At first glance, it would be easy to assume that The Ascent was a game made by a AA or even AAA team, but it's actually developed by a small team of 11 people and is Neon Giant's debut into the gaming industry.
And, not only are the visuals of this twin-stick ARPG deep and beautiful, so are its mechanics and systems. In fact, here are just a few of the many little things players might not know they can do in The Ascent.
10 Change Appearance, Shirt Skins, Or Respec Entirely At The Grafters
Players might’ve noticed by a few hours into their run that their create-a-character is starting to change a bit visually. What was once a normal-ish-looking person is a true cyberpunk character, complete with random cybernetic bits and bobs. This gradual visual change is actually due to The Ascent’s visual progression system, one of the most poorly explained systems in the game.
This system still hasn’t been completely figured out quite yet, but the generally accepted answer is that a character's two highest Skills (AKA their main Attribute) contributes to the change in appearance. Thankfully, if that appearance isn't what a player is looking for, they can always respec and invest in a different set of Skills/Attributes. Careful though, a lot of the Augmentations are highly dependant on their correlating Attribute, so respec'ing has a big impact on a player's overall build.
9 Players Can Always Keep Track Of Their Currently Available Dodge Rolls
This next one is a very small UI-based trick, but one that will help out a lot throughout The Ascent’s wide berth of content. Anyone who's played for even a minute knows there’s a dodge roll in this game, and it's the main evasive tool.
If these dodge rolls are proving themselves useful then it might be a good idea to keep track of the little circle around the bottom of the player character. On this circle, there’s a little point that comes out on the same side as the direction the character is facing.
That point/arrow is an indicator that there's currently a dodge roll available to use. And, if there are additional little “arrows” coming off of the first point, each one represents another dodge roll that can be used in succession. To put it bluntly, no arrows, no dodge rolls.
8 Roll Under Obstacles Rather Than Crouch-Walking
Another small feature, but one that saves a good chunk of time over the course of the game. Throughout Veles there are a variety of narrow streets, claustrophobic buildings, or compact areas the player character will have to adventure in. In fact, the first part of the game takes place entirely in one of these areas, Sub Sector 41A, and has a lot of pipes that players have to crouch-walk underneath.
But, what if players didn't have to crouch-walk? What if instead, they could just dodge roll underneath these pipes? It only saves a few seconds, but it also just makes traversal more fun in general throughout the course of the game.
7 Use The Cyberdeck To Hack Nearby Turrets
The Cyberdeck in The Ascent is a lot simpler than in other recent cyberpunk-themed games, both for better or for worse. It's simple really, holding down the hack input puts a yellow orb around the player that automatically attempts to hack anything applicable within its range.
The key thing to keep track of when it comes to hacking is the color yellow. If a player ever sees anything yellow in this game, especially glowing yellow, it’s worth a try to see if it's hackable. In particular, there are these metal circles on the ground seen from time to time that you players can start hacking at ICE-2. Turns out these are gun turrets/mortars sealed just beneath the surface, and they easily turn the tide of a gunfight in some of the tougher districts.
6 Rig Cars & Barrels To Explode Without Any Bullets
Speaking of the hacking in The Ascent, it applies to more than one might think. Whether it's doors, chests, computers, or even people, there are quite a few things players can use their Cyberdeck to mess with throughout this game, provided it's upgraded enough.
But, the one thing players might not have been expecting is that they can also hack explosive barrels or nearby vehicles to explode. Granted, shooting them essentially does the same thing, but this way there’s no risk of shooting a barrel/car too many times before getting away from it.
5 Call A Taxi Instead Of Wandering Around Aimlessly
The Taxi system/mechanic is by far the most useful system in The Ascent in general. Now, that may sound ridiculous given that this is a game all about shooting and looting. But, Veles is a sprawling city that gets incredibly confusing quite quickly. Frankly, it's a bit of a slog to go back and forth, which is what a lot of the optional missions will require.
Thankfully, both the Metro and Taxi systems help with this a lot. All around the map are these Metro entrances or platforms that allow players to fast travel to other Metros free of charge. In comparison, the Taxi costs 1000 Credits for each use but can be used anywhere outdoors. Granted, players will have to get a few main missions done before the Taxi system is unlocked, so it's recommended to save most sidequests for after that happens.
4 Sell All Duplicate Items With A Single Input
Plenty of players already knew that they could sell duplicate items at shops and vendors spread across Veles. But, how many players know there’s a button that lets them sell all of their duplicate items, across all categories, all at once? Again, a very small trick, but a major quality-of-life benefit over the course of the game.
3 Make The Game Easier Just By Adjusting The Aim Assist
In a twin-stick shooter, where accurately taking out swarms of enemies with pinpoint accuracy is sort of the main focus, a skill entirely centered around improving aiming does sound huge. This is why so many players starting their first run of The Ascent pump a bunch of Skill Points into the Aiming Skill.
But, for a more concrete improvement, it's easier and faster to just turn up the Aim Assist in the options menu. The Ascent is a shooter game, which sounds like mouse and keyboard might be best, but the twin-stick design really incentivizes players to use a controller instead. Thankfully, with this setting adjusted, it'll be hard to really even notice the difference between mouse aiming and thumbstick aiming.
2 Use Stairs To Exploit The Enemy AI
The cover system of The Ascent is a pretty unique mechanic, especially for a twin-stick shooter. Most of these games sort of revolve around the classic "always moving always shooting" playstyle. And, while that is still a big part of The Ascent, the cover system adds an additional layer of complexity.
But, even then, the enemy AI is still pretty good about flanking or overwhelming players behind cover. Thankfully for some reason, stairs seem to currently be an issue for their AI, and with all the other fixes Neon Giant will likely prioritize first, this probably won't be changed anytime soon. So, if cover isn't working, just look for the nearest staircase, run down it, then turn around and use the elevated firing mechanic to melt groups of enemies.
1 Keep Track Of What Damage Types Are Effective At All Times
Lastly, let's talk about Elemental Damage Types. On average, players will either be dealing Ballistic or Energy damage to their enemies, but there’s also Digital damage and also the damage types of weapons that inflict Status Effects as well.
But, here’s the nifty thing about Damage Types in this game, the actual damage numbers themselves tell the player if the current Damage Type they're using is effective. To explain:
- Grey: Apparently the weakest, but a lot of players are reporting they rarely (if ever) see grey numbers.
- White: The most common Damage Type color. Basically means average damage.
- Red: Red apparently means optimal damage, but some testing from players shows some mixed results.
- Yellow: Very effective, not explained in-game but seems to be better than Red.
Currently, this system seems to be a bit buggy (as a lot of things are in The Ascent), so don't invest too much thought into it. Basically, avoid Grey and aim for Yellow or Red instead.