The Ascent Reviews
Despite its stylishly designed atmosphere and graphics, The Ascent can distract the player with numerous optimization problems.
Review in Turkish | Read full review
I bounced so hard off The Ascent that it left a bad taste in my mouth and a wish that it spent another few more months in the oven.
The Ascent is a superb action game that looks as fantastic as it plays. Its plot and dialogue can be pretty hard-going but its gunplay is deeply satisfying. On Game Pass it's a no-brainer, but it would be worthwhile at full price too.
This game is not perfect, but these days we see fewer games like it, the story of the game, although not great, but encourages you to continue and gameplay innovation can be seen on it.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The Ascent is one of the best games I’ve played this year with amazing visuals, story and gameplay that sucks you right in from the opening scenes. Playing co-op is a heck of a lot of fun and single player is just as good with challenging gun fights and so much of the world of Veles to explore. I hope Neon Giant have plans for either DLC or a sequel because I will buy the heck out of it to keep supporting them making such great games.
If you’re playing with others, I imagine you’ll have a great time with The Ascent. While it still isn’t anywhere near perfect, the beautiful graphics and solid gunplay should be enough for those who just want something cool to play with their friends. There’s plenty of loot to collect along the way, too, letting you each put your stamp on your character. If you have no one to play with, though, I wouldn’t recommend The Ascent. The game feels like it’s fighting against you the entire way. It never stops feeling like this game wasn’t meant for you.
The allure of a cyberpunk themed game proved too strong for me to say no. Bright neon lights, futuristic scenes and a range of seemingly devastating weaponry caught my eye. My interest well and truly piqued, I wondered what lay in store as I began my journey through The Ascent. Was I wowed by the lights, or tricked by the glare? Read my Rapid Review to see how I got on.
The relatively good scenario works procedurally, while the attempt to belong to more than one species, leaves us at best indifferent.
Review in Greek | Read full review
I went into The Ascent excited for a game to fill a cyberpunk-shaped hole in my heart, but came out feeling deflated with the thought that this was a big missed opportunity. The stunning landscape and excellent soundtrack can’t take away from the game, but the messy gunfights and cumbersome movement paired with accessibility issues makes this a very hard game to recommend.
The Ascent is a nice experience hampered by technical issues but ultimately it's fun and keeps us waiting for what this 11-person studio can offer in the future.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The best assets of The Ascent are the visuals, the music and its lore and world building which has made Veles feel like a real living, kicking and breathing place but the gameplay feels just OK with a not so smooth UI.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The biggest takeaway from my playthrough of The Ascent definitely has to be the amount of polish that went into the game. The Neon Giant team is made up of a number of AAA developer veterans and it really does show in the final product. The experience is fairly similar between the Xbox and PlayStation versions though the extra immersion via the DualSense controller makes this the definitive version of the game.
The Ascent has the kind of graphical and audio design prowess that many games can only dream of. While some technical and mechanical issues disrupt the immersion, there’s no denying the sheer sadistic joy that comes from shredding through the neon glazed tiers of Veles. A critique of the Cyberpunk genre this isn’t, but damn is it a blast to play.
The Ascent is a great game, and although Its problems are hard to ignore, I can't pretend that I didn't have an amazing time with it.
Cyberpunk gorefest that's brutal, intense, and incredibly fun in co-op.
The Ascent can be great fun with three other like-minded players. There are lots to explore in Veles and many challenges. On the flip side, much of the game falls apart or is otherwise tedious solo.
Those moments are memorable and are unfortunately far less common than The Ascent's pitfalls. I'm right near the end of the game's main story after crossing off plenty of side missions, but with the charm of The Ascent's firefights and scenery long since expired, there's nothing much left to inspire confidence in what remains.
The Ascent provides a vibrant, living environment for you to run around in and shoot at. The world is brimming with walking-talking NPCs and neon-filled areas. While the story isn't really that memorable, it's decent enough for you to push on to the next mission, which will lead you to diverse locations and up against different enemies. The bigger enemies can be a bit too much bullet sponges, but otherwise the gameplay and diverse possibilities are quite satisfying.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
The Ascent’s excellent atmosphere and gameplay might just save it from a weak story and a lack of polish, wherein the whole is just less than the sum of its parts.
The Ascent is an excellent top-down shooter with a great cyberpunk aesthetic, exhilarating combat and some neat RPG systems to boot. If you like arcade action and fast-paced combat, this is the game for you. It's a great start to what I hope is a new franchise because I certainly would be down for a sequel, a few years down the road.