THE DESCENT
- January 5, 2024
- Celeritas Games
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"The Descent" is a first-person psychological horror walking simulator set in the haunted Rockwell Mine. As an investigator, delve into the mine's chilling past, documenting your investigation through a camera to unravel the mysteries of its numerous accidents and disappearances. Evade the terrifying dangers lurking within while experiencing the harsh realities of a miner's life. Immerse yourself in this atmospheric, short horror game.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a captivating atmosphere with excellent sound design that enhances the horror experience.
- Jump scares are effectively timed and varied, providing genuine moments of fright throughout the gameplay.
- The story is intriguing, with a solid premise involving lost miners, and the use of notes and collectibles adds depth to the narrative.
- The game suffers from excessive backtracking and a reliance on finding keys and notes, which can feel tedious and disrupt the pacing.
- Some jump scares are predictable and poorly timed, leading to a diminished impact on the overall horror experience.
- The AI voice narration detracts from immersion, and the game could benefit from more engaging storytelling methods.
- story40 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story, centered around a journalist investigating a mining facility, is intriguing and atmospheric, conveyed primarily through notes and newspaper clippings. While some players appreciate the depth and lore, others find the narrative predictable and clichéd, particularly criticizing the reliance on jump scares and the disjointed presentation of the plot. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag—promising yet flawed, with potential for greater engagement if the notes were presented in a more cohesive manner.
“The backstory of the forsaken mine ignites intrigue and leaves players yearning for further exploration.”
“The descent is a spooky horror walking sim with an eerie atmosphere and intriguing story, but it feels a little rough around the edges.”
“The story unfolds through various newspaper clippings and notes strewn around the mines.”
“I have to say, it's a shame that the narration of the story is based on an AI voice.”
“The story didn't really grab me.”
“A lame and super predictable plot combined with annoying jump scares and forcing the player to look in overly dark rooms for needed items like a 'key' endlessly.”
- atmosphere25 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its chilling and immersive qualities, effectively combining audio, visuals, and storytelling to create a haunting experience. Players appreciate the eerie environment and tension, with many noting the strong sound design and well-timed jump scares that enhance the horror elements. Despite some graphical limitations, the overall atmosphere successfully draws players into its unsettling world, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The combination of the scares along with the audio effects creates a good horror atmosphere in general throughout the entire journey.”
“However, it shines in crafting a chilling atmosphere that fully absorbs players into its eerie environment.”
“The atmosphere of the mine is top notch, it feels claustrophobic and as if it might collapse at any moment.”
“This game has a very high potential, in terms of atmosphere, sound, and tension.”
“Way too much to create a subtle atmosphere.”
“Despite its flaws, the descent does manage to evoke the proper kind of atmosphere this type of horror game should.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received generally positive feedback, with many users praising the hauntingly beautiful visuals that effectively enhance the atmosphere and tension. While some noted minor bugs and inconsistencies in settings, the overall aesthetic quality is considered impressive, reminiscent of indie standards, and successfully contributes to the game's eerie ambiance. The use of various illumination methods, such as night vision, adds to the engagement and visual experience.
“The visuals are hauntingly beautiful, creating an unsettling ambiance that sets the perfect stage for the horror to unfold.”
“The graphics are gorgeous, the sound effects are solid, and the atmosphere is spot on.”
“This game has really nice graphics and assets used and purchased on the Unreal Marketplace.”
“Some bugs with the graphics settings not sticking to what you set them at, and v-sync on/off and frame rate limiter does not seem to work at all. There are a bug or two in the game, but the developer does seem to listen and fixes bugs quite quickly.”
“The graphical quality of the game is indie standard, and some of the happenings looked a little odd, especially any moving entities. However, the game managed to create some tension and trepidation with eerie noises and weird events.”
“Heavily leans on the 'Outlast' night-vision camcorder aesthetic in order to see everything; maybe this could be limited to certain sections to ramp up tension.”
- gameplay14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "The Descent" is primarily a walking simulator focused on item collection and puzzle-solving, with players searching for objects to unlock doors and progress through the story. While the pacing is generally well-received, the mechanics are criticized for being simplistic and repetitive, relying heavily on jump scares that may feel predictable to seasoned players. Overall, the gameplay experience is described as decent but lacking in innovation, with a narrative that doesn't always align with the gameplay elements.
“The jumpscares in 'The Descent' are nothing short of surreal, and streaming the entire gameplay allowed me to share those intense moments with my audience.”
“Gameplay itself is very much a walking sim, though the pacing is excellent so I never once felt like I was moving too slow.”
“You'll search for items to unlock doors or use objects, read notes, and that's the primary gameplay loop.”
“There are no game mechanics other than walking, picking up things, and using them at the place they belong.”
“An interesting lore only made worse in the last minutes and the final outcome, mixed with an ungodly amount of key findings and event-based gameplay that will leave you wandering for quite a while until the game decides you can go through a door you've been through half an hour earlier.”
“The ones that haven't made it through would likely require a rework of the entire framework – somewhat generic writing and plot presentation, bad case of ludo-narrative dissonance (the gameplay elements – the jump scares – do not really correspond narratively to what you read about in notes – it all feels awkwardly disjointed).”
- optimization3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is generally good, with a playable state and a satisfying 60 frames per second, though it is considered heavy and has some performance issues on the first map. Overall, it receives a strong performance rating of 9/10.
“The optimization in this game is impressive, leading to smooth performance even on lower-end systems.”
“I experienced minimal performance issues, and the game runs beautifully overall.”
“The developers have done a fantastic job optimizing the game, making it accessible for a wide range of hardware.”
“The optimization of the game is not perfect; it's quite heavy, but still in a playable state. For some reason, 60 frames per second feels really good in this game.”
“There are performance issues on the first map.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players appreciate the effort put into collectibles and achievements, which enhance the game's replayability. However, some reviews indicate that overall replayability is limited, with a score of 4/10 suggesting it may not be a strong point of the game.
“It's nice to see the amount of effort put into this game, and the way they implemented collectibles and achievements actually gives it a nice amount of replayability.”
“The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
“The limited variety in gameplay mechanics really hurts the replay value.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music and sound design of the game are highly praised, with a well-complementing soundtrack and sound effects that enhance the gameplay experience. The ambient style of the music is noted as fitting perfectly, contributing positively to the overall atmosphere.
“The graphics are good, and the soundtrack and sound effects complement the gameplay.”
“The sound and music design fall into the ambient zone, and it's perfect in all the ways it needs to be.”
