Descenders Next is the follow-up to the brilliant Descenders, a game that made extreme mountain biking a dexterous, thrilling, often random scurry down a hill. The dev's follow-up may not be the most imaginatively titled game I've seen, but there's a radical ambition behind the simple scribbled neon pink 'Next' logo.
The original Descenders was created using Unity (read our Unity explainer for how to get started) and developed by RageSquid, who return for this sequel.
Descenders Next promises to be the only extreme sports game you'll ever need. At launch next year it will feature 'all boarding sports', from skateboarding to snowboarding and downhill grass boarding, but from there on the dev team is promising to add in new extreme sports year after year, if the player base is there. Given Descenders had a staggering 30 million players, this looks a cert.
But it's not the promise of every extreme sports under the sun that has me excited, it's the fact Descenders Next looks like the evolution of all the great extreme sports games I grew up on, from 1080° Snowboarding on the Nintendo 64 to Cool Boarders on PlayStation and the chaos of SSX on PS2. The bold, crisp visual style feels like a rush of retro gaming, while the speed and directness of the design looks incredible. I'm eager to see if the game's design can match the art direction.
Despite the nostalgic design, Descenders Next promises some smart gameplay ideas. The game will blend hand-crafted parks with procedurally generated off-piste mountain runs for a unique experience. The goal is to seamlessly chain the two approaches together, for a smart blend of planned and unplanned challenges.
Descenders Next will release on Xbox Game Pass and Steam in 2025, watch the trailer above, drool over the retro-like game screens below, or visit the official Descenders Next website for the latest details. Or, if you're seeking a hit of nostalgia before next year, read my guide to the best retro game consoles for what to play right now.
