Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation

 PC
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 54 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 41 out of 54
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 54
  3. Negative: 9 out of 54

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  1. Remrrg
    Nov 12, 2016
    10
    I liked the first game, even though the game had a few flaws, but the added strategic view and new units completely change the game. To keep it short the game addresses some of the problems that plagued the first game. If you love strategy games then this game is for you!
  2. Obiwanshenobi
    Nov 11, 2016
    10
    I am a big fan of the base game, and this expansion just takes it to the next level. They have done a great job at listening to the community since the base game released. I was part of the founders program so I got the expansion, but they even offer a discount to existing users.

    Really fun game, and I recommend it!
  3. thatcoolguy222
    Nov 12, 2016
    9
    Really cool game! If you are a supcom or TA fan, you gotta have this. There is a nice variety of units, that make the game pretty complex. Along with the strategic zoom and additional units compared to the vanilla game, this is a good expansion.
  4. Mandulum
    Aug 4, 2017
    8
    Five Word Review: Fun RTS with ample playtime.
    Favorite Thing: The dreadnoughts and huge army sizes were really fun to managed. Thankfully they put in togglable game speed.
    Least Favorite Thing: You can't form armies with multiple dreadnoughts. This resulted in me having a single army hot-keyed with other dreadnoughts. The "loose" dreadnoughts tended to get way ahead of the pack. Date    Five Word Review: Fun RTS with ample playtime.
    Favorite Thing: The dreadnoughts and huge army sizes were really fun to managed. Thankfully they put in togglable game speed.
    Least Favorite Thing: You can't form armies with multiple dreadnoughts. This resulted in me having a single army hot-keyed with other dreadnoughts. The "loose" dreadnoughts tended to get way ahead of the pack.

    Date Completed: 2017-08-04
    Playtime: ~ 35h (All four campaigns)
    Enjoyment: 8/10
    Recommendation: I really enjoyed it. The story was a little light but I otherwise enjoyed it and the gameplay. So, yes!    … Expand
  5. jexilef
    Sep 10, 2017
    10
    Great RTS and the expansion has made it even better! Such good strategy in multiplayer, if only there were more active players, this game could be much more.
  6. Frankie321
    Aug 26, 2017
    9
    This game is the developer's attempt at creating the next generation RTS. The developer, Stardock, has been constantly improving the game to the point where as I write this it is version 2.4. There is much to master in this game. The game has more features than I have ever seen in an RTS. For example, you can change the game speed during the game. I like this because there are a lot ofThis game is the developer's attempt at creating the next generation RTS. The developer, Stardock, has been constantly improving the game to the point where as I write this it is version 2.4. There is much to master in this game. The game has more features than I have ever seen in an RTS. For example, you can change the game speed during the game. I like this because there are a lot of things happening in late game, so the game can be slowed down to allow more time for thinking and controlling units. Also available is free pause, again to allow more time to think and control your units, if you wish to use it. Overall, this game is now a very impressive sci-fi RTS.… Expand
  7. Captain_Chaos
    Aug 13, 2020
    8
    I obtained Ashes of the Singularity as a free giveaway from the Humble Store, and was glad I did. I had my eye on it already as a fan of both classic real-time strategy and of one of the developer's previous titles, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion.

    A word to the wise, Ashes has the potential to be extremely taxing on your system. I experience regular frame drops during heavy battles    I obtained Ashes of the Singularity as a free giveaway from the Humble Store, and was glad I did. I had my eye on it already as a fan of both classic real-time strategy and of one of the developer's previous titles, Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion.

    A word to the wise, Ashes has the potential to be extremely taxing on your system. I experience regular frame drops during heavy battles of 20 fps or more, though not to a unplayable degree. I have heard the game referred to as "Ashes of the Benchmark."

    Ashes may be more grounded then Sins, both literally and figuratively, but in its own way is no less grand in scale. Ashes is an old school, build your base and then roll over dudes with a big army kind of RTS, with the basic components taken to their logical extreme. There is seemingly no upper limit to your population size, and battles can comprise hundreds if not thousands of individual units. The smallest available units are classified as "frigates", and others range in size all the way up to powerful dreadnoughts and juggernauts that gain experience levels as the capital ships in Sins do. You can zoom the map out far enough to see a strategic view of its entirety, as in Supreme Commander, and can issue commands to potentially every unit on the map if you desire.

    Units have simplistic strengths and weaknesses, using the more "modern" model of tactical rock-paper-scissors. In practice, building a mixed force of all available unit types is suitable for any engagement in the campaign.

    Resource gathering occurs passively, requiring only that you build extractors and generators. Metal and Radioactives are used for units and structures, with the most basic of such requiring only metal, while Quanta is used to increase your population cap, use targeted support powers, and purchase passive upgrades for your entire force, with no need for dedicated research structures. Additionally, the PHC faction use Quanta to increase their available resource storage, the Substrate have no such requirement.

    As in most RTSs, the resources near your initial base are usually limited and you must acquire more. However, in Ashes, all resource deposits are tied to a network of generators that are protected by weak "creeps" and must first be captured by your forces before you can benefit from the nearby deposits. Additionally, if enemies are able to capture your generators, you lose the income from any that would be cut off from your core structure, the Nexus.

    In addition to the ability to loop production queues at your unit factories, Ashes possesses a unique army formation mechanic: Simply select a group of units and press V to have them form up on each other. No manual formation management is required, units will automatically sort themselves into an appropriate layout, with dreadnoughts front and center, and non combat vessels in the rear, with the expendable frigates screening the outer edge to take fire for the more valuable cruisers. Perhaps most importantly, you can reinforce your armies directly, queuing up new units while you have the army selected, and this will automatically task available factories to produce the units requested. Additionally, if you have specific cruiser as part of that army for the PHC or use a certain support power for the Substrate, new units can teleport directly from the factories to the army's vicinity and join their formation, enabling you to advance more aggressively then in other games.

    Ashes is easier to control then the scale of the battles might otherwise suggest, and the enemy AI is smarter then you might suspect, in particular making good use of radar intelligence and sending strike forces where it knows your armies aren't. It's a successful fusing of mechanics from various older games with not a lot missing, though I personally would have liked a "follow cam" button. If I could complain about anything, it would be the forgettable soundtrack and the somewhat disjointed nature of the narrative. More particularly, the hotkey system in Ashes is a tad odd, requiring that you cycle through production options with tab before hitting a corresponding letter key on the left side of the keyboard. In multiplayer I'm sure this could potentially be an issue for some, but in the campaign, any potential human error on your end can be assuaged somewhat by adjusting the game speed, and issuing orders while the game is paused.

    Overall however Ashes feels like a logical step forward in the evolution of the 90s RTS, a genre that has felt underutilized of late if you haven't known where to look. A solid title.    … Expand
  8. shimbalama
    Sep 10, 2017
    10
    This is the best RTS on the market. Easy to learn but hard to master the constant balances patches make it better and better. It takes a while to get your first multiplayer win but you'll get there!
  9. Fred123
    Sep 10, 2017
    10
    Such a good game! The new RTS is here and its amazing. Hope to see you online soon as thats where it really comes alive. Regular balance patches and upcoming new units keep making it better and better.
  10. GarrettStrahan
    Dec 21, 2016
    10
    Put Total Annilathion and Starcraft and put them in a blender and this is what you get. I did not play Ahses of Singlularity just Escalation so I do not know the difference. However the product is well developed. It does not however have planetary jumping like planetary annilathion or satelites or space warfare, but it have fun well designed units that make PA units look really plain. NoPut Total Annilathion and Starcraft and put them in a blender and this is what you get. I did not play Ahses of Singlularity just Escalation so I do not know the difference. However the product is well developed. It does not however have planetary jumping like planetary annilathion or satelites or space warfare, but it have fun well designed units that make PA units look really plain. No boats or submarines so don't expect ocean combat.

    Think DOTA 2 with your main base have a nexus with tons of hitpoints so its hard to kill player base and their is no commander like supreme commander and your supposed to either kill all your enemies OR capture tirinum cores and after you have hold the cores for so long you win.

    I can tell you I'm addicted to the game and so far I think its very fun! If you like strategy games I think you will too. Its a game that allows strategy over building mass units to win (altought that helps haha).

    The only problem I can see at most the general chat has 15 players I can see at max so multiplayer might not be useful unless you have friends that enjoy this game as well. I believe this game is rather new and the players of AoS is split between the expansion and non-expansion players so you don't see them or play against them. Hopefully there will be more players because I prefer this game over starcraft 2 but not that many players now to play with.

    There is going to be a 3rd expansion with a 3rd race coming in 2017 so I really think there can be more new player in the future but we will wait to see, in the mean time gotta wait for my father to get good and wait for my other friend to play this game, I see multiplayer games but they are always in-game and cannot join but if you can handle its harder to start a multiplayer or convince a friend to play with you oh man this game is a TREAT!    … Expand
  11. Lightjolly
    May 13, 2020
    8
    Probably the best follow up to the Supreme Commander Sub Genre. It's not as deep but far better than SUP COM 2 and Planetary Annihilation
  12. Liam123
    Sep 10, 2017
    10
    I cried the day EA canceled CnC. As a RTS fan things have been pretty rough since then. Basically play SC2 or play old games. The came Ashes. What a relief! The UI isn't great. The marketing is great. The campaign is Okay. The game is about online multiplayer and there it is amazing (and constantly improving). The next big Esport! Might take a while to get your first win, but I promiseI cried the day EA canceled CnC. As a RTS fan things have been pretty rough since then. Basically play SC2 or play old games. The came Ashes. What a relief! The UI isn't great. The marketing is great. The campaign is Okay. The game is about online multiplayer and there it is amazing (and constantly improving). The next big Esport! Might take a while to get your first win, but I promise that as soon as you taste blood you'll love it!.… Expand
  13. Vagabond1979
    Dec 20, 2020
    10
    Great Rts game. Vastly improved with recent updates, decent campaign and great fun in multiplayer.
  14. Klewer
    Apr 12, 2019
    8
    Not usually a big player of RTS games, but this was accessible and easy to learn with great options for learning and getting the hang of the game. Has a solid campaign which teaches you along the way as well as great in depth game play for those more familiar with the genre. Worth the time.
  15. apokalipto
    Aug 19, 2023
    9
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. 4P.de
    Nov 18, 2016
    78
    While the staging and the characterization of the fractions still is sub-par, this is better than Ashes of the Singularity in every aspect, especially in terms of the large scale skirmishes that give you an optimal strategic viewpoint.
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  2. SpazioGames
    Nov 16, 2016
    75
    Escalation manages to improve many aspects of the past Ashes of the Singularity, it brings two new campaigns that deserve to be played this time, many new units and the strategic zoom. Unfortunately there are still many problems with the path-finding, that cause a lot of frustration.
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  3. GameWatcher
    Nov 11, 2016
    85
    Between the new aircraft, cool new orbitals, and fantastic design of the Strategic Zoom function, there’s a lot here to love for any fan of the mass real-time strategy. It’s a shame that the story still can’t always keep up with the stellar additions to the gameplay and that some of the new ground units get swept up in the sheer way that the game is built, but Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation is still one of the coolest, most smooth, and vast real-time strategies out there.
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