Descenders Next offers multiple biomes, each with different nodes and unique conditions. Upon unlocking new nodes, you can partake in procedurally generated runs like the original (if a unique race isn’t already present). Multiplayer is also introduced, and you can unlock new gear upon accruing points.

For more details on Descenders Next, check out our feature. Early access currently offers four biomes, two sports, and three teams. It will continue for two years, during which RageSquid will add more environments, modding support, new multiplayer modes, additional sports, and many more customization options. Best of all, the price won’t change when it exits early access. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.

Days Gone Remastered

After years of asking for a sequel, Days Gone fans have been rewarded with…a PS5 remaster. Thankfully, Days Gone Remastered, out on April 25th features some notable new content like Horde Assault, where Deacon must survive against larger, more challenging hordes. Enemies become more difficult as time passes, and you can even control brand-new characters to survive for as long as possible.

You also have Speedrun and Permadeath modes with graphical improvements, reduced loading times and DualSense support. PS4 owners can upgrade to the remaster for $10, and all content will be available for PC players via the Broken Roads DLC at launch.

Forza Horizon 5 (PS5)

For a long time (over three years, in fact), the de facto racing experience on PS5 has been Gran Turismo 7. However, it’s finally getting some real competition when Playground Games’ Forza Horizon 5 launches on April 25th. It’s the first title in the franchise to debut on a Sony console and, more importantly, one of the very best with its incredible open world, stunning visuals, hundreds of cars, and a litany of features.

Best of all, a new update, Horizon Realms, goes live the same day, offering up 11 returning tracks, the new Stadium Track, over 60 Accolades, new cars, and much more.

The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered (PC)

Just when you thought it was over, somehow, The Last of Us returns, right on time for season 2 of the TV series. It’s the PS5 remaster debuting for PC on April 3rd, and alongside all the platform-specific features like support for Ultrawide displays, DLSS and FSR, there’s some brand new content in No Return. The rogue-like mode will receive two new characters and four new maps to go with the previously included Lost Levels, developer commentary, Guitar Free Play and more.

South of Midnight

With a story seeped in Deep South mythology and stop-motion-like visuals for its cutscenes, South of Midnight is an unexpectedly endearing new title from Compulsion Games. Launching on April 8th for Xbox Series X/S and PC, it’s about Hazel who becomes a Weaver after her hometown is wrecked by a hurricane. From interacting with giant fish and crocodiles to mending spiritual bonds, she seeks her own place in the universe while dealing with tragedy. With about 15 to 25 hours of gameplay, South of Midnight could be one of the more underrated titles of the year.

Commandos: Origins

Jack O’Hara and his legendary Commandos return, albeit in a prequel that explores their origins. Launching on April 9th for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S, players will embark on over ten missions throughout World War 2, combining their squad’s strengths to succeed. Go alone or with a friend in split-screen or online co-op, and experiment with different approaches to succeed, be it stealth, subterfuge or chaos.

Descenders Next

An extreme-sports-meets-rogue-like title is already fairly unorthodox, but RageSquid is taking the formula even further with Descenders Next. You can still play solo or with up to other players and find the best way to reach the bottom of the mountain as quickly as possible. It’s an instinctual joy, and there are new clothes and boards to unlock, a new soundtrack, and much more to dive into when it launches on April 9th.

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Sandfall Interactive’s homage to real-time parrying and dodging and an imaginative fantasy world. Suffice it to say that it looks like a winner ahead of its launch on April 24th with its 30+ hour main story, gorgeous visuals and an all-star cast.

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

A sequel to Garou: Mark of the Wolves wasn’t on every fighting game fan’s wishlist for 2025, but here we are. Launching on April 24th for Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, and PC, City of the Wolves sees several returning fighters, some newcomers, and even a few debuts by Fatal Fury legends. With rollback netcode, cross-play, a new RPG-like single-player mode and the REV System for new tactics, it could take the community by storm.

MotoGP 25

As little as the franchise evolves year after year, you have to give credit to Milestone’s MotoGP franchise for its consistency. The latest title, MotoGP 25, launches on April 30th and offers new Race Off Disciplines for its modes, a new Arcade Experience, improved adaptive difficulty, and cross-play. It’s coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Steel Seed

Close to the Sun developer, Storm in a Teacup is going in a completely different direction with its next title, Steel Seed. As Zoe, players traverse a mysterious facility in a post-apocalyptic world, dealing with hordes of unwelcoming machines. Mixing platforming and puzzles with combat and light stealth, Steel Seed launches on April 10th for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5.

Bionic Bay

Speaking of platformers, Bionic Bay, slated for last month, arrives on April 17th for PS5 and PC. The biomechanical setting and premise are still intriguing, however, and having the ability to flip environments, and manipulate physics to traverse obstacles looks cool. And for those who really want to test their platforming skills, an Online Mode with events and leaderboards is also included.

Tempest Rising

If you’ve been feeling the lack of any Command and Conquer-like titles over the past several years, Slipgate Ironworks’ Tempest Rising may help. It’s out on April 24th for PC, offering two playable factions with unique units, two campaigns, online multiplayer, custom games, and the base-building real-time strategy you know and love.

Forever Skies

A survival crafting game in a post-apocalyptic setting may not inspire the most interest, but Forever Skies offers some intriguing spins on the formula. Instead of exploring the dust-covered Earth on foot, you’re venturing through the skies on an airship, gathering resources to upgrade it from various skyscrapers and structures. What awaits on the surface? You’ll have to find out when Forever Skies exits early access and launches on April 14th for PS5 and PC.

Crashlands 2

The sequel to Butterscotch Shenanigans’ survival crafting classic finally arrives on April 10th and sees Flux Dabes returning to Woanope to reunite with her buddies. Things quickly go wrong though, and after yet another crash landing, she embarks on a journey to find out what’s happening while combating dangerous creatures, unlocking upgrades, and more. With vastly improved visuals, new recipes, and more, Crashlands 2 could be the perfect cozy crafting sim for fans when it launches on PC, iOS, and Android.

Monaco 2

Speaking of a long-awaited sequel to a classic title, Monaco 2 also launches on April 10th for PC, Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Much like the original, you’re still conducting heists alone or with up to three other players but there are new characters and playstyles and Blueprint Mode for finer planning. Whether you’re in it for the zany yet stylish campaign or the long haul with its procedurally generated levels, Monaco 2 should be a worthy follow-up.

New Snowboard/Mountainboard Controls

The biggest departure is by far the omission of mountain bikes in favor of snowboards and mountain boards. Yes, that’s right. Our beloved bike controls from Descenders are gone, forcing us to learn completely new board physics. The board physics aren’t too simlike to feel overwhelming though, feeling more like Rider’s Republic than a snow version of Session where every limb is independently controlled. Mountainboarding is similar to snowboarding, except you fit some oversized wheels on a smaller board and trust that you won’t die going down rugged dirt terrain. Riding down on these wheeled boards makes it more difficult to find momentum, providing a skillful challenge where gaining speed and timing jumps is crucial to basic success. Both of the boarding styles feel more loose than the bikes of the previous games, accommodating for the wider range of tricks and larger surface area of boards.

Wide Array of Board Tricks

Perhaps the most excited aspect of the new extreme sports included here are the slew of tricks that come with them. Snowboarding has some of the most varied tricks out of any extreme sport, and Descenders Next incorporates a wide array of that toolkit. Grinding rails and fallen trees is now possible, opening up the kind of functional obstacles on trails tenfold. And then there’s all the well known grab tricks, from melons to rocket airs and everything in between; it’ll be fun to see the top player combos and what crazy lines people come up with.

New Biomes

One of the things that made the first Descenders so special was the infinite replayability thanks to proceduaral generation. No two runs felt the same. Descenders Next opens up the floodgates to what’s possible with the addition of snowy mountain passes. The inclusion of rails is just one exciting new obstacle to do tricks on, but the snowy mountain biome also includes halfpipes and breathtaking ramps. Meanwhile, on the mountainboard side of things, trails feel almost like a dirt bike obstacle course, more in line with the first Descenders game. If you feel the need to switch up the scenery, the two styles, snowboarding and mountain, can be played at any time via the main menu.

Branching Node Structure Combining Career and Bike Park from the First Game

Descenders Next streamlines the modes of the first game, incorporating Career mode and Bike Parks into one seamless experience. Instead of selecting bike parks individually or just free roaming around in the lobby park, parks now function as checkpoints; a kind of safe zone reward after completing a harrowing series of uncharted randomly generated trails. The main thing you’re progressing towards are the boss levels in each area. These bosses require a multitude of uncharted trails, parks, and nodes to reach. Oh, and they’re basically boss in name only, there’s no actual opponent to fight, it’s just a way of saying the level is more challenging than what came before.

Procedurally Generated Uncharted Trails

The game calls these procedurally generated levels ‘offpiste trails’. This is where the roguelike challenge kicks in. You have a set amount of lives and If you bail too much or fail to clear a course within the time limit, you’re booted all the way back to the last safe zone losing valuable progress. What makes this gameplay loop so rewarding and smooth is the instantaneous respawning after a fail state. We’ve only seen the easiest offpiste trails so far in the demo, so it’ll be interesting to see how challenging it becomes to reach a safe zone in later stages of the game.

Race and Slopestyle Tracks

Of course, parks aren’t the only safe zone; Race and Slopestyle tracks also allow you to bank your progress, and better yet, fast travel between each safe zone node. Contrasting the offpiste trails, these challenge tracks are hand-made routes challenging players beat the bronze, silver, or gold medal times in Race or nail the specific tricks within Slopestyle.

New Hand-Made Parks

One of the most beloved aspects of the first Descenders were the creative parks filled with obstacles and stuff to do tricks off. The Descender’s Next demo allows players to explore the Rabbit Hill snowboard park and the Farmer’s Hill mountainboard park, but many more unique parks will become available as more safe zone nodes are unlocked through the full game. Parks act as a fun chill sandbox to brush up on skills alone or with friends. There’s also a bit of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater DNA here with the checklist of challenges to conquer in each park.

New Scavenger Hunt Challenges

Tapping into that THPS DNA even further are hidden collectables to find. Each park has a slew of secrets to locate if you are to 100% the objective checklist. So far, it seems like parks have a set of five Descent tokens and an ultra hidden object like the secret tapes in THPS demanding that players comb every inch of the environment.

Shops Replace Drops

Shop nodes replace the RNG item drops from the first game. Now, instead of having to wait all the way to the end of a boss track, you can just bank your earned rep on the gear of your choice at shops.

Additional Customization Options

The range of gear you purchase from shops has been expanded to include sets with new rarity bonuses. Additionally, the seven gear types from the first game have been expanded to 10 broad categories: headwear, shirts, outerwear, gloves, pants, footwear, accessories, snowboard/mountainboard, trucks, bindings, and tires. This is in addition to the absolutely wacky icons that you can apply to your character, which can range from whoopie cushions to, as bizarre as it sounds, trains.

Map Now Has Collection Tracking

In addition to the revamped UI, which I may add, looks like generic Ubisoft menus, the map has added icons to keep track of your progress. Trophies and medals have tracking icons and can be obtained by ranking in the various races and slopestyle tracks. The completionist in me likes the new map discovery tracker, which encourage likeminded players to unlock every node on a map. I genuinely favor the first game’s minimalistic UI, but that map didn’t have any of these progress indicators, so the addition is welcome.

Reputation System Rewards You For Everything You Do

Taking a cue out of Forza Horizon’s playbook, Descenders Next rewards you for just about every single action you do in the game. Fail to hold that rocket air? No problem, you get rep just for tapping it. Sloppy downhill boarding even rewards you with skid points for when you narrowly miss hitting trees. I kinda wish performing especially ludicrous bails rewarded some rep points as well, but there needs to be a limit somewhere, right?

Video Editing Tools to Showcase Stylish Runs

Thankfully, you can still record those crazy bails with the overhauled replay editor. A host of new camera angles and advanced editing options allow you to fine-tune legendary downhill sessions to you’re liking. Freecam returns with new features like auto focus and movement interpolation. My favorite new addition is the time of day customization. The position of the sun can be controlled and players can set the lighting to match morning, noon, evening, and night cycles.

Soundtrack by Electronic Label Monstercat

If you’ve played any live service games in the past decade, odds are high you’ve heard some of Monstercat’s music. Monstercat is a music aggregator, technically a record label, with artists like DJ Marshmallow and Pegboard Nerds under them. They’ve done soundtracks for Fortnite, Beat Saber, and Rocket League, so there’s no doubt Descenders Next will be filled to the brim with quality EDM.

Multiplayer

We have yet to test out the multiplayer offerings of Descenders Next, but the prospect of “multiplayer-huge biomes” has us excited. Like the first game, players can join up with a squad in multiplayer matchmaking or through a friend’s lobby and tackle the game’s challenges together. The parks act as free roam lobbies as well, providing opportunities to chat and join others’ sessions. We have yet to see if there’s going to be competitive modes or not. Unfortunately for PlayStation or Switch users, there’s a wait, as Descenders Next launches for PC and Xbox Series X/S exclusively on April 9^th.