The Descendant – Blast from the Past

If you ever want to play a somewhat forgotten sci-fi adventure in the style of the Telltale games, I got something special for you. It’s hard not to notice where The Descendant got its inspirations, seeing as many things work exactly like the typical Telltale adventure. It has characters that will “remember” things you do, it has a very heavy focus on story, and it’s fairly easy, going by point & click terms. If you hate these kinds of games, this will do nothing for you. However, if you, like me, loves a good dramatic narrative from time to time that does not have Dark Souls level of challenging gameplay, this is certainly something to pick up.

Technical issues
Before we start, The Descendant has a few oddities. First off, it’s locked to 30 fps. There are ways to unlock unlimited frames, but I didn’t bother with this, as I didn’t want to risk my computer melting into my floor. The second problem is more of a concern and somewhat baffling. The Descendant can be played with mouse and keyboard, yet it’s clear it was made to played with a controller. The experience with mouse and keyboard is just dreadful, and actively destroys the immersion/enjoyment of the game. It’s not meant to be played clicking around, since it makes the process awkward as hell.

So, controller it is, but what’s the problem? The controller support is almost totally busted. In my case (and others according to the Steam forum) an Xbox based controller just won’t work. I tried an original Xbox 360 controller for PC, and an off-brand one. Nothing. The only thing that works is a PS4 controller, but only plugged in directly to the computer. It refused to work when using an extension cord.
Another issue is while a PS4 controller works, it will have Xbox 360 prompts in-game, which can be confusing when you forget the gamepad layout. Being a game that relies on a controller for optimal satisfaction, that is not exactly great. I can’t say for certain that all setups are borked when it comes to a 360 controller – still, a warning, if you decide to dive in. It looks like you need a PS4 controller to truly enjoy The Descendant.

Grim future
In the far future of humanity, stuff is pretty damn grim. Most of Earth’s population has died out to irreversible climate change and nuclear war. Only a few thousands survivors remain, being confined into great underground vaults (arks). Now, after centuries have passed, the sleeping Descendants have been woken up, except for one ark: Ark-01. There is where you step in. You play as the janitor (Ark & Decedent caretaker) being delegated to wake up the inhabitants of Ark-01. You and your partner are driving through the wasteland that once was a thriving civilization, now reduced to ash and debris. The initial startup of the Ark goes well, but soon, you notice that something is clearly off with this vault. Where are the janitors that are supposed to take care of the Descendants? Why is the Ark in such disarray? It’s a mystery you now will have to solve.

The premise is pretty straight forward, but at many turns of the story, I thought I had it all figured out – the cynic that I am. To my surprise, though, I only got half of the stuff right, so in other words: the plot genuinely surprised me, and had me intrigued throughout. During the game, you have two story-lines running parallel to each other, in which both you control a character. In one story-line you play as a janitor, taking care of the Ark in its initial shutdown, and in the other, you are the one thawing the Decedents from their cryo sleep. The characters are pretty well established, even if their past history is a bit murky. However, this plays into how the narrative evolves. Overall, both the story, and the people involved in this tale are written well. This means, when shit hits the fan, the characters will react to the happenings in a plausible way. Nothing comes out of left field, so to say.

Choices & consequences
Being a Telltale-inspired game, your choices, and failures in the gameplay segments has consequences in the narrative. From what I can tell, there are at least two endings that entirely depend on your prior actions during critical events in the game. I would say that I got a pretty satisfactory ending, but it has me curious what would happen if I went the other way. It seems some efforts went into the story, to differentiate the playthroughs, which is a big plus. As I see it, it’s certainly worth a second playthrough, just to see how much better you can do – or how much more you can mess up.

Doing & viewing things
The gameplay is The Descendant’s weakest link, but it also depends on how you see it. If you accept it as a more casual adventure game in the style of the Telltale games, you know what to expect here. From the viewpoint of any other game, the adventure genre included, it’s fairly weak. The puzzles are not hard at all, and most consist of you having to find a key, or code, that will often rest on the table next to the puzzle. I’m not even kidding, most solutions are within 5 meters of the enigma that needs solving. At least it keeps the pacing high, since you will never ever get stuck. Unless your IQ is sub 40, which I doubt it is, seeing as you are able to read this article. 

There are a few mini-games to change things up also. They are not difficult either, but I found them relaxing, like a small mind break to contemplate the things going on in the story. Luckily, while the gameplay isn’t the most innovative, the story combined with the excellent visuals and sound makes this game. The atmosphere is tight. I wouldn’t say it was spooky, or profound or anything like that, it just had a good sci-fi tone that supplemented the narrative well. Sound and music is also great, with a lot of detail to the soundscape. Hearing the metallic underground base moan and groan in the shifting earth is cool. The only notable thing, is that some voice actors have a bit of Scandinavian accent to the English, but it does not affect much. 

Conclusion
The Descendant was a nice surprise, considering I bought it a long time ago just for a few bucks. Now, after playing it, it’s unquestionably worth way more than I paid back then. I had a great time, and the care that went into the story surprised me. It’s not a literary masterpiece, but what game is? It worked really well for the setting they set out to make, with some good twists and turns to keep you in your seat. Sadly, the issue with the gamepads, and the horrible mouse & keyboard controls drags down the experience. Especially, since you are forced to use a PS4 controller, at least in my case. If you like adventure games in the style of Telltale games, you will probably like this one. A warm recommendation!

Thanks for reading.

– Thomas