When asked about the decision to make a first-person RPG after having worked on twin-stick shooter The Ascent, Frick noted that No Law felt like he and Berg were “going back to our roots”. He went on to note that the first-person perspective allows for more immersion and other storytelling opportunities when compared to the top-down perspective of The Ascent.

“I think also with the first-person perspective, a big reason for that as well is that, in The Ascent we focused a lot on the world-building and the lore and the mood, and we really like building games where you can immerse yourself in the world,” explained Frick. “That was something we really wanted to go a lot deeper with this game. Because in first-person you can actually appreciate all the little storytelling, and there’s just a lot more stories to tell. And that’s something that we missed with The Ascent a little bit, to be a little bit more intimate with everything. So that’s a big reason as well.”

When it comes to the inevitable comparisons No Law would draw with Cyberpunk 2077, Frick noted that Neon Giant’s RPG is quite different from CD Projekt RED’s outing, from the mood and tone, right down to the gameplay and more intimate story. The mechanics are also slated to be quite different, with a focus on the world reacting to the player’s actions and choices.

“A lot of it is, it’s just the mood and the tone. Cyberpunk [2077] is a big, sprawling experience. It’s a mega city,” he said. “And our game is a lot more intimate both when it comes to the gameplay mechanics but also the world. I think as people see more of the game that will be more apparent. It’s hard to do in a short trailer like that. I think you need to see and feel the game more. It is more of an intimate experience, like the world is deep but not so grand. And the same thing with mechanics and the same thing with the story. It is very, very personal and very, very reactive around you as a player, rather than being set in this grand backdrop.”

Berg noted that the studio also had to be conscious about what kinds of references it was drawing from during the development of No Law. Since cyberpunk is an expansive genre in itself, the studio kept an eye on the market, and No Law will draw quite heavily from Hong Kong action movie scenes. He also noted that No Law will be quite a bit more tongue-in-cheek than what players might expect from the genre.

“Of course we’re aware of what’s out in the market, we keep an eye on it,” said Berg. “But creatively we are looking a lot at eighties, nineties action movies, or a certain mood there. We’re looking at Hong Kong action scenes. We’re looking at inspiring comic books, it could be American, it could be manga. Of course we have anime in there. But we’re just looking at a lot of different pieces of fiction as far as inspiration goes and we’re just trying to put all of that in here.”

“Something you saw in The Ascent as well, there is a slight tongue in cheek, right? We as creatives, we can’t write grim dark angsty. That’s not what we want. We want violence as a spectacle. We want you to have fun when you’re playing a game. That’s a very important feeling for us, to just have fun. There’s a mood, there’s a vibe, there’s a certain feeling that hopefully fans of The Ascent will recognize even though the gameplay is completely different.”

No Law is being developed for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and is slated for release in 2026. In the meantime, check out our review of Neon Giant’s previous title, The Ascent.

Enter Grey Harker, a military veteran who’s out to get the people who messed up his retirement plans, unleashing his extensive skills and weapons expertise in a brutal and bloody gameplay loop. Port Desire is also quite easy on the eyes; its Unreal-powered visuals bring the city and its boroughs to life with aplomb. It’s a cyber-noire title that promises more than just shooting, with a bit of detective work thrown into the gameplay loop to keep things interesting.

All in all, this is a title to watch out for when it hits the shelves sometime in 2026 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC., which could mean that we can expect the DualSense’s haptics and adaptive triggers to be put to good use, making for an experience that could stand out from the crowd if it handles its material well.

The hint of leaves on the right side and lower left indicates a greener location than The Ascent’s arcology. It’s worth noting that this will be Neon Giant’s first full-fledged title since the twin-stick cyberpunk shooter launched in July 2021.

Developed by a team of 12, it went on to sell one million copies and even received a paid DLC called Cyber Heist, which added new locations, missions, and weapons. After its acquisition by Krafton, the publisher confirmed that the developer’s next project would be an open-world first-person shooter. Whether this is the same title remains to be seen.

Other titles appearing at The Game Awards include Exodus and a new trailer for what could be Diablo 4’s next expansion. It’s also likely that Ubisoft could announce Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag Remake.

Arcade Berg, creative director and studio co-founder said, “A million thanks to all our players for visiting Veles. We’re excited and thankful to you, our team and our partners for making this possible.”

John Clark, Curve Games CEO, said, “We’re delighted to celebrate this incredible milestone with Arcade, Tor and the team at Neon Giant. The team has continued to release great new content, building on the game’s growing fanbase, and I’m sure there will be more good news to announce soon.”

The Ascent takes place in the world of Veles within a cyberpunk arcology. As part of The Ascent Group, you’re indentured for life, performing menial tasks until the group suddenly collapses. Rival gangs and corporations are looking to move in, and it’s up to you and the arcology’s residents to stop them.

Check out our review for the base game here. The Ascent is available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC and has received a new story DLC, Cyber Heist, which adds new missions, weapons, enemies, and more. As for the future, Neon Giant was acquired by Krafton last year and is working on a new open-world first-person shooter. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

Original story follows:

Korean-based publisher Krafton is one of the biggest names in gaming right now, and though the vast majority of that is down to PUBG and its offshoots, the company has other irons in the fire as well, some of which have certainly caught the eye. The most prominent, of course, is upcoming survival horror title The Callisto Protocol– and unsurprisingly, it seems that the company has plans to keep that momentum going.

Part of that will seemingly come through acquisitions. As reported by GamesIndustry, Krafton announced in its recently released quarterly fiscal results that it intends to acquire Swedish indie developer Neon Giant, along with opening a new studio of its own in Canada. There’s no word on how far along the process of said acquisition is, but the company has, at the very least, made those plans abundantly clear.

Neon Giant, which comprises of just 11 people, is the studio behind 2021’s cyberpunk action RPG The Ascent, which received plenty of praise upon launch and became publisher Curve Digital’s most successful ever launch, with $5 million accumulated from sales in its first weekend. You can read our review of The Ascent through here.

Set after the main story, the DLC sees Kira offering the player a new job. It involves exploring a new arcology run by the Malhorst-Gelb Group. In addition to new main missions, there are also tougher side missions and new characters like Ontario and Zell to meet.

Of course, you’ll need to complete the base game’s campaign in order to access Cyber Heist. The good news is that it can be tackled with friends, even if they haven’t completed the main campaign, as long as the host has done so.

Head here for Microsoft platform-specific patch notes; here for Steam notes; and here for PlayStation-specific notes. You can also check out our review for The Ascent here.

The Cyber Heist DLC is looking like it’s going to be a meaty one for The Ascent. Set after the events of the base game (so you’ll need to have finished The Ascent), your former employer Kira will hire you for a top-secret job that’ll send to to an unfamiliar arcology owned by the Malhorst-Gelb Group.

The DLC will bring new locations for players to explore and discover, many new missions and side missions that will be playable solo and co-op (just like the base game), and a number of new weapons, including advanced melee weapons, which is a first for the game.

Cyber Heist will launch on August 18 and will be available for $9.99. Meanwhile, publisher Curve Games is also releasing a Cyber Edition of The Ascent, which includes the base game, the Cyber Heist expansion, and the CyberSec and Cyber Warrior DLC packs. It’ll retail for $44.99.

The Ascent is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, and PS4. Read our review of the base game through here.

A recently-released hotfix for the game on PlayStation consoles has disabled cross-generation play between PS4 and PS5. According to the developers, this feature’s addition was unintentional and needs more testing before being able to provide a consistent experience for all players. Additionally, the hotfix also caps the framerate on the game’s PS4 version to 30fps, to alleviate any performance oddities.

The Ascent also proved to be a commercial success for publisher Curve Games, which reported a strong opening of more than $5 million in revenue shortly after launch. A post-launch update also added new armor packs and a New Game Plus mode to the game- read more on that through here.

Cross-Gen Play was unintentionally activated and needs further testing to ensure the best experience for all players. We're working on this to launch at a later date. Thank you for your patience.

[2/2]

— The Ascent (@AscentTheGame) April 6, 2022

Armed with a variety of weapons, one must protect their territory from rival factions and gangs while determining the reason for the group’s collapse. Customizing stats allows for the use of different augmentations, like enemies exploding on death, a Neutron Beam that cuts through armor and more. Solo play is available but you can also team with up to three others players in local and online co-op.

For more details on The Ascent, check out our review here. It’s received a number of quality of life improvements since release like transmog, difficulty options and New Game Plus. Stay tuned for any future updates in the coming days.

According to the official Twitter, a technical issue prevented the update and DLC from launching on Xbox platforms. The developer stated, “We’re currently working to resolve this as soon as possible, we want to ensure we provide you with the best version of this update we can.” It also apologized for any inconvenience caused and said it would keep fans updated.

Even if the issue turns out to be more severe than expected, the new update and Cyber Warrior Pack should be available when the PlayStation versions launch. The Ascent will be coming to PS4 and PS5 on March 24th. Pre-orders can net the RPEG 33, an energy rocket launcher with a unique laser sight that also happens to be blue. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks and check out our review for the game here.

Regrettably, due to a technical issue, we were unable to simultaneously launch this Patch and the Cyber Warrior Pack on Xbox. We're currently working to resolve this as soon as possible, we want to ensure we provide you with the best version of this update we can. [2/3]

— The Ascent (@AscentTheGame) February 24, 2022

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and we thank you for your patience and understanding. We'll keep you updated! [3/3]

— The Ascent (@AscentTheGame) February 24, 2022