Banner art for Ascension
"You have to be sure... I won't forgive you if you get hurt chasing a dream you don't want."
"Embrace reckless self destruction!"
Ascension: Transition and Silver is a Visual Novel released in 2021 by SulMatul
, with art by Joanna Estep and music by Kyle Merckx and Zoe Blade .
It released for free in January 2021 on itch.io and will on Steam in February 2021.
The plot follows three protagonists - the abrasive Doctor, shy Scholar and sardonic Escort - as they venture into The Zone, a strange and dangerous world, to chase after a wish-granter. There are multiple choice points within the plot that will allow two of the three protagonists to become closer, however only one may have their wishes granted.
It is (very) loosely based on Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979), and its origin text, Roadside Picnic - though is extremely removed from both these original works.
The game has a heavy focus on LGBT+ and queer themes, particularly transgender themes.
Ascension - A Visual Novel contains examples of:
- Abandoned Area: The Zone as a whole - both in-universe, and in the real world; many of the photos used for the background images are from the Chernobyl exclusion zone
- Abandoned Hospital: The location of the penultimate scene of the game and the location of the GIC.
- Anatomically Impossible Sex: The entire rain scene, regardless of choice.
- Arc Words: Chiral directions, isomerism, and silver, or psychosilver especially in relation to gender transition.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: The Doctor’s ending especially, given that it’s unclear whether she survives.
- Bilingual Bonus: At least several instances of dialogue or names are in Russian, which contain several Easter Eggs most notably Dvoreskii point, a direct reference to Judith Butler.
- Body Horror: The silver rain scene, and also in general the fact that the bodies of all three protagonists are mutating and changing the longer they spend time in the Zone. Semi-subverted as that’s also what they want.
- Campfire Character Exploration: Between the Scholar and Escort on the second day of the game when they first bond.
- Cast Full of Gay: It is heavily implied that the Doctor and Scholar are both transgender, and the Escort is canonically nonbinary. Any of the characters can develop a relationship with any other.
- Color-Coded for Your Convenience: The Doctor’s color is quite obviously red, the Scholar has a trademark blue scarf and the Escort is dressed in orange. This is also reflected in their text dialogue colors.
- Dating Sim: Some elements of this in that any character may advance relationships with any other, leading to intimate moments of trust.
- Deliberately Monochrome: The change from the grayscale avatars when the protagonists are in the Hierarchy's territory to their full colour versions in The Zone - this is done in an homage to Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979).
- Door of Doom: The endgame, where someone has to go in.
- Eldritch Location: The Zone is outwardly dangerous and physically mutagenic, and barely obeys the laws of physics or Euclidian geometry.
- Eldritch Abomination: Any and all of the three protagonists can become this on the penultimate day.
- Environmental Symbolism: Increasing levels of radiation, city destruction, and anomalous flora and fauna, matching the increasing changes the protagonists go through.
- Everyone Is Bi: Any character can develop a relationship with any other.
- Everything Trying to Kill You: Perhaps kill isn’t the right term, but the Zone is dangerous and can cause a great amount of change and harm.
- Expository Pronoun: The Escort is canonically nonbinary and referred to as “they” throughout the text.
- Fantastic Flora: The ferrous gossypium and other strange flowers that grow on the metal in the zone are examples of this, as well as other plantlife that references Roadside Picnic.
- Forbidden Zone: Access to the Zone is heavily restricted by the Hierarchy - and for good reason.
- From Bad to Worse: Going through the Zone was bad, but things get significantly worse for the trio once they reach the sewer system and the Doctor sustains a life-threatening radiation dosage.
- Genius Loci: The final scene in The Room, the Zone itself can respond to the characters.
- Geo Effects: The geography shifts and changes throughout the story, in part to deliberately confuse anyone attempting to traverse the Zone.
- Golden Ending: The polyamorous ending appears to be this, and is the only ending in which all three characters are shown and seem visibly happy.
- Healing Factor: In the Zone healing seems to be far faster than it otherwise should be. Lampshaded on Day 2 between the Doctor and Escort.
- Homage: Multiple, though most clearly to;
- Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979), especially with three unnamed protagonists exploring The Zone in pursuit of a wish-granter, and stopping off along the way to offer philosophical discourse among themselves.
- We Know the Devil is referenced as a homage in a discussion between the Escort and Doctor on Day 2.
- Pathologic 2 is referenced several times within the Doctor's background and exposition.
- Homoerotic Subtext: It’s more text than subtext, but the motivations of the characters can be read as trans allegory.
- Interplay of Sex and Violence: The rain scene, particularly - but also most scenes of intimacy and tenderness occur nearby scenes where a character is injured or suffering.
- Ironic Nickname: The Escort leads the trio to a "dry tunnel" which is flooded - a name given to it as a joke, as well as a direct reference to Tarkovksy's Stalker (1979).
- Let's Split Up, Gang!: The central gameplay mechanic, in which two protagonists stay and bond, and the third deals with their business alone.
- Level-Up at Intimacy 5: More points are added to characters depending on who the player picks to “go out under the rain”.
- Mind Screw: What is going on with the Zone? What’s up with the Room? What happens to everyone else after the respective character endings? Who survives?
- Minimalist Cast: There are only three characters of relevance seen throughout the game. The Zone is otherwise depopulated and empty.
- Multiple Endings: Five of them, including the early game-over
-
One True Threesome: The final unlockable ending and the True Ending, involves all three protagonists getting together. - Only Known by Their Nickname / Only One Name: All the characters are referred to by profession, not name - though this is partially explained by the characters intentionally shedding their old names.
- Polyamory: Polyamory is a potential ending for the game, and likely the true ending.
- Power Trio: The three protagonists stick together for the vast majority of the plotline and look after one another - though it's not clearly a Freudian Trio as they shift positions as the story progresses.
- Psychological Horror: The slow dawning realisation that they may all die, or are very, very likely to die on their journey from radiation poisoning.
- Supernaturally-Validated Trans Person: The Room, in all endings, provides the characters with a sense of validity in themselves.
- Queer Romance: The primary basis of the majority of the plot. It's gay. [[spoilers: It's very gay.]]
- Quest for a Wish: The Room that the trio are searching for allows for those who walk inside to make a wish, and drives the main part of the plot.
- Reality Is Out to Lunch: The effects of concentrated psychosilver and the consistent mutations and altering properties they have compound, until the protagonists undergo a full body-horror transformation sequence.
- Red Sky, Take Warning: The blowouts - or Hegelio-Quantum Emission Phenomena - are portrayed as dangerous downpours of radiation-laced rain alongside a blood-red aurora.
- Ruins of the Modern Age: Especially around the city parts, as most of those are photos from the real-life Pripyat, and Chernobyl exclusion zone
- Scenery Gorn: The backgrounds are mostly shots from dilapidated or destroyed areas, but tend towards being very green, verdant and bright, despite the grim subject matter.
- Sliding Scale of Shiny Versus Gritty: The chrome and glitz of the Hierarchy at the start of the game stands as stark contrast to the dark underbelly, rust and dirt of everything else.
- Title Drop: “Ascension” - directly in the Doctor’s stated goals and in her ending.
- You All Meet in an Inn: The three protagonists start off in a nightclub, where the Doctor introduces the Scholar to the Escort.
