‘The Ascent,’ an arcade shooter throwback, is my favorite game of 2021

Sometimes it pays off, though. Like “Ico” and other classic 3D games, “The Ascent” has an amazing sense of scale and place. You’ll be able to look across the cavernous city to see killing fields you just crossed. And despite mostly being in a classic PC-style isometric perspective, Neon Giant has made several areas of the city change perspectives, sometimes panning out to showcase its art. Other times, the game will switch to a side view perspective, living up to my early “Contra” parallel. It’s never anticipated, and always welcome. This makes moving through Veles surprising and exciting, even if the job is, at its core, still just about shooting up a place.