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Freeride video game lets you shred in your living room

Early spring release for Descenders should help keep cabin fever at bay

Descenders


If snow covered trails have you yearning for dry summer downhill runs, or for the PS2 classic, Downhill Domination, your next best distraction might not be far away. The new Descenders game, announced last summer, looks enough like mountain biking that it could be a worthy successor to Downhill Domination. Designer Mike Rose has been ratcheting up the release rumours, promising a “very early 2018” release date for the freeride mountain bike video game.


Developer RageSquid describe Descenders as “extreme downhill freeriding for the modern era, with procedurally generated worlds, and where mistakes have real consequences.” What “real consequences” are is, of course, relative to other video games, and seems to mean you lose all your points if you mangle your character too badly. Although it would be kind of humorous if breaking your characters femur meant you weren’t allowed to play for six months, the video game version of consequences is more fun to play.

Descenders [link: http://www.descendersgame.com/] does look like a good bit of fun, too. Realistic, no, but that’s not the point, is it? There’s plenty of high speed, whips and tricks, and big jumps to keep you entertained while the real world trails are too snow-covered to enjoy properly. Depending on how skilled you are on the rollers, the game could be a good way to pass the time while working on winter base miles. Or just stick to the couch and and have fun ripping down mountainsides, downhill courses, and through perfectly gladed digital forests. The game uses procedurally generated worlds, which is gamer speak for getting to play new worlds and landscapes every time you play.

The original trailer is at the top of the page, and No More Robots has released a Supercut highlight reel from the fall’s community test sessions, below:

Bonus: If you can’t wait for Descenders immanent release, or if you preferences in video games tend towards the “classic” feel, here’s Mind Spark Cinema’s recreation of Dean Tennant’s Higher Calling in the world of Free Rider 3.

http://www.kanogames.com/free-rider-3/track/8401-dean-tennant-higher-calling