# Xbox Game Pass just got the best Vampire Survivors clone in years

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/xbox-game-pass-just-got-the-best-vampire-survivors-clone-in-years/
- Published: 2026-07-17T22:00:12+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-18T06:13:56+00:00
- Original publisher: Polygon
- Original article: https://www.polygon.com/ascend-to-zero-impressions/
- Topics: Entertainment, Gaming

## Key points

- Ascend to Zero launches on Xbox Series X, PC and Game Pass
- Roguelike blends Vampire Survivors combat with Hades-style visuals
- Features complex multi-currency progression and a 30-second run timer

## Summary

Ascend to Zero, a new isometric roguelike from Flyway Games, has launched on Xbox Series X and Windows PC, and is also available via Xbox Game Pass. Polygon's early impressions single it out as a standout entry in the "auto-battler" genre popularised by Vampire Survivors, praising the inventive twists it brings to a familiar format.

The game centres on a "30 seconds to save the world" premise: players start each run with a 30-second timer that can be extended by defeating enemies, alongside an ability to stop time. Set in a future where humanity is overrun by interdimensional monsters, the player controls a scientist thrust into a time machine by sacrificing colleagues, creating a repeating-loop narrative. The game draws inspiration from Vampire Survivors' automatic combat, Supergiant Games' Hades and Transistor, and Bandai Namco's Scarlet Nexus, and features randomised weapons, equipment loadouts and a notably complex system of multiple in-game currencies for unlocking avatars, upgrades and stat boosts. It was released on 13 July.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.