Play Ascendancy Online
Pick an alien race, fumble through their bizarre tech tree, and watch your ascension meter creep up—no clue if you're winning, but you'll keep poking at it anyway. The galaxy hums with weird life while you try to decipher what any of it means.
Game Overview
If you've ever wanted to command a fleet of alien ships while trying to decipher what the game actually wants from you, Ascendancy is your kind of weird. You pick a race—each with their own quirks, like the telepathic Vardrags or the industrious Torians—and then just kinda... figure it out as you go. The tech tree looks like someone spilled spaghetti on a star map, but in a good way—research branches out in unexpected directions, and you'll suddenly realize you've unlocked something game-changing while chasing something totally different.
The galaxy feels alive, even if half the time you're not sure if you're winning. There's no obvious "conquer everything" goal—instead, you get these cryptic ascension percentages that tick up when you do... something? Maybe it's diplomacy, maybe it's wiping out rivals. The star lanes force you to think about expansion like a puzzle, and the minimalist art holds up surprisingly well—all glowing orbs and sleek alien architecture. Just don't expect the manual to help much.
It's janky, opaque, and absolutely one of those games you'll either love or rage-quit after three hours. I still boot it up sometimes just to hear that eerie synth soundtrack.
Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".
Download Ascendancy ROM
You can download this ROM to play Ascendancy offline using an MS-DOS emulator (Top Emulators).
*This ROM is provided for backup and educational purposes only.
