Overload Playable Teaser 3.0
There have been many attempts to rekindle the magic of Descent, the venerable progenitor of the entire 6DoF genre. Some have been bug-ridden trash, others have been moderately acceptable if lacking polish, and a couple have been well-made but lacking in important features like multiplayer. But the true look, feel, and pace of the Descent originals have only ever been rivaled by the equally-venerable competitor, Forsaken. Even the recent entrants to the field, Descent: Underground and Sol Contingency, pay homage to their forebears while not quite adequately delivering the full experience.
– Real player with 27.9 hrs in game
Read More: Best 6DOF Free to Play Games.
ORIGINAL: When I first saw Overload I was a little skeptical (as other 6DOF games left me a tad disappointed, even the better ones), but when I saw who was developing it (the original creators of Descent) and after 30 min of playing the TEASER I immediately dropped down a TON of money to fund this game. It is everything I’ve been wanting from a descent game since Descent 1-3 came out, and even if it doesn’t carry the name, after playing it you will understand. This game has the heart and soul of descent. The atmosphere is created by the levels, music, and robot sounds. The bots dodge, flank, and run away from you. Controls felt perfect, and that was at the default settings. Very well done, and this is just the playable teaser. It’s free to try, and you should. I love every bit of this.
– Real player with 20.9 hrs in game
Descent
I played this game like crazy when I was young. It’s really hard until you get the hang of it, and then you become basically unstoppable. The most scary part of the game for me was level 7, the first time I encountered the first boss. I went out into this big lava room and the boss made such a horrible scary sound when he appeared, and it killed me. Then I would hide inside the tunnel leading to the bosses' room, and it would appear nearby. My heart would nearly stop when I would hear the sound effect he would make, because then I knew he was nearby. The boss would fire missles into my tunnel I was hiding in, and the little green balls would lock onto my ship and destroy me. After trying countless times to beat him by shooting at him from inside my not-so-safe tunnel, I made a bold and daring move. I left the tunnel. And amazingly, even though I played only with the keyboard, my little fingers would move so fast I could slide up, down, right, left and spin in all kinds of crazy circles, the little green balls would try to lock onto my ship but I was able to dodge them all. The funnest part of this game for me was its built-in replay recording feature, which will record a replay of your game. Once I got good at beating the boss, I increased the difficulty level to “insane”, and recorded countless epic replays of me beating the boss on insane. He would shoot missles as fast as a machine gun on insane difficulty, and every one of those missles would explode into a cloud of green balls. Hundreds of green balls would be in the air at once. Shoulda been impossible for me to dodge them all. Even just one or two of them hitting me would destroy my ship at that level of difficulty. But I would dodge them all. I would do loop to loops around the boss, zig-zagging through all the green balls, all the while shootting at him and throwing his own green balls right back at him, destroying him with his own green balls! It was so much fun. Some of those replays were so insane, I wish I still had the recordings, but that was a long time ago. This is one of the few games where you will often be turning both up/down plus turning right/left plus sliding up/down plus sliding right/left plus moving forward/backward plus shooting –- all at the same time!
– Real player with 51.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best 6DOF Classic Games.
Descent is the kind of games which are hard to write a review about. No, not because it is kinda tricky and complicated or controversial. No, it’s quite opposite actually. The problem is else… Modern player will hardly pay attention to it and fans will buy without need of any reviews. So there is no audience for the review and a question, whether I should write it at all, rises. And that’s a pity because the game is quite unique and it still doesn’t have proper rivals (apart from its other titles). So, I am going to try to describe it shortly in hope that at least one rookie will pay their attention to it.
– Real player with 49.7 hrs in game
Descent 3
Third and last title of Descent series. After release of the second one Parallax Software broke into Outrage Entertainment and Volition Inc. The former made the last chapter of Descent series and the latter created not less interesting Freespace series.
Despite quite a big development in contrast to the second title, the third one was not accepted by all fans. The main reason is leaving simple shooter behind and changing it with narrative and complicated locations with alternating vast spaces and narrow corridors, and also kind of cartoon graphics. And though I understand what fans do not like about Descent 3, I don’t understand why they don’t like it. Yes, third title moved away from its origins but is it bad? I don’t think so: levels are now really complex and rich. And though developers tried to diversify maps even in the previous titles, the mines remained mines, but here we have mines and caves, industrial structures and planets’ surfaces, and even night city with a subway. Yeah, graphics became cartoonish because of engine change but game’s seriousness and difficulty didn’t vanish. The same can be said about gameplay. Though every mission now has its own goal, the main aspect of it is still shooter with simple spatial puzzles.
– Real player with 30.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best 6DOF Classic Games.
While I do have fond memories of this game, it has not aged well. There are issues with the graphics implementation of both OpenGL and Direct3D, with only a Glide wrapper offering good, non-glitchy visuals (on is included in this version). That said, many graphical niceties aren’t present if you don’t have a Pentium 3 or better also includes AMD CPUs. Many audio APIs that D3 can use have been deprecated and/or removed from later versions of Windows, making the only good audio choice be DirectSound. The game wasn’t designed with widescreen displays in mind, meaning that setting it to, say, 1080p is a pain and the graphics will either be squished or parts of the HUD will be cut off.
– Real player with 1.6 hrs in game
NeptuneGL
NeptuneGL is a fast-paced three dimensional six degree of freedom space shooter game in which the player possesses a space ship and must fly in all dimensions to attack other ships. Heavily themed with a sci-fi aspect, the game includes lasers, missiles, and realistic movement physics with special focus on multiplayer. Kill limits and time limits can be set for multiplayer games, serving as good game goal states for a final winner to be determined in each and every online match up. Depending on the choice of the level at start, the game can be set in an enclosed mine-like zone, or an open space. There are several key features that constitute the gameplay:
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Enjoyable multiplayer gameplay, with up to 8 players peer-to-peer engaged in the thrill of the hunt
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5 primary weapons - lasers, a minigun, a railgun, rapid fire pulse cannon and charge cannon
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6 secondary weapons - missiles, homing missiles, distortion grenades to push targets, cluster missiles that release homing blobs, fast cruise missiles, and a large impact heavy missile
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mines - a proximity mine and a cluster mine that releases homing blobs to target
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Player health indicators that are clearly visible to improve reaction time during a fight
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A radar system to always show where enemy ships are
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Instantly interchangeable camera views for first and third person
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Chat and server command system, so you can chat with players and change game settings in-game using console-type entry
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Push-to-talk networked voice functionality to talk to other players in-game
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Full detailed playable single player “Athena” level
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Added single player “Sky Box” level with spawning enemy waves for target practice
Walk On Mars
Walk On Mars is a free VR experience. It worked on my system, looked ok, played ?, sounded ok. You are plopped into a crater on Mars. The only movement is you moving in your play space. The background music is ok, but you cannot mute or change volume. They put a credit sign behind you over the wall of the crater, breaking immersion. No space suit hands and arms or body. The sky is Wrong in this map, Martian sky does not show stars and the galaxy. Maybe ok, as a zen garden experience.
Try it, but there is better experiences like this out there.
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game
Walk On Mars is a free VR-only “walking sim” where you get to wear a VR headset and look at a pretty bad skybox and some martian looking landscape. Unlike other walking simulators, there’s nowhere to walk to, which kind of misses the point of them.
It’s nice that this is free, but there’s nothing to it, it’s not a game, so I can’t recommend it to gamers.
– Real player with 0.1 hrs in game
AS+CEND
AS+CEND is a space shooter where you pilot powerful combat ships in ferocious clashes against other players in a fully 3D environment. Fight in complex arenas with six degrees of freedom using different ships, weapons and abilities. Each match in AS+CEND is a deliberate battle of deadly intent that can quickly become a frantic fight for your life, or resolve into a satisfying kill when all goes according to plan.
Think in all directions! Each side of an AS+CEND ship has a shield which protects you from attacks from that direction. Some of these facings also have weapons mounted. Attacking with these weapons will let you strip the shields from you enemies, but it will also drop the shields on that side. Claim victory by exposing your opponent’s hull while protecting your own weaknesses.
We’re working hard to bring more tools of destruction to the table. New ship frames will offer different movement styles and ultimate abilities to confound your enemies. New weapons will impose a variety of deadly threats in your conflicts. New abilities will create more opportunities for you to trick your opponents.
Regularly Updated Content
Ship Frames
We plan to introduce new ship frames each with a unique layout of equipment slots, movement power and ultimate ability.
Weapon Modules
We’re going to regularly add new weapons to the existing weapon types as well as introduce brand new archetypes.
Ability Modules
We’ll be adding new and interesting abilities to the game to mix up the combat formula and keep fights from getting too comfortable.
Combat Arenas
We’ll be developing more maps, generally timed against other major feature releases. Maps will be introduced in sets of combat arena that are all similarly themed and will be used in most of the game modes.
Upcoming Features
Patrols
Patrols are single player activities designed for players who want to challenge their combat skills but don’t have the time or desire to compete directly against other players. This game mode will features progression and randomization for a different challenge each run!
Battles
Battles will be 3 vs 3 matches that will give players the chance to emphasize their teamplay in more goal-oriented game modes.
Customization
Everything from cosmetics to custom ship layouts, we’re planning on allow players to tailor their equipment to their own desired play style.
Ranked Play
We’re planning on having seasonal ranked options for players who wish to play with and against similar skilled players and challenge themselves to rise through the ranks.
BLAST-AXIS
Edit: Added some gameplay.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMYDIrcV0D0
As a big fan of 6DOF games i had to give this game a try.
So i played the free demo 20 minutes then instantly bought the game !
Really good gameplay, tight controls and great sense of speed.
The level design is quite good too with nice music and great atmosphere within the levels.
BLAST-AXIS also deliver many satisfying weapons to use and also give you the choice to play in first person or third person (worth mentioning as it’s not always the case in many other games).
– Real player with 11.6 hrs in game
In this game you play as a cute little maintenance robot fighting blobby blue aliens who have invaded phobos for some irrelevant reason. It isn’t the most polished 6DOF (descent-like) shooter, but it probably is the most unique and original, and it might just be the most fun. The game’s main strengths are solid level design and a diverse and fun arsenal.
There are six weapons in the game but thanks to ammo types and alt-fire modes these unfold into… a lot of weapons, I can’t do the math. For example, the “tube” mortar launcher has three ammo types: flame rounds, grenades, and flak shells. Drilling down further, the flak shells can either be fired in “burst” mode, acting like a shrapnel shotgun, or in “fuze” mode, which fires a single projectile that explodes with AOE damage when it hits a wall or enemy. There’s a tool for every job, and each weapon is a good mix of quirky and powerful which gives them a real sense of personality. They’re your friends and you come to love them as you spend time hanging out. The cluster missiles in particular are an absolute joy.
– Real player with 9.4 hrs in game
Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War
Descent: FreeSpace was - for pretty much two decades - the start of the best space combat simulation ever developed. I probably spent several years of my childhood playing FreeSpace 1 and 2 and to this day there is no other game which I will get back to every few years and then play it for months on end because it is that good.
Never before have I played a game which utilizes almost all keyboard buttons, some of them even twice or thrice with button combinations. It takes days to get used to the controls and to remember all of them in the heat of battle, but after having learned them once, I never forgot them again. I can boot up any FreeSpace game after 5 years without having played it and the controls will come back to me within 5 minutes. No other game has ever managed to do that. No other game has ever managed to entertain me to that degree even although I can still remember every single mission, every enemy wave, every plot twist and all and any scripted events.
– Real player with 198.1 hrs in game
Descent | Freespace: The Great War is a 3D space craft action simulator. You are a recruit pilot who just joined the Galactic Terran Alliance in its age-long war against the Parliamentary Vasudan Empire, but the war takes a different turn when an unknown threat makes its appearance with the sole purpose of exterminating both races.
Pros: You get to live the war and the events through the eyes of a pilot, and the whole story is detailed through mission briefings and in-game events. Different levels of success in a mission may affect the following mission, even open entire branching side-missions. The voice acting does a good job a delivering the humane yet rigid tone of a military situation, something you’ll rely on for immersion as there is little to no cut scenes. Action is great, and often allows creative thinking to resolve an issue, succeed in a mission and achieve bonus goals. The missions themselves are very varied, rivaling and often surpassing classics of the genre like the Wing Commander series. Control is spot-on, although optimized for mouse-less keyboard. As you progress, you get more and more flexibility in how you want to set and arm your squads.
– Real player with 27.3 hrs in game
Rift Frigate
Play as a Karack Arbiter - member of an awakened race of machines that vengefully wiped out their oppressive creators' planet - now on the run, headed for the darkest sector ever known, the Abyss Hexa. Survive. Orient to your alien surroundings. Brave through each crisis and cascading event… leading up to the heist of the millenium.
KEY FEATURES
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Experience a story-driven hand-authored single player campaign, full of puzzles, secrets and mind-bending twists
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Use the versatile ship editor - construct your ship’s core, dress it with armor, arm it with lethal weapons and launch into action-packed real-time combat
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Meet shady factions and watch intergalactic power-plays unfold, tip the scales in your favor and become a force to be reckoned with
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Explore obscure deep space sectors and encounter unique flora, cosmic fauna, eldritch space monsters… and gargantuan World Eaters!
ASTROKILL
The most epic space combat ever. Period.
There are a lot of space shooters out there, but I have never seen any as immersive and intense as this.
Back when Space Engineers was still good, I used to love playing with my friends and building derpy little fighters. We would get into battles and, to us, were were pulling high-G tactical manouvers, accelerating ballistic projectiles at high speeds which would shred eachother’s armour off, and launching rocket-propelled explosive warheads to blast each other to oblivion. Scraping across asteroids or other ships, thrusters getting disabled, flying into base for repair and ammunition resupply…
– Real player with 11.5 hrs in game
I had to go back and check the price. What is this? $5? It’s the best gaming $5 you’ll ever spend. Astrokill is a blast, with what is my favorite space combat flight engine to date, with compensated Newtonian or full-Newtonian flight. Flip your fighter around as you travel the opposite direction and blast a pursuing fighter. Orbit a capital ship, facing it the entire time, taking out turrets, maximizing your shield so you don’t get pummeled. That, plus gorgeous graphics, high FPS, and great weapons effects. Add to this a super-responsive dev who’s constantly improving the project. The only downside is, as some have pointed out, that the current campaigns are a bit thin, but did I mention it’s $5? For space combat that makes Everspace’s engine feel like Wing Commander by comparison? I don’t have it, but according to others VR works and is great. There is a Linux version, multiplayer is coming, and there is the tantalizing suggestion we’ll be able to mod this in the future. What more could you want?
– Real player with 8.3 hrs in game