new hurdles to overcome such as giant bells that occupy a platform or chainsaws that can only be weakened when they toss out a boomerang-like blade.

Expectedly, boss battles will test your aptitude with the Alchemist, with showdown that will test your pattern recognition skills. If you’re like me, you’ll regularly fail these the first time out, before determining the best way to eliminate enemies. Failure will inevitably teach important lessons, but if you don’t have the patience for improvement, you can drop down to one of Ascent’s easier difficulty settings.

Undoubtedly, Savant – Ascent REMIX is an engaging shooter, ideal for temporarily disconnecting from the real world. But there’s are two caveats before considering a purchase (owners of the original Savant Ascent get the upgraded version free!). At present, Remix renders on a small pane in the middle of the Steam Deck’s screen, cutting off part of the picture. Even on a proper monitor, power-up possibilities lingered just off screen, which is a bit frustrating.

While Savent’s musical variety for REMIX is intriguing, delving deeper into dubstep’s harder side. But don’t expect the music to completely synchronize with the action. Instead, it sets a quick tempo and adds some energy but it’s not a wholly synchronized part of the experience. In the original game, powering up your shots injected a bass drum-style shot into the sound mix, uniting the soundtrack to gameplay.

But the streamlining of systems from the original Savant – Ascent is perplexing. Sure, REMIX is fun, but the meta-game power-up system from the first release makes the predecessor a more rewarding experience. All too often, remixes neglect to acknowledge some of the nuances of the original. Woefully, that’s the case here.