It all works well the sheer brunt impact force of landing shots, eviscerating enemies into red piles of mist and throwing out equipment and augments to lay down some serious firepower is awesome. The result is that The Ascent is neither a run-and-gun or a cover based shooter, it’s a hectic hybrid which constantly forces you to switch up depending on what the moment demands. The enemy AI is smart however, as they charge down your position with superior numbers or bombard you with ordinance to flush you out.
Pressing Circle has you stooping your precious grey matter, allowing you to take cover and aim above to pot shot unsuspecting fools. The game makes the most of this mechanic by having lots of available verticality for enemies, and equally deploying smaller, shorter troops that’ll have your rounds gliding lovingly – but ineffectually – over their noggins. Aiming regularly will have you firing chest high, as opposed to when you’re holding L2, which makes you aim for the head or for opponents savvy enough to be on a floor above you. You move with the left stick and aim with the right, with The Ascent’s extra wrinkle of depth coming from the perspective at which you fire. Put enough lead into a foe and they’ll eject limbs, be sent packing over the end of a platform, or just straight up implode in a delightfully sadistic manner. The combat and shooting mechanics are weighty and effective. Whether it be main or side missions, your time will be spent traveling through Veles on one of its 4 tiers, mowing down hordes of angsty, chromed-up enemies, interacting with objects and completing tasks. You begin as a lowly Indent, sent on menial tough-guy jobs to sort out whatever your seedy boss commands you to do, usually in a less friendly manner. If you’ve ever played a Diablo title, or something belonging to that ilk, you’ll be more than familiar with its set up. The Ascent is a top-down perspective shoot ’em up with twin-stick controls. He’s A Goddamned One-man Slaughterhouse, That’s what he is. Is it worth ascending from the pits of Veles after the travesty that was Cyberpunk 2077? Can it redeem a genre so inextricably tainted? Let’s get ourselves on the melding table and find out. The Ascent has arrived on PS5 to bestow upon us a Cyberpunk adventure.
I was disappointed when it released as an Xbox exclusive, owing to the fact I didn’t own said console at the time. Needless to say, as a twin-stick action game with a top-down perspective and a Diablo inspired design, The Ascent had all of my dopamine stations ticking nicely when it was initially shown off. Thank the dystopian Gods of cruel, vain and unempathetic worlds then that The Ascent has strolled in, strapped to the brim with chrome, augments out the ears and a selection of weapons to explode human sacks with reckless abandon. No, I’m still not over it, leave me alone. It’s a versatile genre, one ripe for mesmerising stories and stunningly gory depictions of violence.Īt least it was, until Cyberpunk 2077 rolled around, poured gasoline on its greatness and proceeded to take a dump all over itself. What all of these IPs from differing mediums had in common was their Cyberpunk setting and atmosphere. Ruiner was one of my favourite action shooter ’em ups of the last five years. Blade Runner and its sequel were compelling introspections of the nature of humanity. Dredd was a revered dystopic slaughter-fest of violence and carnage. There was once a time your name was a hallowed and worshipped thing. Neon lights, dreary society, guns galore and destructive cyberpower to exploit, The Ascent lands on PS5 at last.
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