Game release: “Sublevel Zero” (PC)

Once upon a time, there was an FPS game titled Descent that did things differently with 360 degrees of movement, and SIGTRAP Games might just have found a way to resurrect it with Sublevel Zero.

Despite my motion sickness coming and going, my love for the original Descent is unaltered. It was an amazingly tense game, even if going upside down most of the time and losing orientation made it difficult to play. So this title could be what the aging FPS template needs.

What’s particularly interesting about the game is that this a roguelike, i.e. there are no continues or savegames. If you die, you die and have to restart again. Levels are also procedurally generated, so each playthrough should be different. I’m not sure how this all works out, considering that the original Descent was divided into levels that sometimes took a long time to complete. But it’s still an interesting idea, in addition to weapon/ship upgrades which make customizing essential.

The game looks and sounds nice, although one shouldn’t expect the same graphical fidelity as the still great-looking Forsaken showcased. Another problem is the missing multiplayer mode which could have been an alternative to all the modern shooters. It’s also a bit of a letdown that the iconic escape-the-level-before-the-reactor-explodes idea isn’t there, either. Copyright issues aside, this was what made Descent such a joy to play. With Oculus Rift support, it could become something great (and for some people nauseating), though.

The game is available for PC now on GOG and Steam with a 15% launch discount that will last until October 15, 3:59 PM GMT.

Buy the game on
GOG
Steam

Official Website

If you liked reading this article, make sure you pay a visit to Future Sack which kindly features it as well, and every LIKE or comment is appreciated on EMR’s Facebook page or FS’s Facebook page :). Or FOLLOW the blog on EMR’s Twitter page.
Using the GOG link and buying the product also helps ;).