The Ascent

ShackNewsDonovan Erskine

9/10

The Ascent succeeds at delivering an action-shooter with challenging enemies and a diverse set of levels to explore. This is bolstered by a rich universe that’s practically bursting with interesting lore at every seam. Despite some wonkiness with the in-game map layout, it’s a quite enjoyable experience, especially if you decide to go online and team up with friends. The Ascent is a vastly impressive first outing for Neon Giant, and one that sets the bar high for the studio’s future endeavors.

Impulse GamerChris O'Connor

I will start this by saying I have had quite a few crashes playing this game... but... I've been enjoying it despite that!

COGConnectedDoug Mercer

85/100

The Ascent was originally released as a timed exclusive on Xbox Series X in July 2019 and we loved it then. Now, the timed exclusivity is over and The Ascent is making the trek over to PlayStation 5. While the game is essentially the same game as when it originally launched, there have been some significant updates, additions and patches to the Xbox version over the past year – and all of that content will be available to PlayStation gamers on day one. In some ways, it was probably worth the wait! If you’re looking for a fast and fun twin-stick shooter with gorgeous visuals and some RPG-like e...

Playstation UniverseJohn-Paul Jones

8.5/10

A robustly entertaining cyberpunk dungeon crawler wrapped up in some of the most sublime audiovisual presentation and thoroughly satisfying combat to come along in a good while, though it isn't quite as ambitious as I would like it to be, the Ascent is nonetheless a fantastically entertaining offering that will appeal to genre fans of cyberpunk settings and dungeon crawlers alike.

Steam Deck HQNoah Kupetsky

8/10

The Ascent looks and feels great to play. It could have better stability, but overall, runs like a charm!

MMORPGJason Fanelli

7/10

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.

eXputerHuzaifah Durrani

Ever since the extremely disappointing release of Cyberpunk 2077 last year, there seems to be a certain negative connotation attached to any game willing to describe itself as part of the cyberpunk genre. It’s an unfortunate situation to be in quite frankly, and it seems unlikely that this stigma will go away anytime soon.

I must reiterate that The Ascent is gorgeous, and for a team of just a dozen developers, they have outperformed themselves in that regard. Unfortunately, because the narrative is so anaemic and there is so little that connects the narrative to the aesthetics and gameplay, The Ascent ends up feeling empty. There’s nothing memorable about the characters, the world is dull and far too large for how little it offers, and while, yes, the story hits those key cyberpunk talking points, the developers largely missed the nuances that elevate cyberpunk beyond pulp fiction. So, again, the game’s fine…

GameSpotJustin Clark

6/10

The Ascent looks and acts like a video game, but mostly feels like work.

MonsterVineFrank Wood

I went into this experience excited and positive for some more awesome Cyberpunk worlds, technology, and lore and just quickly found myself frustrated with the game’s inability to stick the landing. There are lots of things to like about this game in a vacuum, but when it all comes together to try and do its thing, it starts to fall short quickly and fails to provide you with many compelling reasons to continue with it.

Lords of GamingMahmood Ghaffar

Unscored

The cyberpunk setting is slowly gaining traction in video games, with The Ascent as the latest interpretation of a dystopic future. Sometimes, it comes out good, other times it is a miss like Cyberpunk 2077. Cyberpunk, the genre, is a fascinating prediction of humanity’s future. It feels familiar, yet exotic....

Analog Stick GamingJeff Young

Unscored

Much like its streets and alleyways, filled with trash and neon spectacle, The Ascent lives in both of these worlds. It can often be buggy and have a few hollow systems, and yet be incredibly engaging, fast-paced, and utterly beautiful. Had the game seen a delay to fix its launch issues and adjust i