Ascend: When Myths Fall, Heroes Rise

What I liked

I liked the gamification aspect and the quests designed in the world that we thought was the underworld (but apparently wasn’t.)

What I didn't like

There was a complete inability to suspend disbelief, or even think, for a moment, that the actors were inhabiting their characters as part of a performance rather than just a halloween party, where people say “oh, what are you dressed up as?” “Oh, I’m Zeus.” Cool, man. The narrative structure and purpose of the game needed to be more defined. Everything was instructional, rather than narrative, which made it hard to care. “Do this thing.” Ok, why? Generally, better acting and more narrative work could have vastly improved the entire experience.

My overall impression

A fun concept with poor execution. I really wanted to love this experience, but the performances were terrible and the entire production felt like a bad summer camp exercise. We had no idea what we were supposed to do or why, the entire narrative was a mess, and each “quest” my friends and I embarked on had an unclear purpose.