Descenders Rides Into Xbox Game Preview This Summer

This post has been republished via RSS; it originally appeared at: Xbox Wire.

Hey everyone!

This is Mike Rose from publishing label No More Robots, and I’m rather excited to announce today that Descenders, the downhill mountain biking game from Action Henk studio RageSquid, is coming exclusively to console on Xbox One in Xbox Game Preview!

We’ve spent the last two years building Descenders with one simple goal in mind: To create the most gorgeous, stylish and addictive freeriding game possible, filled with satisfyingly intense speed – and we can’t wait for you lovely Xbox people to get your hands on it.

What the Heck is Descenders?

Good question! Descenders is extreme downhill freeriding for the modern era, where you flip, whip and scrub through procedurally generated worlds, filled with the underlying awareness that a single bail could end it all.

We know that the MTB community has been crying out for a proper mountain biking game for years now, so we wanted to create an experience that both satisfies the hardcore freeriding fan, while also feeling like great fun even if you’ve only ever casually ridden a bike.

The game plays out across four unique worlds, starting in the Scottish Highlands, weaving through dense forests, opening out into gaping, humid canyons, before chucking you out of a helicopter on the highest and most dangerous mountain peaks.

Every single run feels fresh and new – that’s because each level is uniquely generated before you play, meaning that you never see the same level twice. Oh, and there are no upgrades or power-ups to collect; Instead, you must progress through skill alone, feeling yourself getting better and better as the hours are whittled away.

Rinse and Rep-eat

Everything you do in Descenders earns you “Rep” points. Simple jumps and slides will boost your Rep ever so slightly, but it’s the biggest tricks and fastest speeds that really earn you the big bucks. Looking to top that Rep leaderboard? You might want to, oh I dunno, try jumping over a moving train?

As you build your Rep, the risk vs. reward grows deeper and far more intense. See, every time you bail, you lose 1% of your total Rep. That’s not too bad when you’ve just started out… but when you each 250,000 Rep, those tumbles really start to add up. All of a sudden, racing down a mountain at 50mph dodging trees left and right becomes a real heart-stopper.

You’re not just building your Rep for yourself – Descenders is very much a team effort. Early on in the game when you’ve proven your skills, you’ll be approached by one of the core riding teams, who will want to sign you up. Team Enemy is all about sick tricks, Team Arboreal take their action off the beaten path, and Team Kinetic are the game’s speed demons.

Your Rep will then also go towards your team’s total Rep, and will determine which team has prevailed each Season, along with who will receive exclusive gear and bikes. Make sure you pick the team that’s right for you!

Suit Up

Speaking of gear: As you play through Descenders, you’ll start unlocking new bikes, thread and accessories to kit yourself out with. The threads you own at the beginning aren’t exactly mind-blowing, but as the sponsorships start rolling in, you’ll find yourself with a full wardrobe, ranging from super slick kits to, shall we say, some rather silly shirts and accessories.

The types of kits and bikes you collect are linked to your Rep score, so players who spend time building their skills will find themselves unlocking the best, most gorgeous kits. As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to build that Rep score.

There’s so much more to see in Descenders, including secret gap, shortcuts, and rare events that occur… but I’ll keep those all to myself for now. We don’t want to spoil it all before you’ve had a chance to play!

We can’t wait to get Descenders into your hands as soon as possible – and it will definitely be soon! We’re aiming to launch in Xbox Game Preview in the next several months, so watch this space.