The Descendant Brings Horror to a New Level

Swedish studio, Gaming Corps, composed of industry veterans, is giving an early look into the story and gameplay of its upcoming episodic post-apocalyptic thriller, The Descendant. With the first episode arriving on 24th March, this new in-game video showcases key gameplay and character-driven moments from the first episode. It comes as part of a five-part episodic adventure where every choice the player makes can influence the fate of mankind.

Set in the near future, climate change has wrecked the planet, and a man-made extinction event has rendered Earth unsustainable for human life. In order to survive this catastrophic collapse, a coalition formed from the world's governments invites people to carry out aptitude tests, resulting in only a few thousand 'descendants of humanity' being hand-picked to survive the apocalypse, cryogenically suspended in underground bunkers known as Arks until the world recovers from the impending nuclear holocaust. When news breaks of what the coalition intends to achieve, people flock to the government's tests with demand for sanctuary far outweighing the spaces available. Only a few are selected - those with certain undisclosed traits. Why were they chosen? What genetic qualities was the government looking for in these individuals to reseed the planet?

While the descendants sleep through the apocalypse, teams of janitors aren't quite so lucky - their life underground spent ensuring that each of the Arks, scattered across the world, are carefully maintained so that one day, their precious cargo may wake from its slumber to repopulate the Earth, and build the new world envisioned by the coalition. Centuries pass. Earth becomes habitable again. The descendants are awakened and begin climbing out of storage — except one, Ark-01.

Written by experienced games writer Giles Armstrong (a member of both BAFTA and the Writers' Guild of Great Britain, whose credits include Velocity 2X, Here Be Monsters, and the Buzz! series), The Descendant features two intertwining narratives. In the past you will play as Mia, an Ark janitor tasked with keeping the precious descendants housed inside Ark-01 alive, while in the present you will play as Donnie, one of the investigators trying to rescue any survivors who may still be trapped within the facility.

The first of five episodes of The Descendant will be available on Steam starting from 24th March. An "Exclusive Season 1 Bundle" is available now from the game's official website until 48 hours before the first episode releases. This pre-launch bundle includes all five episodes of the game (with episodes 2-5 to be released over the course of 2016), grants players 48-hours early access to each episode, and features a full game soundtrack, a digital poster and a digital art book.