Descenders Next has just been shadowdropped on Xbox and PC

Have you spent hours hurtling downhill at insane speeds in Descenders? Simply love extreme sports? Either way, you should be happy to learn that Descenders Next has just been shadowdropped on both Xbox consoles and PC. Even better, it’s included in the Game Pass library, so if you’re a subscriber you can play it without spending any money. Result!

Descenders Next has launched into Early Access on Steam and Game Preview on Xbox, which means that it’s still very much a work-in-progress. There’s loads of content already available, however, and it will simply grow bigger and better as time goes on until it’s considered complete, which is anticipated to take around two years.

What’s important to know is that Descenders Next is a bit of a departure from the first game, in that it focuses on snowboarding and mountainboarding rather than downhill biking. At least at launch, anyway; more sports are set to be added over time. It also has somewhat of a roguelike element, in which you need to explore a map by selecting and completing trails.

Whether you’re snowboarding or mountainboarding, you’ll start at a specially-created park, with numerous objectives for you to complete. You might be tasked with performing a trick while jumping over a chicken shed, for example. If you want to unlock new activities such as trick-focused slopestyle events and races, however, you’ll have to go off-piste and venture into the unknown. Reach a new activity by completing the procedurally-generated trails leading to it, and it will be unlocked for good. Bail too many times on the way, however, and you’ll be taken to your last safe activity area with your progress lost.

Needless to say, Descenders Next is shaping up to be quite an interesting game that’s not simply more of the same. Its trick system is fun, too, with the ability to do spins and backflips and grabs. You can combine them if you like as well, and perhaps also incorporate some grinds so that you can perform some combos. It’s pretty easy to pick up but hard to master, and you can pick up some serious speed, making things very perilous.

Anyway, if all this sounds like a good time to you, be sure to check Descenders Next out. And if you’re a Game Pass subscriber, give it a download and try it out – you’ve got nothing to lose.