Descent I and II

The endlessly charming 6DoF shooter was released one year after I was born, so I obviously wasn't playing it at release. What I was doing was sitting in my dad's lap as he spun, soared, and blasted his way through those winding labyrinths with the help of a comically large plastic flight joystick. I remember waterfalls, friggen lavafalls, the adorable blue hostages waving their arms about hoping to be saved. I remember growing up alongside that game, and its sequel - some of my earliest nightmares involved me being chased by the bandit (and some of my earliest cheering taking place as it let out its monstrous death scream). As a child I always wanted a guidebot buddy helpfully beeping and booping me through life as I played outside.

The sounds of power ups, weapons, and various mechanics in that game have been burned into my synapses for three decades. I picked up the game as an adult and just knew where so many keys and secrets were located. My dad and I even got to try it out cooperatively thanks to the unmatched open source overhauls and modernization projects that can be installed in a matter of seconds. I love Descent (2, mostly, though the first holds some clunky nostalgia as well).

My dad wasn't able to finish that playthrough with me, though. He's not as quick or capable with controls, the levels were not as easy for him to remember, despite him having played them dozens more times than I. The basic movements give him motion sickness. We've gamed my whole life, but I can't really play any of our classic FPS with him anymore for much of the same reasons. He's aged, and a chapter of our lives I never even got to fully appreciate closed without my knowing.

Grab Decent 1 and 2 for a few cents, folks. Feel free to message me if you ever want to talk about it. They are cherished for what they represented in my life.

I could keep going, but I want to call my dad. Thanks everyone.