A Thug’s Ascension Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · Published March 20, 2024 · Updated March 19, 2024

A Thug’s Ascension Review, a low-poly action-adventure / FPS story set in the dying city of Maratha, circa 2023. Become Chief, a feared mercenary, and experience a dark, slow-paced crime drama marrying cinematic, dialogue-driven storytelling with intense shooting and driving gameplay.

A Thug’s Ascension Review Pros:

Nice low poly graphics.
2.82GB download size.
Steam achievements.
Graphics settings – quality preset.
The controller works.
In-game cutscenes and character interactions.
Shooter gameplay.
First-person view.
Mouse and camera sensitivity/smoothing sliders.
You see enemy health.
Different enemy types.
Full inventory system.
Mission markers pop up as you are playing.
Explodable elements within the world.
Health bar system with health pack pickups.
Enemies can drop ammo, guns, and health.
Hidden coins to find.

A Thug’s Ascension Review Cons:

Slow boot-up with many unskippable screens.
Cannot skip any cutscenes.
No voicework.
The controller works but the camera is way too sensitive no matter the setting and you cannot remap any controls.
You don’t auto equip picked up weapons.
The game performance is bad with pop-in and choppy sections.
Shooting is very bland.
Enemies just line up to get shot or stand still.
Never sure when the game saves or hits a checkpoint.
No recoil on any of the guns.
Shooting is boring.
The enemy will shoot at you before you or them even see each other.
Had the enemy shooting at me through buildings and walls.
Cannot have the text auto-scroll.
There is just no atmosphere.