Blind Descent: How to Survive on Mars 101

Indie developer Pokuch, in collaboration with META Publishing, will soon announce the release of their new construction and survival game Blind Descent, a proposal that from the very start catches our attention thanks to its beautiful and detailed visual style. Blind Descent aims to take us to Mars, the red planet, and leave us to our own devices in an open world as full of resources as it is of dangers and mysteries. In this setting, we’ll explore the Martian depths, playing either solo or with friends.

While its release window hasn’t been announced yet, Blind Descent will soon enter Early Access, according to its Steam page. There’s currently a Beta Playtest in progress, and we can request access directly from the same page. It seems the guys at Pokuch are working hard to do things right, which makes this entire proposal look even better, knowing it has a constant and attentive team behind it. Below you can check out the Official Playtest Teaser Trailer, brought to you by GameTrailers:

The Fascinating World Beneath the Martian Surface

Okay, maybe now you’re just as drawn in as we are by its visuals, and sure, after watching the video, we get you! In Blind Descent we’ll carry out a mission of exploration and survival in the depths beneath the Martian surface. We’ll be part of a team of up to four pioneers sent to uncover the whereabouts of a missing crew in this vast and unexplored underground world. But of course, what at first seemed like a simple routine expedition will suddenly turn into a fight for our survival. “Adapt or die,” that will be our motto from that point on.

As soon as we set foot in this environment, we’ll realize we are facing a complete and complex ecosystem, alive and reactive. From then on, it will no longer be just a mission, but a transformation; a constant challenge to our ability to adapt and integrate, even to become one with the environment. As we venture deeper into these unexplored depths, we’ll discover secrets, resources, and new and incredible life forms, but remember: not all of them will be friendly, and not all of them will be hostile. Sometimes, simply observing how these alien species interact with the environment can provide extremely valuable information!

Survival and Genetic Mutations

In Blind Descent we’ll find all the elements we’d expect from the survival genre: we’ll need to gather resources, to craft weapons and tools, and also to build our shelter or base, to protect ourselves from the hostile life forms in the surroundings, and from the dangers inherent to the alien environment. This survival mechanic will be a slow and subtle process of integration with the environment, gradually bringing us closer to symbiosis with everything around us.

As we mentioned before, in this adventure, our ability to adapt will be a key part of our survival. The Martian depths will present us with unique challenges, but they will also provide us with the tools and resources we need to evolve: beyond simply coping with difficulties as best we can, we’ll be able to mutate ourselves by consuming certain alien fruits or spores, thereby developing useful skills for both combat and exploration. These abilities will also help us better withstand the hostilities of this ecosystem.

And let’s not forget the multiplayer aspect, because in those cases, the mandatory task of adaptation will be carried out as a team, developing incredibly useful synergies to ensure that the assimilation of the environment be collective and not individual.

So…

Okay, let’s recap: Blind Descent still doesn’t have a release date or window, but we can expect it to be announced soon. In any case, sooner rather than later it’ll enter Early Access, not to mention that we can already request access to its Playtest, which is currently ongoing. For all this, besides adding the title to your Wishlist, it’d be wise to head over to its Steam page right now, which you’ll obviously find just below. But before that, since you’ll be doing some waiting, drop by the comments and tell us what you think about this project! You know gamer, we’ll be reading you! 🙂

Images Source: GameTrailers Official YouTube Channel, Blind Descent on Steam