It’s been announced that Curve Digital is rebranding itself, and will be known as Curve Games knowing forward. A new logo goes along with that rebranding, as you’d expect. According to the publisher, its new vision and branding”will further enable [its] award-winning team to pioneer developer-focused publishing.”

And what exactly is Curve Games’ new vision? The publisher hopes to “better support developers in an increasingly competitive market” and “connect their creative visions with the gaming experience of players.” It’s focus on the most promising indie releases- or “Triple I”, as the company calls them.

“Our mission is to support and release the most exciting, fun-filled games for passionate player communities across the globe,” says Curve Games CEO John Clarke. “Integral to this is finding games that inspire us and partnering with people that we trust and respect. Our new brand identity is underpinned by these values and reflects Curve’s rapid transformation and growth in recent year.”

Having published acclaimed indie titles such as Thomas Was Alone, OlliOlli, Human: Fall Flat, Velocity 2X, and, most recently, The Ascent, Curve Games has certainly made a name for itself in the indie space over the years. Here’s hoping that continues with more great games to come.

Responding to a question regarding the same on Twitter, developer Neon Giant said that it’s “aware of the demand for a PS5 version”, and while it didn’t have anything to announce, it said to “keep an eye” on the team’s Twitter for updates.

One would imagine that once The Ascent’s Xbox exclusivity period is over, Neon Giant and publisher Curve Digital will look into bringing the game to more platforms, especially given how successful it’s been for them, having generated $5 million in revenue over its opening weekend.

The Ascent is currently available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

Hello! Thanks for letting us know you'd like to see The Ascent on PS5! While we don't have anything to announce right now, we want you to know we hear you and the team are aware of the demand for a PS5 version. Keep an eye right here on our Twitter for updates!

— The Ascent (@AscentTheGame) October 1, 2021

For starters, several progression bugs in various quests in the games are going to be fixed. Meanwhile, various co-op issues are also being addressed, in addition to performance improvements and ray-tracing fixes on PC (specifically the Windows 10 version), as well as other visual, stability, audio, and translation fixes. Neon Giant stresses that this isn’t the full list of fixes (more detailed patch notes will arrive later), but you can check out the list of highlights shared by the developer below.

The patch is going to be deployed in the near future, but there’s no word yet on exactly when to expect it. That said, the development team says it will keep working on fixes for the game for the foreseeably future, writing, “Rest assured that our team is dedicated to improving the game for all players on all platforms, and we will keep working hard on The Ascent throughout the rest of the year and beyond.”

The Ascent is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

• Fixes have been made to resolve situations where no FullChromes are present during “Mutual Dependencies” (Mission 2) unblocking Players stuck here.
• A fix has been made to resolve an issue where some Players were blocked at the ‘Find Lanier’ step during “Data Miner” (Mission 5)
• We have made a fix for players reporting being blocked at the “talk to Kira” step in “Trace Protocol” (Mission 7)
• Achievements: fix for the “Comprehensive” Achievement. We are also looking into fixes for “Win”, “For Both Our Benefits” and “Omnihacker”.
• Performance improvements on PC and Windows 10 (including a fix for Raytracing not working for Windows 10 players)
• Various co-op fixes (including elevators fixes and numerous issues with network disconnections)
• Many other improvements including visual issue fixes, various stability fixes, various audio fixes, translation fixes and more.

Embr is a co-op survival shooter where a group of players are tasked with rescue operations for civilians trapped in fire-infested buildings. The game has a cartoony art style, that is in many ways reminiscent of Valve’s Team Fortress 2. Players must work together to overcome obstacles, which is a fun concept that has received very positive ratings on Steam.

In addition to this, players can take up a number of side-jobs such as deliveries and robberies in order to get cash. This cash can then be used to buy a number of cosmetics for your characters. Embr is priced at $20 on Steam, and should release at a similar price point for consoles.

Fans seem to be quite irritated with the game’s text size, citing that it’s just to small to read. In addition to this, reports surrounding excessive screen clutter and UI issues have also been raised by fans.

Accessibility is an important part of any modern game, as it promotes inclusivity for gamers with physical or cognitive disabilities. Many developers have started taking this element of game design very seriously – with most of Ubisoft’s recent catalogue being great examples of this. Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 also had a load of accessibility options, and the game won a number of awards for this very thing.

Sadly The Ascent is pass for me. From looking at gameplay in reviews there are too many accessibility issues. ie: Zoomed out view, text WAY too small, too much happening on screen in combat, hard to see menus, etc.

Shame too. Was hoping for a good Cyberpunk experience.

— Steve Saylor (@stevesaylor) July 29, 2021

There are several patches specific to PC, and quite a few others that apply to all platforms, with everything from Ray-Tracing performance being fixed, to those playing via Game Pass also getting Ray-Tracing at last (which was previously only available with Steam). There are also several stability fixes, several bugs and glitches being ironed out, loading being better optimized, progression bugs being squashed, and more. You can check out the full patch notes below.

The update is live now for Steam users, and Neon Giant has said on Twitter that it will soon be live for Windows 10 and Xbox players as well, as soon as certification is done. Meanwhile, The Ascent recently also added difficulty options on Xbox versions.

The Ascent is available now for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. The game raked in over $5 million in revenue during its launch weekend. Read more on that through here.

UPDATE NOTES:

• Fixes to improve performance in DX12, also with Ray Tracing.
• Note to Players: on first running of the update, there will be a 20-25 second ‘stall’ on loading to Main Menu to allow some caching to happen before you play. This is a one time event.
• Ray Tracing is now available to Players on the Windows Store.
• Improved loading in of NPCs
• CPU performance mode for lower-end PCs

• Numerous instances of ‘one time’ crashes have been fixed in both Single Player & Coop on ALL Platforms. (some other instances remain, we are working hard to resolve these for the next update).
• Local Coop fixes where Player 1 and Player 2 have controller focus issues on certain menus.
• Numerous other crash-fixes have been made to improve the stability of both local and online Coop, including fixes when disconnecting controllers, issues when 3 Players start a new game, and fixes when the internet connection becomes unstable.
• Fixed an issue where in certain circumstances a black screen would appear at the end of Mission 12.
• Fixed an issue where sometimes it takes too long to return to the Main Menu after gameplay.
• Fixed issues where Area loading is slower for the Client joining the game after the Host is using the Taxi.
• Fixed some Weapon replication issues in Online Coop.
• Fixed some issues around cross Platform hotjoining where Clients had trouble connecting to the Host.

• Introduced a new system to circumvent situations where save files could become corrupted.
• Fixes to situations in Coop where the Host leaving the game could cause the Client to lose progress.
• Fixes to situations in Coop where Players may experience progression blockers in certain situations.
• Fixed the issue where a Client’s items would unequip after a Host disconnects.
• Fixed an issue where a Client may lose connection when hotjoining a game in progress.

• Fixed an Achievement issue where you could unlock Main Mission and Side Mission under incorrect conditions.
• Fixed an issue where the mission objective during ‘Go To Grinder’ in Mission 2 would not update.
• The issue where multiple bosses could spawn has been fixed. e.g. Papa Feral, Megarachnoid (Spider Boss), Gun-Dolph.
• Fixed the Casino Courier Side Missions 1 – 5 where you could sometimes be unable to proceed due to missing NPCs.
• Fixed the custom camera for ‘Dark Horse’ Side Mission.
• Fixed the custom camera for Bartender in Stimtown.
• Fixed the situation where sometimes ‘Dark Horse’ could not be completed due to the NPC remaining in a frightened state.
• Fixed an issue where the Volatile Augmentation when used on neutrals had no effect.
• Fixed an issue where the Siege Mech in the Prison could despawn after a Player died.
• Fixed the issue where the Snooze Dealer’s Journal map icon was a white square.
• Fixed damage scaling on the Pocket Mech minigun to make it more powerful as you level up.
• Allows the use of certain augmentations while rolling.
• Balanced cost/cooldown/efficiency of Life Transfer, Neutron Beam and Overclock
• Fixed issues with PLUG Cyberdeck not cracking ICE 1.

• Lots of fixes have been made to address instances where English would appear instead of the correct language.
• Further work is continuing to improve the quality of the translations as well as further general bug fixes.
• Fixed an issue in Japanese where text overlapped in the intro cut-scene.

• Fixed an issue where sometimes in Dreamworld, shooting SFX without enemies being present could be heard.
• Fixed an issue where the death-screen replaced the SFX & VO after defeating the Megarachnoid.
• Cyberdeck visible in Journal
• News now plays in the Taxi
• Film Grain toggle added to the Graphics menu
• Fixed the Dismemberer shooting SFX that could be missing for Clients.
• Fixed previews for Auto Turret and Pocket Mech in Vendors.
• Fixed Cluster 13’s Metrolink entrances collision box.
• Various UI fixes.

As reported by Pure Xbox, developer Neon Giant has quietly released an update for The Ascent on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One that adds difficulty options to the game, which were previously available only in the game’s PC version. No patch notes have been released yet, so it’s currently unknown what other things the patch may have fixed or improved.

PC players have also reported the lack of certain features in the Game Pass version of the game as opposed to its PC version, and Neon Giant has said that it’s working on addressing those disparities as well.

The Ascent is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC. The game’s done quite well for itself, and amassed over $5 million in revenue over the course of its launch weekend.

Other noteworthy stats include over 10 million views across 1700 channels on YouTube and Twitch and 90 percent of coverage from “global Tier One publications.” As Curve CEO John Clark stated, “The Ascent is the first game out of Curve where our new team has been able to substantially make their mark, working closely with the developer and our platform partners. This success is the result of a genuine team effort throughout the company, the arrival of new leadership and talent and is truly reflective of our new approach of being developer and player focused in all that we do.”

The developer stated that it was “overwhelmed” by the response from its players. “As a small team of twelve, creating The Ascent has taken a monumental effort, and we cannot express how grateful we are to everyone who has played the game and given us feedback.”

Featuring a cyberpunk setting, The Ascent takes place on Veles, particularly the arcology run by The Ascent Group. When the group suddenly declares bankruptcy and goes dark, it’s all-out chaos as rival mega-corps and syndicates rush in to make their claims. As an indentured worker, the player must push back against these threats and uncover the group’s fate.

The Ascent is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC along with Xbox Game Pass. Check out our review here for more details.

Unlike The Ascent’s Xbox Series X/S version, on PC, the game features support for both DLSS and ray-tracing– but it seems even that isn’t entirely true. While support for both is indeed included in the game’s Steam version, it seems the same isn’t true for the Game Pass version. DLSS simply included in it, and while it does have an option for enabling ray-tracing, it doesn’t work.

Thankfully, the developer is aware of this issue and says it’s looking into it, so hopefully it won’t be too long before fixes arrive.

The Ascent is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.

Hey there! This is something we are looking into. Please stay tuned for updates as they come.

— The Ascent (@AscentTheGame) August 1, 2021

We’ve tested the game on the Xbox Series X and Xbox One X, and have largely been impressed with what we’ve seen. On the Xbox Series X, the game runs at 4K and at 60 FPS, and largely sticks to those targets rather well. On the Xbox One X, meanwhile, it targets 30 FPS and a less-than-native 4K resolution, so while this version is obviously not on the same level as the Xbox Series X, it’s still quite impressive. Of course, the lack of ray-tracing on the Xbox Series X is a tad disappointing, but doesn’t really take away from the game’s visual beauty. You can get more details in our comparison video below.

The Ascent is available now for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.