Stepping back into the Arcology after a year off made me realise how much I missed the bloody hellscape. Created by Neon Giant, this top-down twin-stick shooter was the standout Cyber Punk-inspired world in recent memory, and its heart-thumping action has been treated to its first expansion. The Cyber Heist DLC picks up right after the game’s main campaign, and with a pleasant surprise coming in the form of being able to bring your friends in with a single purchase.

For a low cost, one player can purchase the DLC and bring three friends to join in the post-game action. A very consumer-friendly thought on behalf of the developer team. If the owner of the DLC leaves for any reason, players that do not own the DLC will have to wait for the host to take them back into the new areas, however, it doesn’t stop you from having access to any new loot you found along the way.

It was a great way to get a few friends back in the mix of things, but it should be noted that being end game and beyond, enemies are level 30 plus, so taking in a lower levelled character will present quite the challenge, even if the difficulty setting is set to easy or normal.

In the aftermath of the main storyline, you are tasked with fighting your way through the new area named The Dark Playground in the pursuit of the Ruby. There is a defector amid the major corporations and their tech can change the game for anyone that gets a hold of it. The Canary Mech Factory offered heavy industrial locations and formidable robot enemies to take down, and the clean and pristine interiors of the Biochoice Pharma Facilities further highlighted the divide between the upper class and the Deepstink dwellers. Setting-wise, it felt like an extension of the main game as opposed to trying to reinvent the look and feel of a game, which was a smart choice as the base game is already a solid atmosphere.

The core gameplay loop of kiting enemies around the enclosed environments returns in full form with the addition of two deadly melee options. The brand-new Guillotine offers a brutal opportunity to get up close and personal to coat the walls with the insides of your enemies. With a standing swing attack to keep enemies at bay and a powerful spin attack, you will make quick work on standard enemies. Throw on the Life Transfer augmentation and your survivability options make the hand-to-hand combat a viable option, so long as you are respecting the level of your enemies and what difficulty you are playing.

The other addition to the game comes in the form of a giant two-handed weapon named the Rock Crusher. The absolutely satisfying feeling of splatting an enemy with each standard swing made me feel like a Norse God. If there was an oncoming group, I was able to use the strong attack to slam the ground and send forth a wave of energy that would knock back or pop all that opposed me.

While being slower than the Guillotine, I was able to comfortably keep a steady damage output up, but I often would use either melee weapon as a backup to my ‘Dealbreaker’ heavy machine gun. The versatility of both melee weapons, however, was that I didn’t have to worry about the enemy type, as I would normally have to switch to a specific weapon to deal with robots or use flame weapons for squishy enemy types for example.

I was taken aback by the relatively short experience though, clocking in at just over three hours with minimal exploration. It can leave a ‘What now?’ feeling after the final boss. There was no change to any level cap, no new augmentations to chase, or vital changes to build crafting either. As a whole package, the game stands strong with its killer soundtrack that gets me hyped for every single fight no matter how small, but the real value would come from a player that is experiencing this from start to finish for the first time.

The Ascent: Cyber Heist offered an exciting reason to step back into the Arcology, and even more reason to bring a few friends. With new ways to paint the walls red through melee options and challenging fights to be had, this short but sweet add-on extends what made The Ascent so satisfying to begin with.

Written by: Shane Fletcher