The Ascent
C-beams glitter in the dark
Play co-op mode, with three pals and a jellyfish
© CURVE DIGITAL FOR MICROSOFT
THE INTRO TO BLADE RUNNER, but with way more shooting, seems to be the elevator pitch here, and it works extremely well. As an indentured laborer on the planet Veres, paying off the cost of your new life on the off-world colony with your body, you are at the bottom of the pile. Quite literally. They call it the Deepstink, and you’re sent down on a new-character-inan-RPG mission to reset the computer that’s not clearing the sewage so your betters, who live higher up the arcology, aren't showering in manure. You need somewhere to ascend from, after all.
LOCKDOWN MISSION
It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so dangerous. This early mission is straightforward enough—you go in with your gun, blast a few ferals, hack a few doors, watch some robots at work, reset the computer’s memory. It was a bit like getting back into the Maximum PC office after Covid lockdown was lifted.