It would seem that the Descent series of games is being brought back, in the form of Descendent Studios‘ newly-announced project: Descent: Underground (which you can back on Kickstarter right now, if you’re so inclined).

Descent’s fast-paced, six-degrees-of-freedom combat made addicts of us all! Descent’s frenetic and pulse-pounding action were light-years ahead of its 1995 release date. Like us, many of you still share war stories of your epic network battles. You remember your heroic shots, your death-defying maneuvers, and matches ending with a narrow escape as the tunnel collapsed behind you.

Sadly, as consoles took over and PC games were pushed aside by publishers, great games like Descent were left to languish in obscurity. A whole generation of gamers grew up without Descent’s heart-pounding, non-stop action, robbed of the true 6DoF space adventure that is their birthright!

The Drought Ends TODAY!

And here are some details about the backstory and setting of the game, which appears to have a strong multiplayer focus. Note that this will not be a Unity-powered game:

YOU are the last hope of humanity!

Earth is overcrowded, dying of thirst, ravaged by war and disasters – both natural and man-made.  As a hotshot pilot, the resources you harvest mean the difference between life and death for countless millions.  On your wings rest the fates of vast corporate empires fighting over the despoiled carcasses of once-great nations.

Water, ore, precious metals – tear them from the rock or pry them from your enemies’ clutches. Use the profits to crush your competition.  Only your dog fighting skills and teamwork can master the hazardous terrain, using it against your foes to gain the upper hand in uncontrolled space.  A fortune awaits you.  But first, you must destroy the opposition and carry your prize back to your harvester ship.

CHOOSE your role.

Fight from a distance, slug it out up close and personal, provide repair and logistical support, or harvest and haul critical resources. Build and upgrade your drones. Set traps. Secure critical passages. Defend your team. Win the day!

• Six-Degrees-Of-Freedom Action – fly and fry foes while zipping in and out of the dizzying confines of asteroids
• Balanced First-Person Ship Combat and Resource Gathering – choose from eight unique ship types, each one showcasing a different play style
• A Twenty-First Century Update – Unreal Engine 4 , top-flight graphics, rich design, and a modern twist on Descent’s classic multiplayer modes
• Go Home a Hero – annihilate your opponents, gather desperately needed resources, bring home the bacon

The team working on the game is comprised of a number of former Origin Systems employees, a number of whom were also — until recently — working on Star Citizen at Cloud Imperium Games. This includes Eric Peterson (Wing Commander 4), Jason Spangler (Ultima Online), Rob Irving (Wing Commander, Jane’s AH-64D Longbow, Ultima Online), Todd Bailey (Ultima Online), and Michael Morlan (Crusader: No Remorse, Ultima 9, Ultima Online).

Not unlike Star Citizen, the reward tiers for the game include ship classes. So, for example, if you pledge $30 USD (which will go up to $35 USD after the first 2,500 backers at that level), you’ll get a digital copy of Descent: Underground and access to the WASP ship class, which is billed as “[a] good multi-purpose ship.” Pledging $60 USD will unlock access to the PREDATOR ship class, evidently something well-suited to scouting missions. There appear to be six ship classes in total, each suited to a particular role, and each of which can evidently be customized:

And evidently, modding will be a significant feature of the game’s design.

Anyhow…if you were a Descent fan back in the day, you may want to throw some support behind this game.