Descent Undergroud, a multiplayer-focused reboot of the classic 90s shooter Descent, has been successfully funded on Kickstarter.
It was a narrow victory for developer Descendent Studios however - its debut title limped, rather than sprinted past the finish line. The final tally was $601,773 raised of its $600,000 funding target. This ensures that Descent Underground will get made, but falls short of the money required for the studio’s stated stretch targets, which would have seen up to 3 extra pilotable ships finding their way into the game’s final release.
Descent Underground acts as a prequel to the original series according the game’s developer, but while the original games look a bit ropey these days in the visual department, Descendent is hoping that using Unreal Engine 4 will ensure that this latest installment has plenty of “oomph” in the visual department. It may only have a modest development budget to work with, but the early renders undoubtedly look impressive.
While the focus is very much on multiplayer, with both co-op and competitive modes, Descendent has now said that there will in fact be a full single-player campaign evoking the spirit of the originals. At launch, Descent: Underground will ship with a campaign mode which is being described as a prologue to the full game, presumably meaning the studio is planning on expanding on it further down the line. According to the team’s Kickstarter page it will feature the same basic gameplay of collecting keycards and shooting up errant robots as the original, only honed for a more modern audience. If they can pull it off, Descent: Underground could be an interesting prospect - a modern focus on multiplayer, with a resolutely traditional single-player campaign.
Time will tell if Descent: Underground turns to be the a revitalization of the series many didn’t know they wanted, and the fact that game only just managed to reach its funding goal could be a sign that many gamers are feeling apathetic about seeing Descent‘s return. Descendent Studios has pedigree - many members of the team previously worked on that other Kickstarter darling, Star Citizen - but that won’t matter if lack of interest keeps people away from trying out what is still very much a multiplayer-focused affair. With Descent Underground due in March of next year, we mmay find out sooner rather than later if the team has what it takes.
Dale Morgan
@spamdangled
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