Overload

Amazing dynamics, great graphics and tricky 3d-labirythngs. Everything that we all so loved in the 'original' Descent series is now back with the vengeance on steroids. This game is a living example the good ideas and concepts never die. My biggest thanks to the creators! And now some more technical details: - graphics 4 out of 5 (but hey, it's and indi-release!) - controls 5 out of 5, just right what you expect - gameplay 5 out of 5, very catchy and dynamic, probably even more dynamic then original one - plot 3 out of 5 quite generic and flat, but to be honest - this is not the game that play for its plot, are you? ;) - sound 5 out of 5, really puts you into the cockpit of a ship Very recommended to all who love dynamic fast-paced shooters and also a 'must-have' for all you enjoyed Descent back in the 90s.

It doesn't matter if it's called 'Overload'. Gameplay is from Descent, weapons are from Descent, game concept is Descent, in-game universe is Descent-ish (PTMC references). It was made by the creators of Descent. This IS Descent IV. Period. Now, why not 5 stars? Because the game is unbalanced. First twelve levels .are classic Descent. Difficulty goes up a bit compared to Descent 3: shield-protected Mat-Centers, wall-mounted indestructable cannons, a mine just crawling with 27 cloacked bots. But it's acceptable. Then come last four, alien levels. There you are pitted against numerous, feisty, and seriously beefed up bots. Cygnusoria (lvl 13) is still manageable, though barely at times. But Lyranicus and most notably Vulpecular and Ymirus are insanely unbalanced. Hordes of bots that fire non-stop shot series like DS9's Defiant on steroids. I can really understand that most players give up at some point. Getting numerously rapid-shot by a band of 4-5 Defiants is no fun at all. Then there's Stratalustar, the lvl 15 boss that spawns deadly kamikaze Sperions and Ymirus reactor core. Just when you thought Reaver kamikaze were bad, enter the Sperions. Ouch now that really hurts. Kill, save, load, kill, save, load. On the brightside: first of all, the music. Overload's music score attended to my rocker heart's desires. Hostillity on Ymir really got me hooked up to the game. Ship and weapons upgrades are a welcomed novelty. They do remedy some weapon-related performance issues. Story-telling is acceptable. so I don't share Spirittt's reservations. I didn't play multiplayer so I have no idea how accurate supp99's reservations are. But I am going to give the guy his credit. Overall, Overload/Descent 4 is a solid game. Some elements excell, others simply annoy. Therefore it can be best described as that proverbial barrel of honey that got spoilt by a spoon of tar.

I missed out on Descent, but this is the real deal. Looks great by 2024 standards. Native Linux version is buttery smooth. The single player campaign is good. I doubt I'll reach a skill level where I want to try multiplayer, but that isn't the game's fault. The multiplayer matches I watched on streaming services looked intense!

If you're a fan of shooters, there was never a better game to master than Descent. Finally, after 18 years, the greatest shooter that ever was has been reborn. Linux client you say? Shut up and take my money.

I just finished the game. This turned out to be a real slog to the finish. It plays really well, but lacks environmental variety, and a lot of the fighting takes place in corridors, so I found myself only having to strafe on one axis most of the time. None of the levels really pop; They all kinda blend in together, until you reach a certain point where they take on another theme. Even then, I find the designs underwhelming. To the developers credit, this is probably true to the design of the Descent series. I stopped caring about the story about half way in. It just didn't get its hooks in me, and I didn't care about saving all the survivors or getting all the secrets. Usually I can binge FPS for a few hours at a time, but with Overload I found myself only able to play 1 level at a time, often with large breaks in between. In the end, I think it's a pretty good Descent successor, but I feel it could have evolved a a lot more to make it captivating. Unfortunately, I really did find this boring all the way to the end.