Savant: Ascent

Savant: Ascent is short, but oh so sweet. It's a shooter with gothic stylings reminiscent of Castlevania, and over three exhilarating levels players will aim at high scores and huge combos.

While it may be short, it's priced as such. The game can be snapped up for £1.32 direct from the developers, and it's currently vying for a place on Steam through the Greenlight approval system. What you get for your money is a short campaign, complimented by two modes: Time Attack and Endless.

In the three-tiered campaign players start on the ground floor, and blast away at spherical robotic enemies that encircle the player character. Movement is limited to stepping left and right, and jumping between to the two positions. Holding down the left mouse button unleashes a stream of devastating projectiles that smash incoming opponents. Shifting position to avoid attacks causes a tiny pause between shots.

This pause becomes significant once new powers are unlocked. Over the course of the story mode players collect pieces of four different discs. When one disc is completed a new power is added to the player character's skill set. These include more powerful attacks, and a glow on the edge of the screen that indicates incoming enemies. Another is a three-pronged missile attack that spews forth whenever the character moves position, turning that side-step pause into a tactical decision, not just an opportunity to dodge out of the way. The other skill to be unlocked is an attack that is charged up by shooting enemies, that when unleashed does away with even the most hardy opponents.

Learning to utilise the growing repertoire of skills comes naturally, due to the fact that there's only four and because forward progress would be much harder without them. These skills are added over time. Once the first level is completed we leave the ground floor and jump on board an elevator as it races towards the top of the game's gothic tower. During this level the character hops between two ascending platforms (luckily, he can't fall off), and increasingly large waves of enemies and more tricky opponents appear.

Between blasting away at enemies - which for the most part means holding down on the left mouse button and spraying out projectiles - the fragments of disc needed for increasing your skills appear and must be purposefully clicked on and collected. All this happens at a frantic pace, and it never really lets up until the third level is reached. Here players will find the boss fight, and it doesn't take anywhere near as long to complete as the other two, as by then you'll have a full compliment of skills and an understanding of how the mechanics work.

Dying on either level two or three means players can restart on that same level, but their point tally will reset, meaning you'll have no chance of beating that elusive high score, which is core to the concept. Only by playing through the whole thing in one sitting will you rack up enough points to challenge your previous best. Once the third level has been bested, the Time Attack and Endless modes are unlocked, which adds a touch more longevity to the package.

All of the action described above plays out over a pulsating dubstep soundtrack, and the tunes bring as much character to the table as the quirky pixel art style and the frantic pace of the action. The enjoyment here comes as much from these three elements as it does from beating a level for the first time, or from smashing a personal best. There might not be much to it, but it's priced to reflect that. With that in mind, it's easy to recommend. You'll not spend a better £1.32 this side of a Steam sale.