Sublevel Zero promises Descent-like action in a roguelike world

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Sublevel Zero is a six-degrees-of-freedom "roguelike shooter" with procedurally generated levels, scarce resources, and permadeath. Sounds like fun!

Sublevel Zero actually debuted in prototype form in Ludum Dare 29. Its heritage is obvious, but it's the roguelike twist that makes it particularly interesting. Levels will be different on every playthrough, and once you die, that's it: Saving and reloading isn't an option.

"Sublevel Zero has been inspired by our favorite games of our formative years like Descent, Forsaken and modern shooters like Teleglitch," designer Luke Thompson said. "We wanted to blend retro and modern elements through the visuals, mechanics and audio, and the awesome music composed by Will Bedford intensifies the gameplay experience. Sublevel Zero is a game we want to play, and we’d love for fellow gamers to share in that experience."

Sublevel Zero is expected to come out sometime this summer. And now, screens!

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.