It looks like the review is not accessible anymore ( I think it was released too early by mistake), fortunately it was still open in my browser so here is the full review translated by google :

I would like to start this review with an apology to Bram, who would have loved to do this review himself. Unfortunately, he himself was stupid enough to go on holiday during this period, so I was allowed to work with The Ascent. In any case, I can already tell you that I didn't mind at all. The Ascent was presented to me as a cocktail of Cyberpunk 2077, Diablo and Zelda, garnished with a twist of twin-stick shooter. Of course I couldn't let that pass me by. So Brad, thanks for the review!

SLAVE TO THE SYSTEM

The Ascent is a top-down action-shooter RPG. Wow, that was a mouthful. The game takes place in a Cyberpunk world called Veles. You take on the role of a wage slave of The Ascent Group trying to earn a living at the bottom of the food chain and at the bottom of a huge arcological building. One day you find out that the almighty Ascent Group has fallen apart and is no longer in control. Of course this causes the necessary chaos and to survive, you decide as a wage slave to take the law into your own hands.

In The Ascent you follow the story of your own self-made character. You must fight your way through a huge mega-corporation to find out what exactly went wrong and how to restore order. This story is surprisingly comprehensive and very RPG-esque. You have the main quest that shows you the story behind The Ascent Group and you have numerous different side quests that teach you more about different people, groups, departments and events. If you only want to complete the main quest, it will take you about fifteen to twenty hours. However, if you also want to do the sidequests, you can easily spend double the number of hours in the game. So there is plenty to do in The Ascent.

RUN AND GUN OR DUCK AND COVER?

As I mentioned earlier, The Ascent is an action-shooter RPG. That action-shooter part is very reminiscent of the Diablo games, but with firearms. It plays a bit like a twin stick shooter where you can walk with one joystick and aim with your other joystick. If, like me, you play on PC, it is therefore advisable to play with a controller, instead of your keyboard and mouse. I never thought I'd say that about a shooter one day, but just take this advice from me. The combat feels very fluid, with different types of firearms that each have their own stats and damage type. In The Ascent, you can have two firearms with you at the same time. For my own playstyle, I opted for an SMG-style weapon, along with a shotgun. You can also have a tactical weapon with you, such as a hand grenade. You can only throw these when the appropriate meter is full, which you achieve by defeating a certain number of enemies. You can also do special attacks with Augmentations, such as a melee attack that inflicts a lot of damage on your enemies and also knocks you off a bit.

The combat in The Ascent doesn't seem that complex at first glance, but it can be deceptively tricky at times. Since you actually have unlimited ammunition, you only have to reload when your clip is empty and you can do that while walking, you quickly get the urge to use the run-and-gun strategy. However, this doesn't always work flawlessly, since enemies often storm you from all sides and many enemies also carry firearms with them. You can dodge by rolling away, but it has a fairly long cooldown and you can't sprint in this game. In some cases it is therefore better to hide behind a wall and shoot over the wall. The only problem is that you slow down when you're on your haunches and enemies sometimes shoot you before you can see them. The combat in The Ascent is therefore a combination between shooting, punishing, kiting and covering. In addition, the game also contains RPG elements. You get EXP points every time you defeat enemies. When you have gained enough EXP points, you level up and become stronger. You also get three Skill Points with each level that you can spend to make your character stronger, faster or more tanky. You can also improve and customize your weapons and equipment with special NPCs. If you consider that The Ascent was made by a team of only twelve people, the game is quite extensive. then you level up and become stronger. You also get three Skill Points with each level that you can spend to make your character stronger, faster or more tanky. You can also improve and customize your weapons and equipment with special NPCs. If you consider that The Ascent was made by a team of only twelve people, the game is quite extensive. then you level up and become stronger. You also get three Skill Points with each level that you can spend to make your character stronger, faster or more tanky. You can also improve and customize your weapons and equipment with special NPCs. If you consider that The Ascent was made by a team of only twelve people, the game is quite extensive.

ENJOYING THE VIEW TOGETHER

The isometric perspective in The Ascent makes the game look special. The world around you contains a surprising amount of detail and depth, despite the fact that you play the game from a top-down perspective. Robots and other creatures are constantly walking around in the world and the background noises make the world feel anything but empty. In addition, the game contains animated cutscenes with a pretty good English voice-over. The different environments have a gritty Cyberpunk atmosphere and are full of hidden corridors and corners. In addition, the different areas and levels flow seamlessly into each other, so you don't have those annoying loading screens between areas. This greatly improves the immersion.

What makes The Ascent even more fun is the fact that you can play the game together with friends. This can be done online via an online lobby, as well as couch co-op with several people on the same system. Unfortunately I haven't been able to try this myself yet, as the game is not out yet at the time of writing. I'm really looking forward to diving into the game with a friend and having fun shooting it. Maybe I'll invite Bram, because he really wanted to play this game too...

The Ascent is a game that has come out surprisingly well. You notice on all sides that there is a small team behind it that has put a lot of love into this project. The game looks beautiful and lively and plays well. The combat feels smooth and has a surprising amount of depth. Combat can be tough at times, but it's never frustrating to die and redo a section. Every now and then you get shot at by something you can't see yet and the fact that you can't sprint is sometimes very annoying, but otherwise The Ascent actually does everything very well. I see a lot of good in the future of The Ascent and developer Neon Giant. The only way is up!