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The Ascent - isometric, co-op cyberpunk action RPG

Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
50,754
Codex Year of the Donut
kinda already bored with it tbh, every scifi/futuristic game is boring depressing shit now but not even in a cool grimdark way like warhammer but just gay
 

Saravan

Savant
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
926
kinda already bored with it tbh, every scifi/futuristic game is boring depressing shit now but not even in a cool grimdark way like warhammer but just gay

Lasted about 10 hours then I got pretty bored. The environment is great, so much attention to detail but it's not enough to carry the monotone gameplay and rudimentary RPG elements.
 

Yoomazir

Educated
Joined
Sep 21, 2020
Messages
222
Amazing visuals but goddamn I'm getting bored real fast with this game. Slow ass movement, then add fucking huge levels were you spend more time going from Point A to Point B then back to Point A than doing the mission itself... Ruiner is better.
 

Ivan

Arcane
Joined
Jun 22, 2013
Messages
7,474
Location
California
Reached credits the other night. Discovered how much more fun the "slam" augment is. My biggest takeaway is that the game suffers tremendously b/c of the boring world traversal and how limited you interactions are therein. Would love a proper RPG or stealth game in this setting, a la Seven: Days Long Gone.
 

Terenty

Liturgist
Joined
Nov 29, 2018
Messages
1,367
Yeah, the game is a complete snoozefest. Coop is a joke. Shallow is the best word to describe it.

Hope i'll receive a refund after 4 hours
 

King Crispy

Too bad I have no queen.
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Strap Yourselves In
My initial take:

Downloaded on PC via GamePass flawlessly. Proceeded to turn everything to max in DX12 mode including the RTX settings. Runs very smoothly, with some notable stutter during big "boom" events as already mentioned.

Things I like about it:

- Some innovation, although a little clunky, with the camera perspective. You're not always stuck in the typical 3/4 Diabloesque view; during some parts such as when you return to base the camera perspective will slowly rotate, which is cool but a little disorienting.

- The game's combat is p. chunky, in a good way. Getting your first decent weapon is satisfying, and finally getting the hang of the balance needed between charging ahead and tactically retreating while spraying hot lead is neat.

- As already mentioned, the graphics are almost jaw-dropping at times. Art direction is taking some cues from of course Blade Runner, as well as a sprinkle of maybe Alien and even Event Horizon thrown in? Beautiful game.

Things I don't like:

- Yeah, the controls using WASD and mouse take this old man's brain a little longer to get used to. After about an hour, however, it started to click and I wasn't panicking when getting rushed by a group of mobs. Evasion is key (is this Witcher?!?)

- While freedom to roam the map is nice, and lends to the game's RPG-ness, the trecking back to where you need to be to complete your mission is tedious and a little irritating considering the save method. Have I gone far enough on the map not to have lost too much progress if I want to quit?

- There are still clearly some technical details that need to be ironed out, but the game does seem quite stable.

---

Anyone saying avoid this, it's a dead game, etc., isn't really being fair imo. This game has enough familiarity to it to appeal to anyone who likes Diablo, and enough newness to it to warrant seeing if you like it or not. If you're subscribed to GamePass, it's a no brainer -- the download time IS worth it.
 

King Crispy

Too bad I have no queen.
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By the way, I went ahead and edited the title of this thread since The Ascent is by no means a "top-down" game.
 

Saravan

Savant
Joined
Jul 11, 2019
Messages
926
I would say it is a bit misleading to say that anyone who likes Diablo will like this game. The Ascent has no way near the level of customization of character builds of D2 or the depth in itemization. The only thing they have in common is that they are both technically ARPGs but The Ascent is a lot more action than RPG.

This is a decent game worth trying but I personally don't recommend it at this price point due to the simplistic game mechanics and the length of the game (which is pretty short).
 

mediocrepoet

Philosoraptor in Residence
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Joined
Sep 30, 2009
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Combatfag: Gold box / Pathfinder
Codex 2012 Codex+ Now Streaming! MCA Project: Eternity Divinity: Original Sin 2
Now that I've spent more time with it, the game kind of reminds me of a mixture of Smash TV and Syndicate (1993) while using only one guy instead of a squad, rather than Smash TV and Diablo.

Syndicate in the sense of running around with implants and some minor customization while gunning down random mooks. Theoretically there's some sort of story or whatever going on, but you're better off approaching it like an arcade game than anything imo.
 

King Crispy

Too bad I have no queen.
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PSA:

There's a 13GB update for The Ascent for GamePass versions available as of August 4th, but this update doesn't show up automatically. You have to launch the Microsoft Store, then search for The Ascent, accessing the game's page, which then automatically triggers the download.

The jury's still out on exactly what this patch does, but I'm going to be doing some testing myself shortly.
 

Siveon

Bot
Joined
Jul 13, 2013
Messages
4,509
Shadorwun: Hong Kong
Some of you haven't played a twin stick shooter in decades and it shows
 

toro

Arcane
Vatnik
Joined
Apr 14, 2009
Messages
14,031
I just finished it. It took me around 15 hours but it felt much longer because at least 50% of that time was spent on running like a headless chicken from point A to B.

The combat is simplistic and mediocre. Mechanics like crouching or shooting from behind cover are basically pointless. It's true that the game allows multiple builds but Ruiner's combat is much better.

The enemies are bullet sponges and to be honest at the end of the game I switched to Easy mode just to get over it. I only finished it because I was retarded enough to buy it. The end game is unfinished and basically a fancy corridor.

The game has many flaws. Just a couple of them: camera is a abomination, no economy - hoarding money is only useful for respecs, cyberdeck upgrades are found in side missions, gameworld traveling is bland and the encounters design is very weak (or nonexistent).

Long story short: excellent visuals are wasted on a sub-par game. Akira, Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner are the main influences but what's the point when everything else is a letdown.

The game is more like a technical demo for Neon Giant Game to demonstrate their technical proficiency with UE4 engine. Don't spend money or time on this shit.

Screenshots:

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