How to unlock melee attack in The Ascent

The Ascent is all about gunning down enemies in a hail of bullets as you dart around the screen, but from time to time an enemy might just make it through. A melee attack will prove useful in dealing with the type of threat that wants to get up close and personal.

You don’t start the game with access to such a melee attack, but it is possible to unlock one as you play through the campaign. In order to get a melee attack, players will need to unlock an Augmentation called Hydraulic Slam. It can be found as a pickup during early missions, or it is possible to go to a Grafter, a type of vendor in the game.

Grafters will sell an assortment of upgrades and are marked on the map by DNA icons. For access to melee attacks, you’ll need to purchase the Hydraulic Slam Augment, then equip it in your loadout.

When you get back to playing a mission, melee attacks can be performed by hitting the bumpers on the controller. The best thing about the attack is that, even if it doesn’t completely kill an enemy, it will knock them back, buying you plenty of space. The damage done by the Hydraulic Slam will also increase as you level up your Motorics attribute, so keep that in mind if you find the damage a little lacking later in the game.