The Ascent Interview

The Ascent, Neon Giant's upcoming co-op focused cyberpunk action-RPG is the subject of this WCCFTech interview with the studio's founders Arcade Berg and Tor Frick. Thanks to it, we can learn a thing or two about the inspirations behind the game, its world and structure, the team's approach to character progression, and more.

Here's a couple of questions to get you started:

Would you say that The Ascent has been inspired by Diablo and other titles in that genre?

Arcade: We’ve taken inspiration from many many products out there. Be that games, movies, comics, and the like. But The Ascent is its own thing and one of the reasons we’re making it - is because we saw an opportunity to create and offer something you haven’t quite seen before. It’s a blend of action shooter mixed with RPG, narrative driven campaign with cutscenes and exploration, and very satisfying combat with covers and things going BOOM.

Many action RPGs these days tend to focus on replayability, adding procedurally generated elements to keep things fresh over an extended period of time. Will this be the case for The Ascent as well?

Arcade: We’re focusing on making sure that the experience you get playing through the game is the best it can be. We’ve used procedural tools outside of the game to help us create and curate the vast amount of content you can find in the game, but you play in a set world where a lot of loot and secrets are determined. Having said that, we do have additional systems on top for unique encounters happening in the world to make sure that when you travel through already explored areas you always have a chance of finding something new. We’re more interested in giving you the best experience, than a seemingly infinite one.