In a distant future, humanity takes a bold step towards becoming a posthuman species, merging biological life with artificial intelligence. However, this transformation faces brutal opposition, leading to an intense battle for survival. Welcome to Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation.
Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is a throwback to the golden era of the genre. Inspired by classics like Total Annihilation (1997) and Supreme Commander (2007), this game brings back the joy of building massive armies without getting bogged down by micromanagement. If you’ve ever enjoyed games like StarCraft II but wanted something that focused more on grand strategy and less on hotkey precision, this game will likely appeal to you.
The resource management here is refreshingly simple. You’ll need to occasionally direct workers to gather minerals and gas from resource nodes, but beyond that, you’re free to focus on constructing a massive force. From tanks and mechs to frigates and dreadnoughts, the game gives you the tools to create an army capable of overwhelming your enemies. As you progress, you’ll unlock aircraft and artillery, giving you even more ways to dominate the battlefield.
At first glance, the game offers a rewarding experience. It successfully brings back a style of RTS gameplay that had been largely dormant for over a decade. The joy of watching your massive armies clash in epic battles is undeniable, and the scale of the game is genuinely impressive. But as you dive deeper into the game, a few cracks start to show.
One of the more frustrating issues is poor pathfinding. It’s disheartening to see your army split into smaller groups as they take inefficient routes, rather than moving cohesively. Even worse, the game tends to position your strongest units behind weaker ones. While this might seem like a tactical choice, it goes against the game’s natural flow. Your weaker units are extremely vulnerable and often get wiped out, leaving you scrambling to adjust. Ideally, your dreadnoughts and frigates should absorb enemy fire while your smaller units deal damage, but the game doesn’t always cooperate, leading to some chaotic and frustrating moments.
The issue of ‘glass cannon’ units – powerful but fragile – is something that has been around in RTS games like Total Annihilation, and it feels even more pronounced in Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation.
Unfortunately, the game also suffers from a few outdated RTS tropes. The single-player campaign, for instance, features an AI that seems to cheat. Even when you control most of the resources on the map, the enemy can still churn out massive armies at an unrealistic pace. Add to that some less-than-stellar voice acting and dialogue, and the campaign can feel a bit underwhelming. While the game clearly didn’t have the budget of something like StarCraft II, the lack of polish can be hard to overlook.
That being said, the game does have its moments. With several lengthy campaigns, skirmish modes, and multiplayer options, Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation offers a good amount of content. But it often feels like a tribute to older games that, in many ways, still deliver a better experience today. You can find it on Steam if you’re curious.
In the end, Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is a noble effort to revive the glory days of RTS games, particularly the Total Annihilation series. It aims high, offering players a chance to control vast armies and experience epic battles, but it stumbles on some of the same issues that held back RTS titles in the past. While there’s plenty of fun to be had, it doesn’t quite reach the heights of the classics it seeks to emulate. Still, if you’re a fan of the genre and want a trip down memory lane, Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation might be worth checking out.
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