Checkpoints are plentiful and enemy encounters seem to jump from different configurations to make things easier if you're struggling. This isn't to say The Ascent completely falls apart in the action department. Alternatively, there are stasis grenades that freeze enemies in place and violently explode when you hit them hard enough, which provides a lot more bang (sorry, not sorry) for your energy buck.
It costs a lot of energy to deploy, gives you a giant mini-gun as well as a large pool of health, and is about as effective in combat as a super soaker. I died over thirty times to this thing, and each time it felt cheap.Īs for abilities, there are a few that feel vastly underpowered. Given how much the game pushes the importance of aiming and crouching, this feels like an oversight. But the fight isn't a pain in the neck due to explosive damage or volume, but because the game's very own aiming system just seems to arbitrarily decide whether or not your shots will hit a suicide spider or not. The most difficult boss battle in the entire game is a robotic spider that spawns smaller spiders that leap and explode when you get too close. Then there are difficulty spikes and general balance issues. The mechanics and progression tell me it rewards thinking ahead, but then the encounters keep throwing curveballs that my tools cannot account for. Multiple times without fail, I would have half a dozen new enemies suddenly appear either behind me or in a blind spot, just popping into existence on my radar, and usually in a way that reduces me to chunky salsa within seconds. There's even a radar on the screen to help you navigate and negotiate enemy placement as well as whatever geography you have available.īut The Ascent has a terrible habit of setting up ambushes.
Aiming your weapon by holding the left trigger lets you shoot over cover and can stagger enemies with enough concentrated fire. As gun battles progress and enemies start using automatic weapons, you can crouch behind cover and continue the gunfight like you would a traditional third-person shooter. The biggest example of this is how it introduces cover-based combat and aiming your weapon. The game encourages tactical use of the battlefield but occasionally pulls the rug out from under you in small but frustrating ways. On paper, it can lead to a lot of variety in the gunfights, but there are few design decisions that hurt it. Just give me a bigger gun and let me shoot more, that's all I need. Tactical Sense makes your special consumable item (usually a grenade) recover faster, Evasion increases the invincibility frames and cooldown of your dodge roll, Handling reduces bullet spray, and Aiming increases critical hit chance. But rather than the usual attributes like Strength, Constitution, or Intelligence, The Ascent funnels you towards different forms of gunplay. As you level up, you'll get character points which can increase various stats. In fact, the game's RPG elements seem to agree. When The Ascent leans into a more arcade-action direction with its encounters, it is a blast. The rumble feedback on a gamepad has just the right level of kick, the sound design makes each weapon feel powerful, and seeing a gunman get reduced to a pile of giblets is always a delight. When it comes to facing hordes of enemies, there is a lot to enjoy with the gunplay. This leads to a mad dash for power where you fight for your life against everyone trying to take what they can in the chaos, shifting alliances with different brokers and handlers, and hopefully win your freedom once the dust settles. However, due to multiple complications involving the malfunction of an AI that was handling the company's finances – yes even in the far future we are somehow still slaves to The Algorithm – The Ascent Group goes bankrupt. Your custom-made character is an indent, literally shortened from “indentured servant” to the whims of a megacorporation known as The Ascent Group, and are tasked with doing grunt work for them.
THE ASCENT FAST TRAVEL FULL
Just Another JobĪs mentioned before, The Ascent is an all too familiar vision of the far future full of vast economic inequality and completely rampant corporate capitalism. Alright, now to find out what's really in the soft drinks around here. Which is a good thing since that exact same presentation helps gloss over some middling issues. But there are some novel twists to its presentation, much more fantastical sci-fi trappings while still maintaining its grungy aesthetic, that help it stand out from the pack. It wears the trappings of a neon-drenched cyberpunk future and its gameplay is a mix of an action RPG and a twin-stick shooter. The Ascent doesn't seem like much first blush.
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