I'm going to review this for what it is - a sub €30 (launch offer) game made by 12 people.

Part Diablo, part CP2077 and part Shadowrun from the SNES-era, this is a seriously beautiful game. The environments drip of cyberpunky atmosphere, with so much fine grain detail and style, all while being tack sharp (I play it at 4k downsampled to 1440p, and it's just that.. sharp!). And while it's not the same genre, I really do feel this has a more thoroughly detailed world than CP2077. Maybe not as big (but not sure, haven't seen the whole in game world yet), but whereas Night City felt so empty and bland at a lot of places, I really need to reiterate how amazing the world in Ascent looks. And again, seeing how this was made by such a small team, really says a lot of the final product, when it's better than 2077 on a lot of art directional/world building points.

The sound is also top notch - great soundtrack, some good voice acting and sweet weapon and explosion sounds etc. Gameplay is tight and polished, even if it might get somewhat samey after a while. But the game challenges you consistently enough so you're never bored. Progressing and unlocking/finding new weapons and augments is very nice.

I read about bugs before I bought it, but I've been thankfully spared by any bugs. It did stutter a few times in the beginning when something exploded, but that somehow went away after a bit of playing. Now it never happens.

But again, I really have to hand it to the art director/environment artist/s, I just love the look and feel of the world, so if anyone from Neon Giant ever sees this - bravo!

I'm going to review this for what it is - a sub €30 (launch offer) game made by 12 people. Part Diablo, part CP2077 and part Shadowrun from the SNES-era, this is a seriously beautiful game. The environments drip of cyberpunky atmosphere, with so much fine grain detail and style, all while being tack sharp (I play it at 4k downsampled to 1440p, and it's just that.. sharp!). And while it's not the same genre, I really do feel this has a more thoroughly detailed world than CP2077. Maybe not as big (but not sure, haven't seen the whole in game world yet), but whereas Night City felt so empty and bland at a lot of places, I really need to reiterate how amazing the world in Ascent looks. And again, seeing how this was made by such a small team, really says a lot of the final product, when it's better than 2077 on a lot of art directional/world building points. The sound is also top notch - great soundtrack, some good voice acting and sweet weapon and explosion sounds etc. Gameplay is tight and polished, even if it might get somewhat samey after a while. But the game challenges you consistently enough so you're never bored. Progressing and unlocking/finding new weapons and augments is very nice. I read about bugs before I bought it, but I've been thankfully spared by any bugs. It did stutter a few times in the beginning when something exploded, but that somehow went away after a bit of playing. Now it never happens. But again, I really have to hand it to the art director/environment artist/s, I just love the look and feel of the world, so if anyone from Neon Giant ever sees this - bravo!