The Ascent - Previews and reviews roundup

[enski (Emil)]

@enski

It’s kinda funny on OpenCritic now.

• 26 reviews – 74/100 (FAIR)
• 27 reviews – 75/100 (STRONG)
• 28 reviews – 74/100 (FAIR) again…

• 29 reviews – 74/100, 66% recommendation
• 30 reviews – 74/100, 67% recommendation

[brunopcosta1 (Bruno Costa)]

@bcatwilly

… Opencritic is so much better because it doesn’t split between platforms like Metacritic which skews based on who happens to have reviewed a game for a platform of course. I will admit that I was hoping the scores would be “banger” level so that I could enjoy seeing some Sony console warriors squirming there, but I am still excited to check it out. And frankly a decent comparison here relative to expected scores is a game like Destruction All Stars that was pushed by Sony as a PS5 exclusive from a small team, and it was a steaming pile of garbage when I played it. It sounds like The Ascent is awesome to many and at least some cool graphics, world building and combat for most others by comparison.

I was honestly expecting a 85-90 score based on what I’ve heard from Sik and Jesse. Mid 70s is a huge shock to me

[bcatwilly]

@brunopcosta1

I was honestly expecting a 85-90 score based on what I’ve heard from Sik and Jesse. Mid 70s is a huge shock to me

Yeah, I am even more curious to see what I think now when playing. I hope that I am on that upper range too

[FindTheGamer (Tarik)]

@bcatwilly

… Opencritic is so much better because it doesn’t split between platforms like Metacritic which skews based on who happens to have reviewed a game for a platform of course. I will admit that I was hoping the scores would be “banger” level so that I could enjoy seeing some Sony console warriors squirming there, but I am still excited to check it out. And frankly a decent comparison here relative to expected scores is a game like Destruction All Stars that was pushed by Sony as a PS5 exclusive from a small team, and it was a steaming pile of garbage when I played it. It sounds like The Ascent is awesome to many and at least some cool graphics, world building and combat for most others by comparison.

Here’s hoping the day 1 patch fixes alot of issues and its probably looking like a 80+ game, but luckily I dont usually play based on metacritic as I have enjoyed biomutant and tribes of midgard this year

[PoderickPayne (Travis Norris)]

Pro-tip: On controller, when turning/aiming with the right stick, hold it to the edges. If you just feather it out a bit you will swivel wildly

[Fiendflag]

@PsyDec

Man that Opencritic score is kinda disappointing. I was hoping for 80 or more. Having listened to ACG and Skill Up first I was expecting this to be an 85+ game but the mixed reviews got me 😵‍💫

It’s a shame that neither of those reviewers give scores that could pull that openciritc score up.

You should reserve your disappointment or your excitement for when you actually play the game and see for yourself what you think about it. You may agree with the high scores since the game seems like a love/hate deal…you never know.

That being said it’s more and more obvious that a polished experience is a big deal nowadays for reviewers - both in performance/graphics and a bug/glitch free experience. It’s really disheartening to see great games that deserved better being punished for the lack of polish…I know that we are talking about a small team and with the corona and all things are still tough but it’s better to be late than rough around the edges. Personally I can deal with a less polished game but sadly for a game that is not an ongoing game/GAAS like this the first impression matters.

[PhantomFox]

@Fiendflag

Personally I can deal with a less polished game but sadly for a not ongoing game/GAAS like this the first impression matters.

I’m pretty confident The Ascent isn’t GAAS.

[Fiendflag]

@PhantomFox

I’m pretty confident The Ascent isn’t GAAS.

Yeah that’s what I am saying, that reviews and first impressions for games that are not GAAS matter a lot more.

[power]

My go-to reviewers gushed about it, so I’m confident I’ll enjoy it.

[PhantomFox]

@Fiendflag

Yeah that’s what I am saying, that reviews and first impressions for games that are not GAAS matter a lot more.

Ohhh ok, I misread. My bad.

[Fiendflag]

@PhantomFox

Ohhh ok, I misread. My bad.

Edited my post to be more clear, you were right it was kinda confusing how I wrote that.

[FindTheGamer (Tarik)]

Just played a little of it, damn the game looks so good. I dont know why the game doesnt let me do ray tracing on pc though, its like the option is missing even though I have a rtx gpu

[KageMaru]

@LucasTaves

To answer myself. They gave it a 9.

And some parts read like PR straight from Sony like:

Innovative use of PS5 tech, including DualSense haptics and Tempest 3D sound, creates a visceral awareness of the world, which enhances ambient storytelling and gameplay

Why I’m not surprised?

Was it the same person who reviewed both?

Edit: nevermind I looked it up myself. It’s two different people who reviewed two different games and gave two different scores. If you want to beat this tired drum about a supposed bias against Xbox, please make a thread about it and keep the conversation there. There’s no need to bring up, and put down, other games and platforms you don’t prefer, all to blindly defend a platform you do prefer.

[No-1HoloLens-Fan]

I ****ing played it and here’s my review

1. I became interested in this game because two months ago I happen to start playing Minecraft Dungeons and iso metric games become my thing

2. Dungeons is great but limited to E stuff only so I was very excited for Ascent

3. Today played the first boss fight and it’s basically what I thought it would be.

4. Easy fun and engaging

5. Next I will try it with controller and stream onto my phone

[No-1HoloLens-Fan]

@FindTheGamer

Just played a little of it, damn the game looks so good. I dont know why the game doesnt let me do ray tracing on pc though, its like the option is missing even though I have a rtx gpu

Dx12 have heavy performance issues on this game

May be that’s the reason?

[FindTheGamer (Tarik)]

@No-1HoloLens-Fan

Dx12 have heavy performance issues on this game

May be that’s the reason?

was expecting a day 1 patch or something, but I did see youtube videos of ray traced gameplay

[Stefrah]

@PoderickPayne

Pro-tip: On controller, when turning/aiming with the right stick, hold it to the edges. If you just feather it out a bit you will swivel wildly

Good advice for any twin stick shooter. You need the 360 analogue control, but not the tilt analogue range at all.

[YoungGrumpyMan]

@Daniel

Looking good

Wrong thread? Lol

[Daniel]

@YoungGrumpyMan

Wrong thread? Lol

Oops

[Doncabesa (Jesse Norris)]

@BRiT

Very well done review. I appreciate the review including details of how the game was patched up several times over the last week, how the performance on PC was improved, and how many hours was spent playing it.

Looking at some of other reviews, I wonder if maybe they only played it the first day for a handful of hours and called it a wrap.

Yeah it was jarring to see, because I mean the game wasn’t out until Thursday and the patches hit Saturday so it’s not like you couldn’t go back and check it. I guess that’s the benefit of writing, narrating, and video editing it all myself. I didn’t need to have it done by the end of last week or something.