Adventure · March 24, 2016
The Descendant (2016)
THE DESCENDANT is a five part episodic adventure game series where the end of the world is only the start. After climate change wrecked the planet, a man-made extinction event wiped humankind off the face of the Earth. Only a few thousand ‘descendants of humanity’ were hand-picked to survive the apocalypse, cryogenically suspended in underground bunkers known as Arks. Centuries passed. The world recovered from the nuclear holocaust, and all the Arks reopened, except one — Ark-01. Taking place across two timelines, in the past you'll play as Mia, a janitor tasked with keeping the precious descendants housed within Ark-01 alive while the facility continually fails around her, and in the present, you'll play as Donnie, one of the investigators trying to rescue any surviving descendants trapped within, all while discovering a far greater conspiracy buried within the underground Ark complex. Every action and choice you make directly impacts who lives and who dies, leaving the fate of Ark-01, and mankind itself, in your hands. Will you save mankind? Or doom us all? Key features An episodic adventure spreading across multiple story-rich timelines Investigative gameplay, challenging puzzles, tense action sequences Meaningful and difficult choices with branching dialogue A tailored experience, full of tension and drama Every player choice can influence the future of mankind
Adventure releases from 2016
76 Adventure titles launched in 2016 — top 6 by review volume.
Peer Adventure titles
Comparable titles in the same genre and review-volume band — ranked by Steam positive percentage.
Position in Adventure
| Metric | This title | Genre position |
|---|---|---|
| Review volume | 7.1k Steam reviews | Top 33% in Adventure |
| Positive rating | 89% positive | Genre average: 87% — this title sits in top 58% |
| Metacritic | 59/100 | Genre average 77 — top 97% of Adventure titles |
| Engagement hours | 13 h average | Top 28% for session depth among Adventure |
Community Tag Signals
Tag weights reflect how many Steam users voted each descriptor — larger pills = stronger consensus.
- Adventure · 8.4k
- Point & Click · 113
- Casual · 102
- Story Rich · 95
- Post-apocalyptic · 93
- Episodic · 75
- Choices Matter · 45
- Sci-fi · 43
- Indie · 35
- Alternate History · 19
- Singleplayer · 16
- Free to Play · 12
- Atmospheric · 9
- Horror · 7
Reception Metrics
Steam community
89%Very Positive · 7.1k reviews
6.3k positive · 784 negative
Metacritic
59/100 critic aggregate
Metacritic user score
6.9/10
Curator recommendations
581
Localization Coverage
Interface / Subtitles (5)
- English volume_up
- French
- Italian
- German
- Spanish - Spain volume_up
Full audio (2)
- English
- Spanish - Spain
Engagement Profile
All-time avg
13h
short (5–15 hours)
Median
4h
Typical completion time
Achievements
50
Steam unlocks available
Features & Capabilities
Community
- Steam Achievements
- Steam Trading Cards
Accessibility
- Captions available
Input & Comfort
- Full controller support
Other
- Single-player
- Family Sharing
Release & Availability
| Release date | Mar 24, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Gaming Corps AB |
| Publisher | Microids Indie, Microids |
| Base price | $1.49 |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS |
| Estimated owners | 1M–10M |
| External links | Official site · Metacritic page · Support · [email protected] |
Editions & Packages
Buy The Descendant











