The Ascent is an action-shooter RPG with a lot of incredible detail, depth, and lore. Taking place in the monstrous city of Veles, you control a character who is classified as an "indent," someone who works menial contracts for a mega-corporation in order to try and get by. The Ascent has a lot going on in terms of gameplay and systems, not to mention the overarching narrative.
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However, there are a plethora of things in this game that simply don't make sense, whether that be in comparison to the real world or even within the fiction of this game. Of course, that is the fun of gaming, the escapism that takes you out of the ordinary and puts you into the realm of extraordinary. The following things in The Ascent are a great part of this game but don't really make much sense.
How Does Veles Even Exist?
The Ascent takes place in the futuristic, grimy metropolis of Veles. Veles is home to a wide array of intergalactic species that intermingle and move about day to day peacefully so long as they keep their nose to the ground. Walking around Veles makes you realize that this city seems impossible to be a part of.
It's an utterly chaotic and dismal place. You only need to explore a fraction of the regions to realize that most people live in the slums, trying to get by in any way that they can.
The Towering Structures Don't Seem Fathomable
Another part of the monstrosity that is Veles are the dozens upon dozens of towering buildings that all seem cobbled together at best. Looking out at the skyline, glowing with neon colors and dazzling lights, you notice that each part of the building, whether that be a home or a business, seems to just be built right on top of each other.
There is no order at all to these mega towers and they all start to blend together as you look off into the distance. It's hard to imagine a city like this truly existing.
Everyone Seems To Be An "Indent"
One of the strangest aspects of The Ascent is that every single person or creature seems to be an "indent." An "indent" is essentially a contracted worker who consistently works painful and menial jobs. While that may not sound all that strange in writing, each of these "indents," yourself included, is a part of a mega-corporation.
This fact alone is terrifying but also confusing. How is it that everyone in Veles seems to be doing the exact same job? That doesn't make any sense because it's clear there are dozens of businesses that certainly require different roles.
The Mega Corporation That Failed…But How?
The titular Ascent is known in-game as The Ascent Arcology. This monstrosity juts up high into the air and is a focal point for the labyrinthian cityscape. Your character works as an "indent" for The Ascent, that is until it goes bankrupt and falls apart at the start of the game.
Sure, businesses go under all the time, but how is it that the mega-corporation that seemingly holds Veles together manages to go belly up right at the start, quite literally shaking the foundations of the grimy city streets?
Feel Free To Take What You Want
Main characters in most videos games are simply allowed to take what they please. From items to weapons to armor, you can open up random crates that don't belong to you, or even a treasure chest in someone's shop, to then just loot it and go on your merry way.
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Games are meant to be freeform and certainly, some games do punish players for stealing, however, in The Ascent, you can absolutely walk right up to all the random containers strewn around and just take what you want.
Yes, Please, Walk Into My Home
On a very familiar note, as you explore the neon-soaked streets and alleys in Veles, you can freely walk into someone's residence and start reading their personal notes, diaries, and tablets. This is simply hard to understand. Again, most games allow you to do this in some capacity, even going into NPC's bedrooms to rifle through their belongings.
The Ascent goes one step further and lets you hack terminals, open doors, lockers, and even read tablet and computer lines that are most likely very personal to that NPC.
Augmentations Or Specialty Surgery?
A big gameplay component to The Ascent is the ability to add augmentations to your character. The augmentations here come in many shapes and sizes but at the end of the day, they require you to get brutal surgery in order to buff up another area of your character. One such example is the hydraulic super punch near the start of the game.
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Of course, surgery isn't a strange or confusing thing but the fact that you can literally walk right into a shop and ask for an augmentation surgery seems sketchy at best and incredibly dangerous and lethal at worst.
There Is No Way Anyone Can Find Anything
The Ascent's highly explorable world is a true maze. Although you are provided with a hand waypoint system, a radar-like mini-map, and even a large screen map, it's quite clear that Veles is one confusing place to live and work. Considering there are so many inhabitants just standing around in groups, it probably comes as no surprise that many of them might simply be lost.
Add to the fact that the entire city looks very similar. Sure, there are signs that the citizens can use to guide them in the right direction but it's obvious that whoever built this city wanted to help everyone get lost.
Yep, Infinite Ammo Is A Thing
The one thing in this game that might take the cake for not making any sense are the standard guns that feature seemingly infinite ammo. It would be understandable if these guns were futuristic in some way or feature some sort of plasma or laser bullets, however, guns such as the hand cannon and SMG can fire as much as they want.
From a pure combat-focused gameplay perspective, this aspect is truly great because it means you get to stay in the fight longer without having to scavenge for more ammo. Despite that, it simply doesn't make any sense.
The Endless Abyss
As you look out at the cyberpunk city of Veles, replete with hovering cars, bright lights, and a near-endless skyline, you very quickly realize below you is an endless abyss, or at least what seems to be. Maybe this is because Veles is high up the sky like a floating city of sorts, however, it seems more logical that the skyline is filled with pollution, hindering any view of the ground.
While it certainly looks amazing to look up and down and constantly see soaring buildings and stretching bridges, it's very strange that the ground is nowhere in sight.