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The Ascent |OT| As Above, So Below

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Deleted member 471617

Unconfirmed Member
Played about 45 minutes earlier today and enjoyed what I played to where I decided to buy the game which after the 20% discount, cost me $24. Since my GPU subscription is less than a week away from expiring, instead of spending $10 to renew, for an extra $14, just buy the game instead and if there's ever expansions and whatnot, I will be already set.

74 on Open Critic is right where I expected it to be as it lines up with other twin stick shooters. Ruiner is 77, Alienation is 79 while Dead Nation PS4 and Lara Croft and the Temple of Osiris are under 74. Minimal difference. Majority of critics simply don't like twin stick shooters but that's okay because I do and that's all that matters to me.

Since im off the weekend, I will be able to play all day tomorrow and Saturday. Hyped!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
It's only on PC and Xbox? That really is a shame because I was watching the ACG video on it and it looks really nice. I need something Cyberpunk to wash away Cyberpunk 2077 out of my mind.
 
I've heard the gamepass version is behind a patch or two compared to steam (missing options in the settings, more bugs, connectivity issues, etc.). Anyone hear the same?
 

catvonpee

Member
I played the game for about two hours and I am completely blown away by the graphics 😍

The game is really fun too. There was the game on the original Playstation called Project: Overkill by Konami I used to love that was a twin stick shooter. So this is definitely my jam. I just wish this game had bloody footprints everywhere like Overkill did 😆

I like the way my guy looks.
714d34e5-f3cb-47d2-bb71-a6216c522c64.png


I can't overstate how beautiful the game is. I absolutely love the art style and the isometric view.

a653ba90-3e22-4784-a584-6caf5cac6e3b.png


I leveled up twice and made it to the hub world and felt completely overwhelmed... Like I feel too tired to completely digest all the game is throwing at me at and I feel like I might need to take my time with this and read all the codex entries and stuff.

Definitely is great so far! I can't wait until I have some time off so I can really sink my teeth into it.
 

Sygma

Member
Jesus christ this is pissing me off. I found Returnal easier than this

Game is super easy tho ? one thing to not do too often is exploring too far off the main quest lin areas, because the quest zones aren't scaled at all to your level. Its easy to find lvl 14 - 20 dudes in the first zones for example

Also use cover to your advantage (crouch down behind cover and lift your gun), you can't be reached that way. Weapon handling stat makes an enormous difference too in terms of consistent hits in regards to the spray
 
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Stuart360

Member
Game is super easy tho ? one thing to not do too often is exploring too far off the main quest lin areas, because the quest zones aren't scaled at all to your level. Its easy to find lvl 14 - 20 dudes in the first zones for example

Also use cover to your advantage (crouch down behind cover and lift your gun), you can't be reached that way. Weapon handling stat makes an enormous difference too in terms of consistent hits in regards to the spray
I'm only playing on normal to be fair, but yeah didnt die once in my 2 hours. Beat the boss first time. I'm sure it will get harder though, and some of the reviews were moaning about the difficulty lol.
What i was doing in combat was constantly moving, constantly backing away from enemies while shooting, and if i started getting surounded, i would jump roll through the enemies.
 
Posted this in a different thread but I'll send it on here since it's the official.

Anyone else playing it on a Series X? The aiming is...not great. Maybe I need to fine tune it? Turn the sensitivity down?

Outside that, I'm still not getting into the story or characters. Just going through the motions. Seems to be decently well written though. So easy to get lost in what feels like giant levels. Anyway this game is carried so hard by its looks. Which I'm fine with. At this point I'm contemplating just plowing through the story without doing much in the way of side missions. Anyone else feel that way?
 

larkwaffle

Member
This game has been a pleasant surprise! It wasn’t on my radar whatsoever. I love isometric games and cyberpunk vibes so I immediately downloaded it on my Series X.

At first I thought it was going to be too similar to Ruiner, but I like this way better. Graphics look really impressive. The set pieces are super dense and detailed, too. Sometimes I like to just stop and look around at everything going on.

I prefer melee ARPG mechanics over twin stick shooting, but this is still really fun so far. Thanks for putting this on my radar, Gaf!
 

AJUMP23

Parody of actual AJUMP23
I have played the first two main missions, road the metro and just really like how the world feels dirty and alive. You feel like you are in the underbelly of a city that is falling apart at the seems. I like that bystanders can get caught in the crossfire and shooting a guy that is about to throw a grenade gets him to drop it.
 

01011001

Banned
I didn't read through the thread so I wonder if someone brought this up already or not... but Raytracing literally does not work... at least for me.
game is set to Direct X12, all the Raytracing settings are set to on, yet I still have Screenspace reflections, and no change in the shadows or ambient occlusion detail. and also no performance difference between setting RT to on or off.


so it seems to me that the whole Direct X12 renderer is absolutely busted at the moment
 

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Check out our Beginner's Guide for The Ascent, the scifi twin-stick shooter now on Game Pass.

The first game from developer Neon Giant games, The Ascent is a combo of isometric RPGs like Wasteland or Pillars of Eternity and twin-stick shooters like Dead Nation or Enter the Gungeon. Some folks have referred to it as "Cyberpunk Diablo," but it's less about a continuous loot grind than that might imply. Our previewer called it more like "cyberpunk Hunter the Reckoning," which - if you can remember back that far - sounds pretty rad. There is loot to be found, of course, but you're not just chasing the next weapon upgrade or armor set like in Diablo. The Ascent focuses much more on action than loot, with how you spec out your character being far more important than the loot itself.

00:00 - Intro
00:29 - What Type of Game Is The Ascent?
01:06 - Gameplay Overview
01:34 - Co-Op Explainer
01:47 - Story Synopsis
02:36 - Character Creation & Customization
03:31 - RPG Elements
04:25 - Gear + Weapon Upgrades
06:14 - Combat Overview & Tips
 
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Salz01

Member
Game looks and runs great on series x. Only played about an hour. It’s a little slow, hope it picks up later. Think I saw a review saying it does. Happy this finally came out and that it’s good so far.
 

MastAndo

Member
Is this game kinda difficult solo, or am I just trash? I did well in the beginning about an hour or so through the game and beat the first boss easily. I'm now on the first main mission after getting to the main hub area, and I find myself getting easily overwhelmed and killed. At least it throws you back in the action with seemingly no punishment, so I guess that might just be part of the experience?

The difficulty might keep me away if it gets even worse later, but the game is pretty sweet otherwise. It looks awesome, and the atmosphere is off the charts. It seems to be really well crafted, like this team of devs had a very precise vision of the kind of game they wanted to make.
 

Robb

Gold Member
Tried this out yesterday through GamePass but it didn't really click with me at any point. It looks really good though, love all the neon lighting etc. Just not my type of game I guess.
 

Sygma

Member
Is this game kinda difficult solo, or am I just trash? I did well in the beginning about an hour or so through the game and beat the first boss easily. I'm now on the first main mission after getting to the main hub area, and I find myself getting easily overwhelmed and killed. At least it throws you back in the action with seemingly no punishment, so I guess that might just be part of the experience?

The difficulty might keep me away if it gets even worse later, but the game is pretty sweet otherwise. It looks awesome, and the atmosphere is off the charts. It seems to be really well crafted, like this team of devs had a very precise vision of the kind of game they wanted to make.
It gets way worse later yeah
 
Is this game kinda difficult solo, or am I just trash? I did well in the beginning about an hour or so through the game and beat the first boss easily. I'm now on the first main mission after getting to the main hub area, and I find myself getting easily overwhelmed and killed. At least it throws you back in the action with seemingly no punishment, so I guess that might just be part of the experience?

The difficulty might keep me away if it gets even worse later, but the game is pretty sweet otherwise. It looks awesome, and the atmosphere is off the charts. It seems to be really well crafted, like this team of devs had a very precise vision of the kind of game they wanted to make.
Yeah im with you. Normal mode with high aim assist and just a couple hours in and idk how this is supposed to be playable solo lol. Hopefully you change difficulty mid game and easier mode is more forgiving cause jesus...
 
I'm only playing on normal to be fair, but yeah didnt die once in my 2 hours. Beat the boss first time. I'm sure it will get harder though, and some of the reviews were moaning about the difficulty lol.
What i was doing in combat was constantly moving, constantly backing away from enemies while shooting, and if i started getting surounded, i would jump roll through the enemies.
That first boss was literally nothing though dude. Wait another 2 hours and watch what happens lol
 

DavidGzz

Member
I'm having a blast with this! Anyone notice your dude including what he is currently equipped with is in the title screen? Nice touch. Also funny since I removed the starting pants cause I didn't like them and it looks like he is wearing large boxer briefs.

Also, I like how the enemy encounters are random. I actually died since I didn't know where the roll button was yet at the very beginning, god swarmed and pinned in a corner. When I respawned, there were a lot less enemies. Also the loot was different the second time.
 
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DavidGzz

Member
I really like it so far as well. Shame to see so many playing the score game rather than trying the game itself. Its not for everybody, but its pretty rad. Its got solid art design, fun combat, and is visually very pleasing. The small studio that made this deserves better. Shame to see the regular fanboys doing drive-by shitposting regardless of game or platform said item is released on.

This. It's exactly what I thought it was going to be. It's like reviewers overhyped themselves.
 
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MagiusNecros

Gilgamesh Fan Annoyance
Only really did the tutorial stuff(first boss, mostly kiting and quickly picking up on it's 2 mechanics) but I think this game is gonna be great for me. Main weapon and secondary weapon switching along with your tactical/sub weapon on a long CD alongside augmentation skills that juggles your slow regenerating energy capacity feels great in a resource management kind of way.

This game is really pretty I gotta say. Visuals are superb. Can't wait to play more.
 

Desless1

Member
Is it just me, or does areas in earlier maps opens up and becomes accsessible after you level up, or is it mission based, i.e., "Balls deep" I got access to loot containers previously not reachable.

I think level ups should be more notified, a message/notification or something about spending points. Very easy to suddenly have 12 points to skill up with because you have 3 level ups while fighting during a mission(s).
Upgrading weapons helped very much with some of the mobs, but its easy to get swarmed, at least with ferals. Amazing game! hehe "Balls deep" gave me a good laugh.
 

BigLee74

Gold Member
Game looks fantastic. Gameplay a bit humdrum so far.

2 things pissing me off enough to almost completely stop enjoyment.

Why is the grenade button on the press of the movement stick? It makes it really hard to use and aim.

Graphics maybe too cluttered, making it hard to see where to go. As a result, I need to press the ‘highlight direction to objective button’. As the trail is only displayed for a second or two, I need to constantly press it. And again, you need to stop moving to press the button.

Really frustrating (although I haven’t dug into controller settings yet, so maybe they can be remapped).
 
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M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Going to see if Y and LS buttons can be swapped around. It takes ages to build up Grenade power and then I always miss with it!
You can always do it in the Xbox Accessories app. (it has thumb stick as an icon)
 

b0uncyfr0

Member
These are afew things i really dislike so far after a few hours on Series X. Some of them are easily fixable i think. Would be great to get some feedback from NG.

- The navigation line dies out wayyy too quickly. I often find myself pressing it every 5 seconds because there are alot of corridors/navigation and i need to constantly check. Its annoying after 15 minutes.
- The alien language is not good. They could've just used left it out.
- The player is alil clunky honestly. From the gameplay I thought it would be abit more agile and fluid.
- No way to increase size of some HUD objects, this is especially bad if you're sitting afar from a TV
- There is noticeable pop-in especially in the elevators, this should be fixed.
- There are small stutters with new area's on series X , this should be fixed.
- No HDR - its a crime for a game like this not to have it.
- Pressing B to crouch should have an option to toggle (either hold B or press)
- Ammo and some objects are pickable just by running over them but health isn't (You have to press X), why? This breaks the flow.
- Holding X to access some chests, this takes too long. Make it an option, simply press X once. Keep the game fast and concise. This just feel's out of place honestly.

Im still really enjoying the game though, these are just things i think would make it even better imo.
 
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GymWolf

Gold Member
I've put a few hours in and the gameplay and environments are fucking great. It's disappointing I'm getting shader compilation stuttering on GP PC. It's like Cemu without the shader cache. Also, no DLSS or functional RT on that version, either. I could live without those if the shader issue wasn't there. Seems to play fine on console, even the base Xbox One only has an occasional hitch here and there and has smooth barrel explosions and everything. I'll probably just end up playing on Series S, which is fine, but they need to fix this stuff asap.
Is a compiling problem when the game freeze for a moment to load any new asset that you saw on screen for the first time but then it's perfect after that?!
 
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GymWolf

Gold Member
I'm only playing on normal to be fair, but yeah didnt die once in my 2 hours. Beat the boss first time. I'm sure it will get harder though, and some of the reviews were moaning about the difficulty lol.
What i was doing in combat was constantly moving, constantly backing away from enemies while shooting, and if i started getting surounded, i would jump roll through the enemies.
Switch to hard you noob, it's not that terrible.

Edit: reading the topic seems like the first 2 hours are deceivingly easy, nevermind :lollipop_grinning_sweat:
 
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GymWolf

Gold Member
Game looks fantastic. Gameplay a bit humdrum so far.

2 things pissing me off enough to almost completely stop enjoyment.

Why is the grenade button on the press of the movement stick? It makes it really hard to use and aim.

Graphics maybe too cluttered, making it hard to see where to go. As a result, I need to press the ‘highlight direction to objective button’. As the trail is only displayed for a few seconds or two, I need to constantly press it. And again, you need to stop moving to press the button.

Really frustrating (although I haven’t dug into controller settings yet, so maybe they can be remapped).
Yeah, what they were thinking lol.
 

mxbison

Member
During the intro credits I was surprised it's all programmers, world designer, artists etc. and no dedicated game designer (unless I missed it), and I think that shows in quite a few areas.

Messy UI, kinda useless map, stats and character progression that feel complicated and meaningless at the same time, difficulty balancing issues, weird control decisions like pressing left stick for grenade etc.

Might be one of those projects that thought "What do we need to pay a game designer for? They don't really do anything."

Still a good game and a great achievement for such a small team, but I think they left some potential on the table.
 

Bartski

Gold Member
Loving my time with it so far. I'm not a twin-stick shooter connaisseur, but I did beat Ruiner and played some West of Dead and this is really very well done.


THE GOOD:

- looks amazing. Crazy detailed environment art on such a scale. 100% delivers on the target aesthetic and vibe.

- scripted large scale destruction, explosions look really good

- combat just works, good arsenal packing tons of punch

- enemy variety makes you really use all available mechanics, alternate between cover and keeping distance vs pushing forward. Optimal challenge so far (playng solo)

- proper cyberpunk fashion, makes you look more and more badass, rather than as if you were on your way to Love Parade 2001 like in that other game

- sound design is on point except for some audio bugs


THE BAD:

- no collision system! Poor collision system. Clipping straight through just about every non-background object kills immersion and screams PS3.
Edit: that is not entirely true. There are some boxes here and there that react to the player and enemy bodies do ragdoll if you bump into them.
But that's just about it, and being able to clip straight through all NPCs in crowded areas with a little "bump" animation is clearly them cutting a lot of corners.

- escaping civilians straight up de-spawn in your face when hitting a boundary, why??

- real-time destruction physics are purely cosmetic, don't affect the world geometry

- pop in whenever camera angle changes to make pop in even possible is depressing, SSD where art thou

- menus clearly not made to navigate with a controller, hard getting used to

- can't re-map dodge to B

- side quest NPCs speaking Swedish on purpose according to the dev. WTF?
 
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ZywyPL

Banned
YGBbUXt.jpg



This game for real.... I expected it to be good after watching all the gameplays, but not THIS good. It is one of those very rare titles that make me forger about eating, drinking, sleeping etc., it totally sucked me in.

The gameplay is top notch, basically Diablo with guns, a.k.a. something I always dreamed about, there's mayhem everywhere, the weapons and skills feel fantastic, everything as that "punch" added to it, and Neon Giant really meant it when they said that if there was a place they could put an explosion in it, that's exactly what they did. I'm especially loving the red barrels, the moment they explode is simply awesome, seems like a trivial thing but I haven't enjoyed explosive barrels this much since KZ2 in 2009. But if you're gonna play it as an ordinary twin-stick shooter it won;t take you very far, because after that initial tutorial part using the environment to your advantage becomes crucial for survival.

I'm surprised how much of an RPG is actually in this game other than the "shooty-shooty" part, the HUB is HUGE, I've spend like 2h just initially exploring it, it's like CP2077 with all its tall, multi-storey buildings, except you actually do get to reach all those places, very often you see a place like 5 storeys below where you just had been there 10-15min ago, it's an amazing sight to behold.

Speaking of visuals, my lord, the game is absolutely gorgeous, I'm a sucker for high-res textures and they are everywhere, every object is very detailed, the lightning is amazing, so is the PBR implementation, I take a screenshot literally every 3-5s because I am amazed how every square inch looks like. And the way everything is animated is as well top class and the cherry on top, whether it's the world itself, the guns, the characters, everything moves/reacts just right.

One of the things that pleases me the most if how alive the world feels, everything around you is moving, drones are flying every now and then, etc., and again, I haven't seen such busy background since KZ2. Ton of stuff is interactive, destructible, and stays like that instead of immediately disappearing, this is the aspect due to which I consider The Acent to be the first real next-gen game, none of the games released so far brings anything new to the table other than pretty graphics and fast loadings. There's an early side quest where after leaving a building there's
one of those giant mechs
waiting for you, and he literally runs after you around the city, destroying everything at its path while people are running scared or dying, I can't remember when was the last time a boss fight was so intense and so immersive, just the fact that the whole world reacts to this duel puts it above all those 100M AAA games where you can't even kick a rock.

That being said, the game isn't perfect, the absolutely most annoying thing is the squeaky noises the NPCs make, I just skip all the dialogues because of that and read later on what's the whole side quest is all about. The UI is a bit of clunky, but then again, after FS2020 everything feels like it's super user-friendly. And the map isn't very helpful to say the least, it should've IMO been 2D instead, showing just a single level with marked stairs/elevators/entrances. But then again, I don't even use it at all but enjoy walking around in this amazing world, so even if I get lost or need to backtrack, it's a non-issue.


Those are my initial impressions after first 5-6h with the game, but man, I already know I'll put countless hours into it, it just ticks all the checkboxes of my presonal taste.
 

Punished Miku

Human Rights Subscription Service
Played for 1.5 hrs last night.

Game looks sick as hell on Series S. Honestly never seen a game like it when I got to the hub area.

The movement and aiming doesn't feel flawless. I usually play with zero aim assist in these types of games and land headshots all the time. But with the aim assist on it felt fine. Movement still a tiny bit too slow.

Story seems pretty good, the lore seems pretty deep. I'm super into it. Just need to play more.

I think this studio would be a steal for purchasing immediately.
 
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