Info about The Ascent:

Official game description:
The Ascent is a solo and co-op Action-shooter RPG, set on Veles, a packed cyberpunk world.  
Welcome to The Ascent Group arcology, a corporate-run metropolis stretching high into the sky and filled with creatures from all over the galaxy. You play as a worker, enslaved by the company that owns you and everyone else in your district. One day, you are suddenly caught in a vortex of catastrophic events: The Ascent Group shuts down for unknown reasons and the survival of your district is threatened. You must take up arms and embark on a new mission to find out what started it all.  
**You belong to the corporation. Can you survive without it?**
**SOLO OR CO-OP**
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Play the entire game alone or work together with up to three friends in local or online co-op.
**EXPLOSIVE SHOOTER**
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Aim low or high, switch weapons and equip lethal gadgets, take cover and use the destructible environments at your advantage and keep adjusting your tactic as you face new enemies.
**RPG ELEMENTS**
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Customize your character with cyberware that suits your playstyle. Allocate new skill points as you level-up and try various augmentations to take down your enemies in new creative ways.
**A VIBRANT CYBERPUNK WORLD**
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Meet new allies and enemies and find loot as you explore the brimming world of The Ascent and its wide range of districts, from the deep slums to the higher luxury spheres.

Release date: Jul 29, 2021

Categories: Action RPG, Cooperative Multiplayer, Cyberpunk Setting, Character Progression, Weapon Customization, Exploration, Top-Down Tactical Shooter, Looter Shooter

Feature scans:
- MTX: score 60; verdict: Aggressive Monetization; summary: The analysis of user reviews reveals significant concerns regarding the monetization strategy of the game, particularly focusing on the DLC. Key issues include the perception of Day-1 DLC, where content feels cut from the base game to be sold separately, and the overpricing of the game and its additional content. These factors contribute to a negative user experience and suggest a strategy that may be seen as predatory or aggressive in terms of monetization.
- Wiki: score 10; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The audit report highlights several key issues based on user feedback. Navigation issues are a significant concern, with users expressing frustration over the lack of teleportation options and poor map functionality. Additionally, there is a notable dependency on external data sources for finding crucial items and upgrades, which impacts the user experience. Lastly, the sudden appearance of encyclopedia entries disrupts gameplay, leading to user interface issues.
- Steam Deck: score 75; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant issues with the Steam Deck experience for this game. Key problems include performance issues requiring tinkering with Proton settings, save file corruption due to Steam Cloud saves, visual and control issues, frequent crashes and freezing, and launch issues. These technical barriers severely impact the user experience, making the game less enjoyable and more frustrating to play on the Steam Deck.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $5.00 - $8.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence consistently suggests that the game is worth purchasing when it is on sale, with specific mentions of prices around $5 to $8. This indicates that the community considers the fair price range for the game to be significantly lower than the current base price of $29.99. The repeated emphasis on buying the game on sale supports the conclusion that the community views the game as valuable at a discounted price.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 40.0h
  - Story completion: 20.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides several direct mentions of playtime hours. The first quote mentions a playtime of 40 hours to finish the game, which is twice as long as suggested by 'How Long To Beat' (HLTB), indicating a typical game completion time. The second quote mentions finishing the campaign after 20 hours, suggesting a typical story completion time. The third quote mentions near 60 hours of playing, which includes some minor quest glitches and game crashes, indicating a longer playtime possibly due to extended gameplay or multiple sessions. The fourth quote mentions 36 hours of playtime including DLC, which also supports the typical game completion time.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The Ascent has a high potential for fun, especially in co-op mode, but technical issues and initial difficulty spikes can be significant barriers. Once past these hurdles, the immersive world and co-op gameplay can provide an enjoyable experience.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Starting co-op gameplay
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Technical issues and bugs; Difficulty spikes; Repetitive missions
  - Unlock drivers: Playing with friends; Immersive cyberpunk world
  - Conditions: Co-op mode; Playing with friends; Immersive world
- Player Archetypes:
  - Frustrated Cyberpunk Enthusiast (sale)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of the cyberpunk genre and atmosphere.
    - Playstyle: Prefers playing solo due to co-op issues, enjoys the story and visuals.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: cyberpunk fan; story enthusiast
    - Reference games: Cyberpunk 2020; Blade Runner; Diablo 2-3
  - Cyberpunk Co-op Adventurer (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of the cyberpunk genre and cooperative gameplay.
    - Playstyle: Enjoys playing in co-op mode, appreciates the story and cyberpunk setting.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: cyberpunk fan; co-op player
    - Reference games: Cyberpunk 2020; Blade Runner; Diablo 2-3; Syndicate
  - Grind-Weary Explorer (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Completion of the game despite the grind.
    - Playstyle: Prefers efficient gameplay, dislikes excessive grind and backtracking.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: completionist; grinder
    - Reference games: Diablo 2-3


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Stunning graphics and visuals (weight 0.23): The game features high-quality graphics, amazing animations, and visually stunning environments. Players consistently praised the visual fidelity and artistic design.
- Beautiful atmospheric environments (weight 0.21): The game's atmosphere and environments are beautifully crafted, providing a visually appealing and immersive experience.
- Unique cyberpunk setting (weight 0.15): The game's cyberpunk theme and setting are highly appreciated, providing a visually and atmospherically rich world.
- Smooth technical performance (weight 0.14): The game runs smoothly on ultra-high settings without issues, indicating good optimization and technical performance.
- Diverse and detailed world (weight 0.12): The world design is praised for its diversity, detail, and the ability to discover new areas, making the game world feel alive and engaging.
- Engaging combat mechanics (weight 0.09): The combat in the game is described as fun and enjoyable, with good mechanics that add to the gameplay experience.
- Enjoyable gameplay loop (weight 0.09): The core gameplay loop, including missions and exploration, is described as exciting and fun, contributing to the overall enjoyment of the game.
- Excellent voice acting (weight 0.07): The voice acting in the game is highly praised for its quality and performance, enhancing the overall experience.
- Great sound and music (weight 0.07): The game's soundtrack and sound design are noted for their high quality, enhancing the atmospheric experience.
- Cooperative multiplayer mode (weight 0.07): The game features a cooperative multiplayer mode, allowing players to enjoy the game together, which is highlighted as a positive aspect.

Common complaints:
- Boring and uninteresting gameplay (weight 0.33): The gameplay is described as boring, with uninteresting RPG elements and a lack of engagement.
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.31): The game experiences constant crashing issues, including crashes to desktop and during multiplayer sessions.
- Weak story and progression (weight 0.29): The story is criticized as weak and paper-thin, with poor voice acting and unmemorable plotlines.
- Co-op mode issues (weight 0.24): Co-op mode is reported as broken, with frequent bugs and crashes, making it difficult to play.
- Unplayable controls (weight 0.21): Controls are reported as unplayable, especially with mouse and keyboard, making the game difficult to navigate and enjoy.
- Poor performance on Steam Deck (weight 0.16): The game has performance issues on Steam Deck, including crashes and poor optimization.
- Difficulty spikes and imbalance (weight 0.11): The game has abrupt difficulty spikes and frustratingly unbalanced gameplay.
- Camera rotation issues (weight 0.06): Players report an inability to rotate the camera, which affects gameplay.
- Language setting issues (weight 0.06): There are issues with language settings, including the lack of a language selector.
- Save file issues (weight 0.06): Players report issues with deleted save files and lost progress.
- Not worth the price (weight 0.06): The game is criticized as not being worth the price, even if obtained for free.
- Broken quests and weapon system (weight 0.06): There are reports of broken quests and a broken weapon system.
- Abandoned by developers (weight 0.05): The game is reported as being entirely abandoned by the developers.
- Difficulty hitting enemies (weight 0.05): Players have difficulty hitting enemies when they are on different levels.
- Inconsistent enemy levels (weight 0.05): The game has inconsistent and poorly balanced enemy levels.

Gameplay feedback:
- Cooperative gameplay focus (weight 0.19): The game emphasizes cooperative gameplay with local multiplayer and co-op modes, though some bugs are reported.
- Action RPG elements (weight 0.18): The game includes action RPG elements such as role-playing mechanics and character progression.
- Varied shooter perspectives (weight 0.16): The game offers multiple shooter perspectives including top-down, twin-stick, and third-person views.
- Combat mechanics criticisms (weight 0.13): Combat mechanics are criticized for being awkward, clunky, and one-dimensional.
- Open-world navigation (weight 0.11): The game features an open world with extensive navigation, though some find it excessive.
- Navigation system flaws (weight 0.11): The navigation system is criticized for being confusing and poorly designed.
- Map design criticisms (weight 0.1): The map design is criticized for being confusing and poorly laid out.
- Weapon system issues (weight 0.09): The weapon upgrade mechanic is present but some players report a broken weapon system.
- Isometric shooter gameplay (weight 0.09): The game features isometric shooter gameplay, providing a unique perspective.
- Difficulty and level scaling (weight 0.09): Players report difficulty spikes and level scaling issues, affecting gameplay balance.
- Cover and combat mechanics (weight 0.08): Combat involves cover mechanics and dodging ranged attacks while dealing with melee enemies.
- Enemy quantity over quality (weight 0.08): Enemies are often criticized for being more about quantity than quality, with inconsistent levels and spawns.
- Fast travel system (weight 0.06): The game includes a fast travel system, utilizing a taxi system for quick navigation.
- Loot and grinding mechanics (weight 0.06): The game includes loot and stat grinding mechanics, typical of looter-shooter games.
- Visual and setting appeal (weight 0.06): The game is praised for its impressive graphics and beautiful setting, despite some gameplay criticisms.
- Cyberpunk setting (weight 0.06): The game is set in a cyberpunk environment, providing a futuristic backdrop.
- Bounties and random enemies (weight 0.03): The game features bounties, involving random named enemies for players to defeat.
- Main quest volume (weight 0.03): The game has a significant volume of main quests, providing ample content.
- Controller support (weight 0.03): The game supports controllers, enhancing accessibility for different play styles.
- Single-threaded story (weight 0.03): The game features a single-threaded story, focusing on a linear narrative.

Performance notes:
- Frequent game crashes (weight 0.36): The game experiences constant and random crashes, including crashes to desktop and freezing issues. This problem is exacerbated during co-op play.
- Poor optimization (weight 0.27): The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to various performance issues such as lagging, frame rate drops, and stuttering. Some users report GPU stutters during intense scenes.
- Loading problems (weight 0.14): Players experience various loading issues, including infinite loading screens and long load times. Some users report the game not starting at all.
- Steam Deck compatibility issues (weight 0.12): The game is reported to have poor performance and frequent crashes on the Steam Deck, making it difficult or unplayable on this platform.

Recommendations:
- Mixed solo player experience (weight 0.07): The game might be worth a look for solo players, but it is not highly recommended. Players should approach with caution.
- Not recommended for online co-op (weight 0.04): The game is definitely not recommended for online cooperative play. Players have reported negative experiences in this mode.
- Controller recommended (weight 0.04): The game is highly recommended if you are using a controller. This suggests that the game may have better controls or gameplay experience with a controller.

Other player notes:
- Platform Mentions (weight 0.06): Players mentioned specific platforms they used to play the game, such as Steam Deck and PC with a 2060 graphics card.
- DLC Reference (weight 0.03): There was a mention of DLC, though without additional context or details.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.52): Players are frustrated primarily due to technical issues such as frequent crashes, poor optimization, and bugs that hinder gameplay progress. Additionally, the game's design elements like poor controls, confusing story, difficulty spikes, and excessive walking contribute to the frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.34): Disappointment stems from the game's unmet potential, with players finding the gameplay bland, repetitive, and not engaging despite its impressive graphics. Issues such as poor controls, lack of variety, and a weak story also contribute to this sentiment.
- Anger (weight 0.07): Anger is mainly caused by game crashes, poor optimization, and co-op bugs that disrupt the gameplay experience. Players are also angry about developer abandonment and the lack of fixes for these issues.
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Players admire the game's stunning graphics and the detailed cyberpunk dystopia setting, which create a visually appealing and immersive atmosphere.
- Boredom (weight 0.02): Boredom is caused by the game's diluted narration and uncaptivating gameplay, which fail to engage players and make the experience tedious.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players love the game due to its fantastic setting and great story, which create an engaging and immersive experience.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy is derived from the game's nice graphics and successful atmosphere, which provide a visually pleasing and enjoyable experience.}