The Ascent has proven to be one of the most polarizing releases this year. While there's plenty to like in this bleak dystopian cyberpunk ARPG, it also came with a host of issues both technical and fundamental. It would seem that that would be the tradition for games set in cyberpunk settings these days though The Ascent is guilty of a far lesser crime-- if one can consider it a crime at all.
It's also worth noting that the indie twin-stick shooter is a considerable step forward for the Xbox line as it's a Microsoft platform exclusive. As such, The Ascent has a heavy burden placed upon its shoulders both as a cyberpunk game and as an exclusive. Here's where the title managed to surpass those expectations and also where it fell short.
10 Loved: Perfect Encapsulation Of Cyberpunk
Where The Ascent shines brightest is in its world-building. The locale is amazing but what makes it even more atmospheric compared to other cyberpunk games such as Cyberpunk 2077 or Deus Ex titles is how well it understands its own setting.
Debilitating debts, corporate conspiracies, and a biblical divide between the elite and the destitute are recurring themes in The Ascent used to full effect. The whole plot even revolves around the most dramatic and relevant trope of cyberpunk which is mostly socio-economic strife but in a neon-lit future. As a result, its game world can be more immersive than bigger AAA cyberpunk titles.
9 Didn't: Lack Of Combat Variety
As beautiful as the cyberpunk backdrop is for The Ascent, its gameplay is a little too unambitious. It didn't break any ground and didn't even try to incorporate other methods of gameplay. In The Ascent, the players get a character who is proficient with guns and that's it.
They do get cybernetics and other augmentations but those are mostly there as auxiliaries. Players can forget about melee characters or nerdy whiz hackers who don't need weapons to fight enemies. Combat is rather straightforward and uncreative as far as a 2021 game goes.
8 Loved: Satisfying Gun-play
Still, the only method of combat players get in The Ascent is crisp and impactful to distract the players from the lack of other build options. The gun sounds are visceral and thoughtful that simply firing the in-game weapon can be a blast (no pun intended).
At times, some players might even find themselves just test-firing the guns at the environment. It does help that ammunition is unlimited in the game, allowing players to pull the trigger to their hearts' content. The gun combat here is just too good that it might be enough to excuse the lack of other combat options.
7 Didn't: UI Issues
What can't be excused by the game's good qualities is the counterintuitive user interface or UI. The map is a big mess in The Ascent. The in-game texts also don't help matters with how low-contrast and tiny they are-- reading them can easily induce a headache.
On top of that, there are also questionable icon and partitioning options. It takes several buttons to view the inventory and change equipment. Moreover, some icons do a poor job of explaining why this item is better than that. More tooltips would have been appreciated. Thankfully, this ought to be easy to fix with some updates.
6 Loved: Vivid Game World
Taking full advantage of the cyberpunk setting is the grimy but ironically vibrant game world where trash is everywhere in the poorest areas and the wealthy areas are oppressively tidy. There are also several layers of verticality in each area both playable and for aesthetics only.
The game utilizes both area types well where some of the unplayable (or even playable) areas have big narrative events happening in them. The cities are also populated believably and have a varied-enough profane culture. Compared to Cyberpunk 2077's Night City, Veles is a bustling and live-in cyber hellscape with its own soul.
5 Didn't: Unrewarding Exploration
Here's where The Ascent's open-world lags behind. It might have been an awe-inspiring cyberpunk city but exploring it has few incentives. The map already shows where the valuables are anyway. Trying to find some secrets or shortcuts or maybe nooks and crannies with hidden stories can be a disappointing activity.
Moreover, the game sometimes discourages exploration as there's a big chance the players will run into high-level enemies that can kill them with a single bullet. In fact, the game seems to prefer it if players keep to the quest markets and the suggested pathing for said missions.
4 Loved: 4-Player Co-Op
One of the reasons why the game can have difficulty spikes sometimes is the availability of a 4-player co-op. Players are allowed to host in their own worlds where they can invite three others to join in the futuristic twin-stick mayhem.
It's a great way to have fun in a cyberpunk setting. There's also the fact that most cyberpunk games have been single-player experiences. That makes The Ascent a unique one due to its incorporation of a working multiplayer component.
3 Didn't: Difficulty Balancing
Now, since the game was also made with co-op in mind, it seems to have a problem related to that. The enemy and mission scaling can range from unforgiving to unfair. As mentioned before, players can and will run into higher-level enemies if they so much as take a slight detour.
Mission level requirements are also all over the place. A few quests even require a low level but the area that players have to travel to get there is littered with higher-level enemies. Then there are also other required missions that force the players to grind for experience elsewhere just to access them.
2 Loved: Ray-Tracing & Other Nvidia Tech
Ray-Tracing has been around for a while now yet the number of titles that have been able to utilize it well can be counted using fingers. Among these are Metro Exodus, Cyberpunk 2077, and The Ascent as it would appear.
The comparisons are out and Ray-Tracing for The Ascent is a whole other atmospheric experience. The difference is big enough to warrant RTX-capable hardware. Other technology for the PC version includes DLSS which is a godsend for increasing framerate without sacrificing visual detail too much.
1 Didn't: General Instability
Since The Ascent is still just a few weeks old from its release date, this issue is to be expected. Some of the most prevalent bugs or glitches happen in multiplayer where server crashes sometimes wipe out game save files. Some sessions don't outright work.
Regardless of whether players are playing on single or multiplayer, the game has some intrusive stuttering issues that happen in combat. Big explosions for example, sometimes tax even the most elite gaming hardware. Thankfully, players can expect this to be fixed sooner rather than later.