Adam Warren of Oceano commented "This album is an evolution of our brand of heaviness. It is our most focused release ever and contains a concept that elevates the band onto a higher plane."[3]
AllMusic gave the album a 0/5 rating with the review stating "the sound of Ascendants is pure pummeling deathcore, more closely aligned with the monstrous attack displayed on their 2009 debut, Depths."[1]Ultimate Guitar suggested the album as unoriginal, stating "there's very little that makes Ascendants feel like new music."[4]
The album was described as dark, grim, brooding, hopeless deathcore with an impressive demonstrated range of vocals.[5] Connor Welsh of New Transcendence wrote "it showcases a band not just at the peak of their performance, but towering with immensity and an iron rule over the remainder of [the] heavy music scene."[6] Metalsucks had described the album as "having the same sound, the same rhythm, the same everything."[7]