14 DAY TRIAL // 
The 1990s saw all sorts of novel video games pioneer their own genres and I'm sure many sci-fi fans remember Descent, a nifty little title that allowed unparalleled freedom to players as they controlled a ship through various alien environments.
Since then, very few titles have tried to replicate this recipe, but fortunately for those who fell in love with it, Sublevel Zero from Sigtrap Games is looking as a really good take on the old Descent experience.
With six degrees of freedom, a roguelike approach to death, and procedural levels, the title also seems to add a few more interesting mechanics on top of the core space ship adventures.
Does Sublevel Zero manage to impress with its freedom or should we leave it unexplored? Let's find out.
Story
The plot of Sublevel Zero revolves around a future where humanity, after an age of great progress and space exploration, went through a cataclysmic event that wiped out most technology. Humans now live in tribes or under the rule of warlords, but your own group wants to explore the mysteries of the cataclysm and hopefully bring back the old technology.
You're a scout in a ship sent to explore a derelict facility from before the wipeout, and while things look relatively good, you reach a sublevel that houses an unstable portal. Before you can react, you're absorbed by a portal and must travel through six randomized stages in order to escape.
The general backstory is well developed, and through your stages, you also find documents from before the cataclysm. You can easily ignore everything, but if you want to get a bit more from the whole experience, reading through them is recommended.
Gameplay
As mentioned in the introduction, if you've played Descent or other similar space ship exploration experiences, you'll feel pretty much at home in Sublevel Zero. You control a tiny vessel in first-person view and have complete free reign when it comes to where and how you can move.
The six degrees of freedom takes a bit of time to get used to, especially if it's been a while since you went through a similar game. Even if you're careful not to mess with the orientation of your ship, there are some environments that require modifying the pitch or yaw to get through. The level design is also pretty symmetrical, although you can quickly figure out which way is up by summoning the 3D level map.
Speaking of the map, it's quite handy when the procedural stage generation goes a bit overboard with twists and turns, but, at least at the beginning, you'll mostly go through plenty of tunnels, vents, or shafts. Depending on your luck, you might be forced into backtracking, and if you're not paying attention, you might go around in circles as you can miss a tiny vent that lets you proceed further.
Reaching bigger zones can provoke a bit of reticence, as enemies are resilient and relentless when it comes to taking you down. As such, expect to perform a fair amount of running away, especially if you don't have enough health kits. These items are quite rare in the game, and combined with the lack of difficulty options, newcomers might go through quite a few deaths before they start to come to grips with all the mechanics and the enemies.
The game also features a pretty decent inventory system that lets players equip the various weapons and items they find in the stages. You can use two base weapons and two rocket types to take out foes. Like the stages, the guns are procedurally generated and come with many different properties and ammo types. These further increase the replayability factor, as some weapons can transform a playthrough. Once you find one, you can also craft it by spending current items and a certain amount of currency. The system isn't exactly straightforward and the results might not warrant investing time in it is worth it. The game also goes a bit overboard with collectible items, throwing at the players different ammo types, not to mention currency and other such things.
Enemies, as mentioned above, can be quite deadly, especially when you go up against three or more of them. The game also makes it a bit difficult to see if a projectile is going to hit your ship in some moments, so you might find that you're taking damage by surprise. The safest option would be to pop into a room or in the view of an enemy, fire a few shots, and then quickly retreat until the opponent's shots/projectiles disappear.
Graphics and Sound
Sublevel Zero uses a pixelated style with very impressive results. The vibrant, neon-like colors complement the sci-fi theme and blasting through the stages feels really fun, not just in terms of gameplay but also when it comes to the graphics. Throw in the fluid framerate and the pretty varied options and you'll certainly be able to enjoy it on a multitude of configurations.
The soundtrack is also comprised of chiptune tracks to embrace the retro feel of the whole game and there are some pretty solid songs in there. The audio effects are also pretty good and don't really wear thin during prolonged sessions.
The Good
- Good recreation of Descent's mechanics
- Great pixelated visual style
- Procedural levels and great at keeping things fresh
The Bad
- Can be a bit too punishing at first
- Procedural levels can feature lengthy dead ends
- Crafting needs a bit of experimentation
