Players engage with Aquanox’s world from the pilot’s chair of their deep-sea vehicle, and the devs have done a great job customizing the ship cockpit to give it character. Where the original, unrelated Descent from 1994 involved exploring low-gravity environments in deep space while fighting insane security drones, Aquanox moves a similar kind of 3D action below the waves where humanity is clinging to existence. The adventure opens with them being thawed from cryogenic suspension and suffering from narratively-convenient amnesia, allowing other characters to explain the plot without the exposition seeming too contrived. They’re not from the world they inhabit, though. Set in a distant post-global warming future, A:DD puts the player in charge of the crew of a deep sea vehicle. Putting “ Descent” right there in the title makes clear which mantle it intends to pick up. While it’s a standard thing for developers to reference their influences, it’s rare to see the brazenness with which Aquanox Deep Descent does.

WTF Swarms of glowing super-sharks everywhere!

LOW Having to swap through my weapons one at a time.

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