Ascend: Hand of Kul (formerly Ascend: New Gods) was a 2013 free-to-play, character-action MMORPG game for the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. It was unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2012 during Microsoft's press conference. Though the beta version was available in the Xbox Live Arcade for free to Gold members, the game never saw full release. On August 18, 2014, the game was delisted from the Xbox marketplace. On August 21, 2014, it was announced the game's server will be closing November 18, 2014. The PC version was shut down on June 20, 2016. On December 1st, 2022, a small team by the name of Outer Heaven Game Studios released Ascend: Reborn for PC on Steam, again as a free-to-play game. As of one month after release, the game maintains an average concurrent player count of fewer than a hundred players. Plot The main character in Ascend: Hand of Kul is a member of the Caos, a race of warriors. The player serves gods, pledging allegiance to one of the Three Gods (darkness, light, and void) and helping their chosen god rule over the world. The goal is to defeat the Titans. The Titans are large, immortal giants that were once gods who had physically manifested and became increasingly corrupted as a result, eventually losing their sanity and becoming incapable of returning to the spirit world. Gameplay The player controls a Caos, an entity shown to be massive in relation to humans. Despite their large size, Caos are very fast, and utilizing buffs in-game, one can capitalize on their speed or their raw power. The general gameplay flow follows a linear progression path, which unlocks key game mechanics and tutorializes the player while giving exposition on the game's world. The game more closely resembles a hack-and-slash character-action game while playing it than an MMO, as the multiplayer mechanics are tuned for the Xbox 360 and its capabilities. Further development may have expanded the multiplayer features. Primarily, you do combat with similarly-sized creatures and other Caos in order to serve the Light or the Dark - warring factions that offer the player unique buffs and aesthetics. A combination of standing, dashing, and running melee options are available for attacking and retreating strategies, in addition to spells and special abilities. New equipment for the player character can be found throughout the game and offers the freedom to customize one's play style,