Descenders (Nintendo Switch) An Honest Review

In this Nintendo indie game review we take a look at Descenders, an unusual blend of freestyle downhill mountain bike racing and roguelite elements where you hit the dirt and have to flip, spin and skid your way from the top to the bottom of procedurally generated tracks.
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Descenders Xbox One - www.microsoft.com/en-gb/p/des...
Descenders Steam - store.steampowered.com/app/68...

[@staceyallen4913]

This game is amazing missing out if you don't play this one..

[@SwitchStars]

Its well worth playing Stacey, I think if you can play it on other platforms then you will get a better experience but the Switch version is still fine if you can't.

[@APerson10003]

Just found this channel from this review. Got a physical copy today for $20 from Walmart. Enjoyed the review and I appreciate your opinion and review. Keep it up and will continue to watch now subbed.

[@SwitchStars]

Nice hope you enjoy Godshall, thank you for the sub, appreciate it 😊

[@dantindley5181]

The fact he called the bunny hop an ollie deeply annoys me

[@SwitchStars]

Haha I'm so use to playing skating games, I did notice the error of my ways but by then it was too late. Last BMX game I played was the fantastic Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX on PS1

[@MasterMilkyy]

Angry Tony hawk noises

[@SCORP1ONF1RE]

if you're skillful and like physics based games... descenders is a gem!

[@Foxhound302x]

The more i watch these reviews of this game the more i want it. Thanks for the in-depth review. Just made a subbed to ur channel

[@SwitchStars]

Hey Mario, it's good fun I'm hoping they continue to release content for it and keep the community going. Thank you, I'm glad it helped you out and thanks for the sub 😊

[@isaacmitchell7488]

Just picked it up on the Eshop on sale for $15, excited to try it!!

[@SwitchStars]

Enjoy Isaac, hopefully they fixed a couple of the performance issues I encountered 😊

[@majamandic3562]

​@@SwitchStarsif i buy something from e shop, and delite it, Will i still be able to play it again without having to pay again

[@SwitchStars]

Yes, just go back onto the eshop, click your picture in the top corner then go to re download games

[@SevenRedSunsOfficial]

getting closer to 2k!

[@SwitchStars]

Slowly but surely, this month is likely to be a slow one due to my work pattern changing but hopefully before Christmas 😁

[@FingswithFrankie]

This dropped to £15 so I took the chance. I feel the game controls are ok, closer to a real bike feeling than other games I've played. The rider/bike look ok, what surprised me was the way trees pop in and the way some areas of a course are completely missing detail. You can ride to one section and he detail on rocks etc looks great, go round the corner and you have a generic green field or bare polygon rocks,very odd. Probably would have been better if the graphics had been dropped all over,rather than certain sections.

[@SwitchStars]

Ye I dont know if they have improved them since release Frankie but I found the pop-in a little extreme at times.

[@dancingrex6725]

I'm getting this game today I know I'm a little late but I'm still looking forward to this!

[@SwitchStars]

Enjoy Rex, its a decent game with a few issues, but all in all, pretty fun.

[@danebramage04]

I firmly disagree with 3 stars. When I review my switch games I ALWAYS compare them to the quality of other switch releases. This game makes adrenachillin a word... and it’s addicting as hell. I prefer gameplay > graphics which is why I prefer games like VIGOR to Call of duty at the moment as well. This game has made me get behind on all of my battlepasses. I needed this game in my life. Perfect for switch! And the haptic feedback on these joycons is up there with the best so far. This game and crown trick seem to be games under the recent radar.

[@SwitchStars]

Feel free to disagree the rating is only my personal opinion, comparing this to other negating visuals I'd say that while gameplay is enjoyable it's not very deep, and the procedural generation doesn't always work, sometimes it's too extreme, sometimes it's too simple, and the game hinges on this mechanic to keep things interesting. Without multiplayer things become quite stale, which is why I said the success of the game is dependant on its community.

[@danebramage04]

@@SwitchStars just FYI I dunno if you were counting albums or songs but I counted 29 tracks

[@SwitchStars]

When I skipped through the tracks I got through 7 or 8 before I saw the same track name pop up so I don't know if they're randomised. I played the game for about 10 hours and the majority of the music sounded the same there wasn't anything standout about it.

[@Hello-yp2zg]

@@SwitchStars they're from the same albums with the same type of music so yes they do sound the same

[@SwitchStars]

@@Hello-yp2zg Usually different tracks on the same album sound different, I meant one track blended into the other and I didn't really note any significant difference between them.

[@westlywilliamsemple3441]

I'm definitely picking this up!

[@gentlemani9150]

me too!

[@SwitchStars]

Hope you enjoy it Wez, it has the potential to be great it the devs keep adding to it like the pc version and its online community stays strong

[@westlywilliamsemple3441]

@@SwitchStars I'm going to blame you if the wife bitches about another game purchase

[@SwitchStars]

Yea that's fine she don't know where to find me 😉

[@HarmonicWave]

Thanks. I think I'll get it on Steam at some point instead of the Switch. I've just about filled my 512GB Switch memory card and I'd rather have the better visuals on PC.

[@wheelchairwunda-Arcade]

Been waiting a looonng time for this, looks like it'll be rewarded rather than fail, despite graphical downgrade looks smooth enuf which was a worry

[@wheelchairwunda-Arcade]

It'll improve, steam wasnt perfect at launch. Tried Trial Boss BMX? Uncanny it's same day looks a lil more polished for switch

[@SwitchStars]

Yea hopefully Ryan, I think it could be good if the switch community get behind it, it runs well enough jus tnot the prettiest.

[@SwitchStars]

No I haven't tried Trial Boss, I did see it but I thought I'd cover this one instead, will see what people say about it compared to Descenders

[@segagirladventurespico]

Looks like fun I feel like my kid would love it

[@theovanderlugt8357]

This game would be fun if it wasn't so difficult. It's so fast and the controls are so fiddly and sensitive that it's damn near impossible to hit any of the jumps, you just slam into the side of them. The gameplay should be slowed down massively, so you can actually stay on the track without crashing and having to respawn every 5 seconds. Annoying because I really wanted a fun MTB game.

[@wolfhardboutens3311]

Can you put seeds in for custom maps on switch

[@SwitchStars]

Yea Wol veZ you can put custom seeds in to share with others, I did mention that was the only way to save maps, it would be good if you could save specific races though.

[@T-Flex]

How to place a marker checkpoint on switch? Thanks

[@SwitchStars]

Hey theo, not sure what you mean? Are you talking about the map screen in multiplayer? In races?

[@pokeniv]

You press L and press down on right joystick

[@SwitchStars]

Thanks for clarifying pokeniv, I wasn't sure.

[@uziiii.-.999]

Can u download maps? Like the pc version?

[@SwitchStars]

You couldn't when I played it, notr sure if this feature has been implement since then

[@Hello-yp2zg]

Personally, I'd give it a 3 star because it can go on for ages. On pc it's a 5 star but in switch it's a 3 star because there is no mods for maps and the quality can go down. On console is give it a 4 because there's no mods and that is it

[@SwitchStars]

I think mods open games up to so many possibilities, we may one day see them on console outside of things like Skyrim.

[@star1child109]

Bikes don’t seem to kick-up enough plumes of dirt & dust particles for my liking. Occasionally on some tracks there is a slight mediocre plume effect, but very lacklustre looking. Was wanting this, but a bit of a deal breaker unless they can patch this effect without any frame rate loss.

[@SwitchStars]

Yea that was one of the downfalls of having it on the switch, it really cant run anything more graphically intense and even struggles at times with the visuals as they are now. I'm hoping we will see a new more powerful Switch next year.

[@adomaslilgamer8156]

Do i need nintendo online to play it?

[@edmex39]

Do you need nintendo online to play other maps?

[@SwitchStars]

Nope not that I know of I was playing offline for the majority of it

[@edmex39]

@@SwitchStars thank you

[@groczzz5227]

Do you need nintendo online to play multiplayer?

[@SwitchStars]

According to the e-shop, yes.

[@DihStyle69]

saw this game on the e-shop sales but it does look very flawed on the switch. i'm defin giving it a pass. i played lonely mountains a few months ago and from what i'm seeing here, that one is considerably superior.

[@SwitchStars]

Yea it's a different style of game to lonely mountains but if you can pick this up on other consoles id recommend picking it up on them simply due to the framerate and visual improvements.

[@DihStyle69]

@@SwitchStars maybe on ps4 later on. i probably won't buy more games this month tho because i already have a ton of games to finish lol i need to stop qeueing games 😂

[@SwitchStars]

Haha, i believe it's also on xbox game pass on both console and pc.

[@niektrevathan2519]

Can you play offline. Becouse i want to play it in the car.

[@SwitchStars]

Yes Niekies you can play all of it offline, though it is much more fun riding with others.

[@Milesdesousa100]

I dont know if this was just me but when I bought this game and launched it on my switch lite i had crazy frame drops and it looked like shit. It was so unplayable that i had to get in touch with nintendo customer service to get a refund because of the performance issues

[@SwitchStars]

Unfortunately I couldn't test how well it performed on the Switch Lite but it had the same issues on the standard Switch. It was playable but the visuals werent great and I did have framerate issues at times but it wasn't to the point that it was unplayable.

[@fspeshalxo69]

and did you get a refund ? how if u did...they never refunded me on switch lite some games just goes crazy bad

[@jaxslapsrl7310]

U HITTTT 2KKKKKK

[@SwitchStars]

Yea took a little while but got there 😊

[@Iratejjjdjdbdbns]

i wonder how many switches you have trying out all these games Xd

[@SwitchStars]

Haha just one, the rage games come close to switch replacements but ive managed to contain myself so far 😂

[@Iratejjjdjdbdbns]

@@SwitchStars oh wow XD thanks i was just wondering

[@SwitchStars]

No problem 😁

[@baconbitz7804]

This game is so fucking fun

[@SwitchStars]

You managed to get through the second set of levels yet Bacon? Last one is pretty tough.

[@baconbitz7804]

@@SwitchStars idek I’m just messing around with my friends

[@SwitchStars]

Ahh cool it's much more fun with other players.

[@SwitchHeads]

That really does look gd.

[@SwitchStars]

It's decent Switch, just a few issues with visuals and some gameplay elements take time to get to grips with but playing online is enjoyable.

[@SwitchHeads]

@@SwitchStars may wait for a sale then. But nice review.

[@SwitchStars]

Thanks Switch 😊

[@supercommando440]

This game looks like a big grind-fest. How many hours does it take to get thru the biomes and unlock all those goodies?

[@SwitchStars]

It all depends on how good you are, but you can cheese levels by totally disregarding the tracks and heading directly across country to the end zone, you only have to worry about the final boss jumps then. As for unlocking biomes you have to complete each area 3 times to unlock direct access to it so that does take a bit of time.

[@smhoneyjuarez2928]

This or lonely mountain?

[@SwitchStars]

Two very different games really honey, this features randomised tracks where as that has set ones? I haven't played Lonely but I hear its pretty good.

[@mrtoast3333]

My switch keeps lowering frame rate and its just hard to look at without wanting to buy an entire pc for a million dollars...

[@Mtvslime100]

Who’s playing on switch I want friends to play with picking it up now for $10

[@kohnfutner9637]

I listened 1.5x speed.

[@SwitchStars]

Hopefully it sounded normal to you then 👍

[@kohnfutner9637]

@@SwitchStars I'm trying to hurry and look at so many games and reviews before going to work. Thanks Mr. Star ⭐😇👍

[@SwitchStars]

Haha, I am no good at talking fast, my words just get mixed up and I think people will struggle to understand me 😊

[@PP-bw8ig]

Pardon?

[@WilliamIsCool15]

Waiting a long time. The graphics are really a down grade from the xbox

[@SwitchStars]

Yea I kind of went into it with low expectations considering the high speed nature of the game and the Switch's lack of power, gameplay still remains the same but if you're wanting that portability then its quite a big drop in visual quality.

[@WilliamIsCool15]

I had it pre ordered physical with a small discount. I noticed its even cheaper digital. I will get it, but when it goes for like 30% off or something like that

[@WilliamIsCool15]

On the nintendolife.com review the developer responded and said many updates are coming very soon

[@WilliamIsCool15]

For the time being I bought Pure Pool instead

[@SwitchStars]

Yea I have seen a bunch of extra stuff in the PC version, so hopefully this one stays strong and gets a decent NSO community, I think that's what's going to make it.

[@aether.theories]

I just downloaded this... The performance is so bad that even at 7.99 on sale it is still not worth it. The low fps and pop-in makes the game ugly and unplayable. Its a shame cos on other consoles and pc it is great

[@kupo3769]

can you play a female?

[@SwitchStars]

Apparently they added female riders into the game Yumi, not entirely sure if this includes the Switch version though.

[@kupo3769]

@@SwitchStars thanx i hope so

[@kelakuanwarga]

Graphics is so bad

[@SwitchStars]

Not the best but still better than some ports.