Destroy robots, rescue hostages, blow up the reactor, and escape before the whole thing explodes.

Many 3D action games have four to five degrees of freedom in their motion controls. Space combat games allow 3 axes of rotation, but usually only 1 axis of movement, while first person shooters generally allow 2 axes of rotation and 2.5--if you count jump as half an axis--axes of movement. A six-degree-of-freedom shooter gives you controls for all 3 axes of rotation and all 3 axes of movement. While this creates complexity for moving and controlling the player’s character, the reward is an experience unlike any other. Combat and movement are more dynamic, as you are able to interact in 3 full dimensions.

Though 6-DOF shooters surged in popularity in the 90's, the genre has laid dormant for over a decade. Overload’s early development has focused on merging modern technology with natural and intuitive 6-DOF controls, all while still providing intense robot-annihilating action.

The primary objective in classic 6-DOF shooters was simple: Find the reactor, destroy it, and escape. Carrying out your objective is where the true essence of the game lay, and that’s what Overload focuses on. Each level will be full of gameplay reasons to move and look and shoot all around you, with secrets to discover, traps to trigger, powerups to find, and cryo-frozen hostages to rescue. Along the way you’ll encounter plenty of robots to battle or flee from. There will be keys to collect, shortcuts to take, and reactors to eliminate. You’ll race to the exit as the timer counts down and be thrilled when you make it out just in time.

Though Overload's primary focus is on gameplay, it will also have a rich backstory and universe ripe for expansion. The details of the story will be revealed later, and we're happy to announce that it's being penned by the writer of FreeSpace 2.

Overload has been released on Steam Early Access ($24.99). 

The initial Early Access release features four Challenge Mode levels, a sample single-player level, 12 explosive weapons, and ten terrifying robot enemies.  Updated releases will follow every 2-4 weeks.  The full game is scheduled to be completed later this year and will also be available for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.  The full game will feature a 15-level single-player story mode, with more weapons, robots, and bosses.  A multiplayer expansion is expected to be released 4-6 months later and will be provided free to all purchasers of the single-player game.

Overload is in development by Revival Productions, which is owned by Mike Kulas and Matt Toschlog, the founders of Descent developer Parallax Software.  “Matt and I have talked for years about doing an updated 6DOF game,” said Mike Kulas. “The pieces fell in place a couple years ago and we started on Overload.”   Matt Toschlog added, “It’s been great working with old friends and colleagues on a project that’s so close to our hearts.”

Overload is being designed by renowned indie developer Luke Schneider, who was the lead level designer on Descent 3 before founding Radiangames (Inferno 2, Super Crossfighter, Slydris).  Said Mr. Schneider, “I got into game development because of Descent, so it’s been awesome to create a new 6DOF game for the 21st century.”

Destroying a robot is extremely satisfying in Overload. It needs to be, because you’ll be destroying tons of them. We’ve spent a lot of time refining the feel of the combat, the way robots move and fire, and the many ways robots take damage and explode, but we’re not done yet.

We’ve established the basic AI archetypes for robots, and every robot type will have customized AI that gives them a unique personality and combat behavior. Part of that personality comes from the sounds they make as well. When you hear the alert scream for a robot, it not only lets you know that danger is coming, but it can fill you with fear as you cringe in anticipation of getting hit. Already the sound of unexpected grinding blades makes us immediately dodge up or down if at all possible.

The other major element of combat is the weapons. Though we’ve only done initial passes on 4 weapons, they each feel great to use and have roles that they’re ideal for. We have big plans to expand the weapons system with multiple upgrade types per weapon that you’ll unlock over the course of the game.

Overload has a classic inspiration, but that doesn’t mean it’ll look pixelated or have an 8-bit soundtrack. It uses the latest graphics technology to immerse you in the world. With physically-based rendering, dynamic shadows, and realtime global illumination, your eyes will be as engaged as your heart. Even when you can’t see a robot hiding around the corner, its shadow could give it away. And when you turn the tables and blow the robot to pieces, you're rewarded with some beautifully rendered particle effects.

On top of the fantastic visuals, we’re pulling out all the stops to make Overload sound amazing. We're excited to announce that we've enlisted the talents of Dan Wentz and Allister Brimble. Dan worked on sound and music for Descent 2, FreeSpace, and Red Faction, and has maintained an active presence in the Descent community for the past 20 years. Allister worked on the CD soundtrack for Descent along with many other hit titles over the years including Dungeon Master II, the Team 17 range of Amiga games, Rollercoaster Tycoon & Driver.

Key Features:

• Intense single-player action in 6-degrees-of-freedom
• 15 level campaign filled with explosive combat and exploration 
• Breath-taking graphics and spectacular sound
• More than a dozen sinister robot types and 3 massive bosses
• 12 upgradeable weapons
• 5 difficulty levels let you tune the game to match your abilities
• Fully customizable joystick, gamepad, mouse and keyboard controls