The RPG Files: The Ascent Review | MMORPG.com

System

The RPG Files: The Ascent Review | MMORPG.com

Jason took the latest action RPG, The Ascent, for a spin in our latest RPG Files review. How does the frenetic, fast-paced action hold up? Here is our full review.

Read the full story here

Asheram

This deserves higher than 7 imho.

Slapshot1188

Finished this up the other day. Yes there are bugs. But we had a ton of fun. Played it multiplayer co-op through XBox Gamepass for PC. They had a big patch a few days ago that fixed many of the Multiplayer bugs. Also, the first time you enter an area or perform something like throwing a grenade you may have significant stuttering but at least for us, it became smooth after that.

So my take is that it's a really nice looking game, that can be a lot of fun if you are interested in this type of gameplay and can put up with the bugs. If you have Gamepass it's definitely worth the free Download.

We had a rough start (disconnects, drops, general bugs) but by the end we were sad to see it go. It's definitely setup for expansions or a sequel though. It's a really small team so I expect they will focus on the bugs before more content, but we will see.

Phixion13

Played it through all the way - including all side missions.

- The worst mistake in this game is pacing - you can get side missions unlocked that you can not progress unless you progress the main story. You wont know this until you walk across the map to get to it. A lot of cool abilities and unlocks are not til the tail end either.

- Styles/Weapon skins do not save. They make no real difference outside the gun skins but there are not saving upon reloading your game.

- AI is terrible. There are a few fights that you can stand there and simply side step mechanics - not sure where the fast pace crazy combat in this article is coming from other than moving forward in an area and triggering more mob spawns.

- You think with a train systems and fast travel system you would have to balance which one you use but rather quickly you get the currency in heaps to just fast travel everywhere. Again, just bad pacing.


The real winner is the world they crafted. It is down right beautiful and something similar to Shadowrun mixed with Fifth Element. Outside that I would not say there is anything special. The camera lock will have you looking at scenery while you and your enemies are all in the bottom right corner. The builds are straight forward and you can easily just power through with an assault rifle. It is cool but the hype just doesn't feel like it fits.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Asheram

Phixion13 said:

Played it through all the way - including all side missions.



- The worst mistake in this game is pacing - you can get side missions unlocked that you can not progress unless you progress the main story. You wont know this until you walk across the map to get to it. A lot of cool abilities and unlocks are not til the tail end either.



- Styles/Weapon skins do not save. They make no real difference outside the gun skins but there are not saving upon reloading your game.



- AI is terrible. There are a few fights that you can stand there and simply side step mechanics - not sure where the fast pace crazy combat in this article is coming from other than moving forward in an area and triggering more mob spawns.



- You think with a train systems and fast travel system you would have to balance which one you use but rather quickly you get the currency in heaps to just fast travel everywhere. Again, just bad pacing.





The real winner is the world they crafted. It is down right beautiful and something similar to Shadowrun mixed with Fifth Element. Outside that I would not say there is anything special. The camera lock will have you looking at scenery while you and your enemies are all in the bottom right corner. The builds are straight forward and you can easily just power through with an assault rifle. It is cool but the hype just doesn't feel like it fits.

You left a lol on my comment and explained yourself well and I respect that.

Maybe I should have said CP 2077 shouldnt have gotten a 9 score and this only a 7 as it was also full of bugs, copy pasted identical npc's, npc's just vanishing out of the blue when a gun was pulled, a.i. was terrible esp police a.i., had fast travel as well that you just magically appear at your location after clicking a mailbox , could sell a side quest painting infinately for lots of money etc. and cost twice as much when it released.

blueturtle13 said:

First Person looks great

omg if you could play this game as first person or even tpp but not top down that would be awesome

saker

they certainly had their "marketing" planned and executed 100%! All the usual-suspects "you-tubers" game "experts" (self-styled) were all gushing over it last week... the payoffs working wonders.

Aeander

Asheram said:

This deserves higher than 7 imho.

Yep. Give it a few points from Cyberpunk's score. That oughta even things out.

kosac

7.0 is ok.
- Crossplay multiplayer dosnt work..
- Repeating location with same spawn position and lvl of enemy
- Chaotic map and navigation
- Chaotic stats.. you must learn so many icon types
- Weak soundtrack
-+ No endgame

+ Design
+ Fun

Ending is open i hope in more.

Tokken

blueturtle13 said:

First Person looks great

Needs some in game music with that video.

Iselin

I've tried it briefly just because it's free on PC game pass but it hasn't clicked for me yet.

Maybe some key rebinding will help because I find the default KB mapping awkward and unintuitive.

And comparing this to CP 2077? Yeah they both have a cyberpunk theme but c'mon lol.

RemyVorender

You gave the game of the year a 7? Cool story, bro.

Asheram

Iselin said:

I've tried it briefly just because it's free on PC game pass but it hasn't clicked for me yet.

Maybe some key rebinding will help because I find the default KB mapping awkward and unintuitive.

And comparing this to CP 2077? Yeah they both have a cyberpunk theme but c'mon lol.

It's better with a controller. For me CP 2077 never clicked but this game has.

As far as comparing it with CP 2077 I was comparing the review scores, CP 2077 did not deserve a 9 score, it had just as many if not worse issues at release, esp depending on what it was being played on . And still has issues for some.

This for me deserves better than a 7. I mean they do do half point scores etc i.e. Tribes of Midgard got a 7.5.
 
The world in this deserves a 10 on its own.

immoralthang

This is a very enjoyable game. It isn’t complex or groundbreaking in its gameplay. But as others have said, the atmosphere is fantastic. It’s just fun and stylish as hell.

I’d give it an 8.5. I see a lot of potential in the Ascent and look forward to seeing what the devs do next.

Aeander

RemyVorender said:

You gave the game of the year a 7? Cool story, bro.

It's good, but if that is our game of the year, 2021 is not much of a year.

Utinni

Aeander said:

RemyVorender said:

You gave the game of the year a 7? Cool story, bro.

It's good, but if that is our game of the year, 2021 is not much of a year.

Disco Elysium with the added voice acting is GOTY for 2021.

Slapshot1188

saker said:

they certainly had their "marketing" planned and executed 100%! All the usual-suspects "you-tubers" game "experts" (self-styled) were all gushing over it last week... the payoffs working wonders.

I Gotta pay the bills man.  

RemyVorender

kosac said:

7.0 is ok.

- Crossplay multiplayer dosnt work..

- Repeating location with same spawn position and lvl of enemy

- Chaotic map and navigation

- Chaotic stats.. you must learn so many icon types

- Weak soundtrack

-+ No endgame



+ Design

+ Fun



Ending is open i hope in more.

Weak soundtrack??? Wow that's crazy. Here I've been saying it's amazing. I even downloaded the soundtrack off of Steam and listen to it while I work. Ahh well, different strokes for different folks.

RemyVorender

Aeander said:

RemyVorender said:

You gave the game of the year a 7? Cool story, bro.

It's good, but if that is our game of the year, 2021 is not much of a year.

I agree with you. The last couple of years have been very disappointing overall.

samvenice

kosac said:

7.0 is ok.

- Weak soundtrack

Wut? it has bladerunner/ghost in the shell vibes all over the place (and there are some elements in the graphics that are an homage to those too. Eg the neon-umbrellas, the tachikoma-like mechs etc).
I found it absolutely amazing given the setting of the game.

And ambient sounds as well.

In the art/sound department this game is a masterpiece imo

Scot

Asheram said:

This deserves higher than 7 imho.

It has been given an average 73 at Metacritic so it seems about right to me, every time MMORPG.com does a review the score is either too high or too low.

Iselin

Scot said:

Asheram said:

This deserves higher than 7 imho.

It has been given an average 73 at Metacritic so it seems about right to me, every time MMORPG.com does a review the score is either too high or too low.

And Cyberpunk 2077 is an 86 on Metacritic so the 9 on this site is also about right

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

Scot

blueturtle13 said:

Iselin said:

Scot said:

Asheram said:

This deserves higher than 7 imho.

It has been given an average 73 at Metacritic so it seems about right to me, every time MMORPG.com does a review the score is either too high or too low.

And Cyberpunk 2077 is an 86 on Metacritic so the 9 on this site is also about right

Reviews are a funny thing.
A game like Cyberpunk 2077 scored better with critics than players while a title like The Ascent scored better with players than with critics. 
Some games seem to score about equal across players and critics like The Forgotten City (which is great btw) but anyway....no point to this post just find it interesting.   

Well after the furore whipped up by the gaming media about CP 2077 it is hardly surprising that influenced players who scored it low. The same gaming media then waits for review time and gives it the high score it deserved.

Anger and narrative used to create a media sensation, loving those clicks, couple of weeks later the reviews come in, "its great".

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.

[Deleted User]

The user and all related content has been deleted.