The Ascent Reviews
Neon Giant has some minor performance issues to iron out with RTX and DX12. The developers have made a game that’s as complex as you want, but doesn’t overcomplicate anything. Every system has a purpose, and is a weapon of opportunity for you to overcome obstacles. I love when the game isn’t having me fight everything in sight, and allowing me to take in the world. No game has made me want DLC or more content than The Ascent has. Simply put, The Ascent is a brilliant game, that absolutely lives up to the hype.
The Ascent is a love letter to dark, gritty sci-fi that feels like a marriage between Dredd and Syndicate. Dripping with atmosphere and Sweet Justice’s Carptenter-esque score, all backed by intense tactical shootouts and next gen visuals. The Ascent is easily one of this years best games.
Setting aside it coming from such a small team, I think The Ascent is miraculous in a couple of ways. First, the detailed world-building, environmental storytelling, and atmosphere are maybe the best expression of the cyberpunk aesthetic I’ve ever seen in a game. Second, the developers have seemingly cataloged every annoying mechanic in RPGs and action games — from death to rapid travel to inventory management — and found a way to make them less onerous or disappear altogether. The Ascent is not an easy game, either mechanically or thematically, but it is completely engaging if for no other reason than to see into a very convincingly realized future.
The Ascent succeeds at delivering an action-shooter with challenging enemies and a diverse set of levels to explore. This is bolstered by a rich universe that’s practically bursting with interesting lore at every seam. Despite some wonkiness with the in-game map layout, it’s a quite enjoyable experience, especially if you decide to go online and team up with friends. The Ascent is a vastly impressive first outing for Neon Giant, and one that sets the bar high for the studio’s future endeavors.
The Ascent proves why the cyberpunk genre is so popular right now. There isn’t anything exactly different or unique about its story, but it perfects the atmosphere with terrific environment art and an otherworldly soundtrack. Combine that with outstanding twin-stick shooter gameplay and elements of wall cover, cool-down management, and role-playing to deepen the experience. Blasting through crews of Rojins with a rocket-firing gun, the Astrosmasher, being among my personal highlights. It may have accessibility and minor performance concerns, but it’s still sensational, action-packed, and so much fun. The Ascent may be the best cyberpunk game in the last year.
The Ascent combines excellent worldbuilding, satisfying role playing, exciting combat, and stellar visuals to deliver an astounding action RPG.
For the price it sits at… I think it's a decent purchase. There's a lot to enjoy even just in looking around the world that has been built here, there are plenty of battles to keep you going and there's the story to play through from start to finish. Scratches that neon lit cyberpunk aesthetic itch just right.
At $30 US it is a steal, but it’s also available day one on Game Pass. Stunning graphics, excellent music, innovative gameplay, and so many other factors come together to not only make one of the best releases of the year but one of my favorite games of all time. (score updated after launch, console version is far behind/buggier than the Steam version)
The Ascent is a bloody good time that combines addictive twin-stick shooting, a spectacular cyberpunk world, and a rocking synth soundtrack that elevates every moment to the next level. I never wanted to put the game down, despite some shortcomings.
it is only one step away from becoming one of those games that mark a generation.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Ascent picks up the glove to become the "Diablo with guns" and the result is a game with astonishing action and a superb design.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Ascent brings us all the frenetism and strategy of a chaotic and futuristic cyberpunk-style world, where our character must discover the places and secrets that this universe hides. Despite its flaws, it becomes an Xbox must-have.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The Ascent is a true homage to the classic top-down shooter genre that adds some modern features without disrespecting its main inspirations.
Review in Italian | Read full review
The Ascent is for the most part a polished experience that's tons of fun to play and behold. The narrative will carry you along to many interesting places with different baddies to fry, though a few encounters feature enemies that are pure bullet sponges. You will need to pick the right equipment and keep up with leveling, but these issues can be overcome. Hardware requirements shouldn't hold you back too much, and glitches are few and far between. The overall quality makes this one a must play for cyberpunk and isometric shooter fans.
The Ascent is a wonderful experience that is easy to recommend thanks to Game Pass. It has some technical issues, some bugs, and also takes a while to get to the point, but it is worth the investment. There is little reason to not check it out if you have Game Pass. This is a game that is great with friends and even solo manages to entertain. I hope they continue to clean up the bugs over time, but for now it is easily one of my favorite experiences of the Summer.
A robustly entertaining cyberpunk dungeon crawler wrapped up in some of the most sublime audiovisual presentation and thoroughly satisfying combat to come along in a good while, though it isn't quite as ambitious as I would like it to be, the Ascent is nonetheless a fantastically entertaining offering that will appeal to genre fans of cyberpunk settings and dungeon crawlers alike.
Overall, The Ascent is a fun twin-stick shooter that comes to the Playstation with an absolutely beautiful world design. The wholesale violence is very engaging but may feel a bit redundant as you can be pretty well maxed out about halfway through. I had a lot of fun with The Ascent, especially with multiplayer. It’s a beautiful-looking game that’s a blast to play that’s worth checking out.
While The Ascent is not going to be the next Diablo nor Path of Exile, it manages to craft an immersive and distinct experience, one that has familiar gameplay, yet a unique design. Whether your exploring Veles alone or with some friends, you won't want to miss out on this one!
The Ascent manages to create an unbelievably detailed and dirty cyberpunk world for you to explore and find your place in. All the while you’ll unravel cyberpunk-esque corporate schemes. I couldn’t stop playing the game, The Ascent is absolutely dripping with cyberpunk aesthetics and is a true love letter to the genre by clear lovers of cyberpunk fiction.