Descenders Next

Descenders Next is a snowboarding and mountainboarding game that serves as a spiritual successor to the original Descenders, shifting from downhill mountain biking to board sports. Players appreciate the game's high-speed adrenaline rush, trick mechanics, and open-world node-based map that offers varied gameplay modes like races and slopestyle. The soundtrack and overall flow have been praised for enhancing the immersive experience. However, many players find the controls less responsive and more floaty compared to the original, especially criticizing the lack of an effective braking mechanism, which makes speed management difficult and sometimes frustrating. The multiplayer experience is seen as a significant downgrade, lacking true cooperative progression. Visually, the game is considered underwhelming, with dated graphics and stiff animations, and some note poor optimization causing high resource usage. While the game shows promise and the developers are actively updating it, the current price is often deemed too high for the content and polish available. Overall, it is recommended mainly for fans willing to invest time during Early Access.

Highlights

Players commend Descenders Next for its exhilarating speed and satisfying trick system, capturing the thrill of snowboarding and mountainboarding. The open map design with diverse nodes allows players to choose their playstyle, enhancing replayability. The soundtrack is frequently highlighted as a standout feature, complementing the game's energetic pace. Mountainboarding controls receive some positive notes for their natural feel, and the game’s polish and UI design have been appreciated. The developers’ engagement with the community and commitment to ongoing updates inspire confidence in the game's future potential.

Criticisms

Common criticisms focus on the game's control scheme, described as floaty and unresponsive, with a problematic lack of a dedicated brake button causing frustrating speed management. Multiplayer is seen as a poor replacement for the original's cooperative mode, limiting shared progression and interaction. Visuals are often called outdated and simplistic, with stiff animations and poor optimization leading to high hardware usage. The procedural map generation sometimes leads to awkward ramp placements, causing frequent crashes. Additionally, limited customization options and a lack of meaningful progression or narrative depth detract from long-term engagement. Many players feel the game is overpriced given its current Early Access state and content availability.