Revealed last year during one of the first Xbox Series console showcases, The Ascent is a stunning testament to the power of Unreal Engine in the hands of smaller studios – and a genuine showcase for what the new wave of consoles can offer. And yet, at the same time, it's also a cross-generation title – and one that works to varying degrees of success of older Xbox One hardware. It might sound strange to put it like this, but The Ascent is mostly decent on the last-gen consoles while at the same time demonstrating in spectacular style just how much of a leap the latest waves of games machines truly are.
The Ascent is a game built primarily by a team of 12 people along with assistance from support studios, but despite the small team, the quality of the experience is impressive, the futuristic cityscapes crammed with detail, backed up by an expert deployment of Unreal Engine 4's post-process pipeline. The game's gorgeous bokeh depth of field and physically-based materials work beautifully with the gorgeous lighting – and there's a pleasing surfeit of particle effects to catch the eye. The game world is made up of numerous extremely large maps populated with a range of NPCs and enemies alike.
The size and scope are remarkably impressive – yes, there are loading screens but they're few and far between. This world is presented primarily from an isometric angle with some occasional camera flourishes in specific sequences. As a result, it almost feels like a living diorama – it harkens back to the old days of pre-rendered isometric PC games, but everything is rendered completely in real-time.
