- Corporations want to kill physical media because it suits them, but Big Box PC game packaging just got a second chance - 8 September 2026
If you were alive and sentient in the nineties you probably harbour some fondness for the "big box" PC games of yore. Back then, rather than buy an ephemeral digital license for a game, you'd head to a store to buy a huge box bedecked in lavish art, inside which you'd find a handful of 3.5-inch floppy discs or a CD-ROM, usually a substantial glossy manual, and if you were lucky, maybe even some extras like stickers or drink coasters... Read more.
- Students added ray tracing to Descent and it looks sick - 27 June 2023
Classic shooter Descent, released in 1995, has gotten a facelift from some enterprising students who've added a fat stack of technical upgrades to the open, shareware fork of the game. Most notable is that perennial glory: pathtraced global illumination. It's what the kids these days are calling "ray traced lighting.".. Read more.
- Descent: Underground resurfaces with a shorter title and more single-player focus - 5 October 2018
For a while, I’d forgotten about free-floating FPS Descent: Underground – turns out it had just gone radio-silent for a retooling, announced here . Still being worked on by Descendent Studios and now backed by publisher Little Orbit, the game is now just called ‘Descent’, and is now a more single-player oriented game, diverging from the originally multiplayer-centric Underground. It’ll be entering beta testing in November and is due for a 2019 release, and will be a free upgrade (along with all pre-order DLC) for Underground’s early access owners and Kickstarter backers. Below, two new teaser trailers. (more…)
- Descent formerly Descent: Underground begins beta testing in November - 4 October 2018
Descent: Underground was successfully Kickstarted in April 2015, went to Early Access later that year, and then in September 2017 was taken down so the developers could "focus on implementing single-player, tech trees, and the other cool features we’ve talked about." That was the final update on Steam until yesterday, when publisher Little Orbit dropped a new trailer and said that a Descent beta will begin in November, followed by a release in early 2019.  The beta will be open to anyone who preorders the game, as well as everyone had it on Early Access before it was removed. Early Access supporters will also be given the preorder bonuses now being offered, including a custom "Viola" ship, beta-exclusive challenges, "Secret Missions" DLC, and more.  "This testing window has an important job to do. At different times, we will ask you to try out and give feedback on diffe…
- Interplay Sells Off Descent, Kingpin, Earthworm Jim Etc - 8 September 2016
Don’t call it a comeback. Don’t call it, like, three comebacks. Interplay , once renowned as a house of PC ideas, has failed to get back off the ground across various attempts at resurrection , and it seems matters have gone no better for whoever is currently wearing the well-worn skinsuit. ‘Interplay’ has just announced a firesale of various intellectual properties. Which means that the likes of Descent, Freespace, Kingpin, Giants: Citizen Kabuto, MDK, Sacrifice and Earthworm bally Jim are now looking for new homes. Oh God, come on, let’s do this. Let’s get the RPS community to club together to buy the rights to and make a new Kingpin game. …
- Spiritual Descent Remake Overload Needs $17K In 4 Hrs - 11 March 2016
Edit: and it made it , with just under two hours to go. Yer new Descent will be a reality, then. Congrats to Revival. The bums, they are a-squeakin’. There are just four hours left on the Kickstarter clock for Overload , the game from the core creators of the original Descent, and it appears they need to round up the best part of $20k in that time. A photo finish is not at all impossible, but I imagine it’s been a sleepless night for Revival productions. …
- Overload Demo: New Shooter From Descent Creators - 8 March 2016
The folks who co-created Descent in the ’90s have released a playable demo of Overload , their spiritual successor to the fine zero-gravity spaceship shooter series. With less than three days left on their Kickstarter campaign , they’re just over half-way to their $300,000 goal ( 210k-ish). “Er, Alice,” you interrupt, “I’m not being funny, but didn’t they Kickstart a new Descent last year? It’s already out on Early Access ? People say it’s pretty fun?” Yyyes. Sort of. While Descent: Underground does have the name, licensed from withered husk of publishers Interplay, the initial team was folks who’d never worked on Descent. So! How would Descent’s creators do Descent today? Have a play and see. …
- Descent Veterans Kickstarting Basically Descent 4 - 10 February 2016
Remember that Descent game Kickstarted by people by who didn’t make Descent ? Here’s an unofficial Descent remakequel Kickstarted by people who did make Descent. If Descent was on your Kickstarted comeback bingo card, then today’s the day to wave your pen in the air. Mike Kulas and Matt Toschlog, lead creators of the 1990s’ beloved six-degrees of freedom spaceshippy FPS, have gotten the band back together for a comeback named Overload. You wanted Descent with sparkly 2016 graphics? You’re gonna get it. Well, if you and your fellow retronauts can put $300k together. …
- GOG holds Interplay sale, but removes Descent from store - 30 December 2015
Yeah yeah, Steam sale, but if you're in the mood for Old Games (the 'Good' part is debatable), you might want to check out GOG's Interplay sale . The retailer has discounted lots of classic/ancient PC games including MDK, Messiah, Stonekeep, Lionheart and....OK, so it's not the best sale in the world. I mainly find it interesting because of what's missing: namely, Descent 1, 2 and 3, which have mysteriously vanished from the store. There's a reason for that, as explained by Parallax Software's Matt Toschlog & Mike Kulas, who hold the rights to the Descent series. "Parallax Software still exists and still owns the copyrights to the Descent games. Under our 21-year-old agreement, Interplay has the exclusive rights to sell Descent and Descent II, and they have been doing so on Good Old Games and Steam. "The problem is that Interplay has not paid to Parallax any royalties since 2007. We've…
- Descent: Underground Unearthed On Early Access - 24 October 2015
Reimagining classic 90s video games is something crowdfunding platforms seem cut out for. Ah, nostalgia, what a wondrous thing. It’s been some 15 years since a Descent game reached our telly screens, and 21 years since the first – a pioneering space shooter with six degrees of freedom – did the same. After barely succeeding on Kickstarter earlier this year, the multiplayer-focused Descent: Underground has now arrived on Steam Early Access . …
- Wot I Think: Sublevel Zero - 7 October 2015
While not the only Descent-style revival of recent times, the six-axis floaty base exploration genre is still woefully underfed. Sublevel Zero arrives to help with that, taking a more rogue-lite, randomised approach to the notion. Am I spinning with glee, or nose-diving with disappointment? Here’s wot I think: …
- The 50 Best FPS Ever Made - 13 May 2015
Gathering together the best shooters is no easy task, but if you’re looking for a new PC FPS to play, look no further. Your favourite game is at number 51. …
- Descent: Underground Is Verti-Go On Kickstarter - 13 March 2015
You wait fifteen years for a proper Descent game, and then several come along at once. Tsk. A group of industry vets have licensed the Descent trademark from Interplay and begun development of Descent: Underground . They launched a Kickstarter campaign a couple of days ago; as I write this they’ve already passed the 25% mark. Their pitch video follows. …
- Descent fan reimagining Sol Contingency shut down by Interplay - 14 October 2014
If you had a PC in the 90s you probably remember Descent . It was a fully 3D first-person shooter which preceded Quake, and it holds a special place in many a 90s PC owner s heart. While not as iconic as some of its contemporaries, there s still a sizable fanbase out there: enough at least to warrant the development of Sol Contingency, a fanmade reimagining of the Descent universe. Problem is, now Descent IP owner Interplay has decided it doesn t want the tribute developed. Sol Contingency project lead Maximillian Schulz has received a cease and desist notice from Interplay Entertainment, which he has posted on the Sol Contingency website . The letter follows previous contact with an unspecified daughter company of Interplay, which Schulz hoped would result in Sol Contingency becoming an officially sanctioned Descent game . Following the sister company s contact with Schulz it went sile…
- Descent Reimagining Sol Contingency Foxed - 13 October 2014
Fan remakes and reimaginings are labours of love living on a knife-edge, potentially blooming into a glorious monument to their adoration but knowing that one single letter from the owner could shut everything down at any moment. Sol Contingency has received that letter. It was to be a shiny “reimagining” of Parallax’s splendid six-degrees-of-freedom space shooter Descent in the UDK, but owners Interplay have stopped that. The team say they’ll continue, changing enough to make Sol Contingency their own thing. But this wasn’t all unrequited love; at one point, Interplay were interested in making Sol Contingency an official Descent game. …
- Descent Is 19 Tomorrow, And On Steam Today - 12 February 2014
Yesterday, when I glanced at the new releases on Steam and saw “Descent” I thought, “Huh, someone’s used that name again – well, it has been nineteen years since it came out.” And then I dropped down dead of old age and horror because it’s been nineteen years since Descent came out. I’ve only just recovered from this death, and looked again. No, it’s actually Descent. It’s somehow appeared on Steam. Descent ! …
- Now Available on Steam - Descent - 11 February 2014
Descent is Now Available on Steam! Prepare To Start Your Descent. Sensory overload in 360° 3-D. Welcome to Descent™ - 27 levels of the most mind-bending, stomach-churning action game ever. Featuring true 3-Dimensional worlds with light source shading, texture mapping, 3-D morphing, directional sound effects and sizzling music, this is technology taken to the limit. Something has happened at Lunar Base I. The Post-Terran Mining Company has lost contact with the miners and none of the mining robots are responding. The PTMC has brought in you the Material Defender to deal with the situation. Your mission is to find any survivors and find the source of threat. You will start a journey that takes you from the Moon to Pluto. Best of luck Material Defender. Lunge straight down mine shafts, twist around never-ending tunnels and fight your way past robotic menaces in an environment that's…
