Play Descent II (Read Notes) Online

Descent II came out in 1996 for MS-DOS, developed by Parallax Software and published by Interplay. It was a time when 3D games were still finding their footing, and this one built directly on the foundation of its predecessor, offering a more refined take on its unique style of six-degrees-of-freedom movement within claustrophobic, industrial environments.

You pilot a small, agile ship through a series of labyrinthine mines and research facilities overrun by hostile robots. Your main objective is to navigate each level, find the reactor core, destroy it, and then escape before the whole place explodes. Signature mechanics include the disorienting but liberating full 3D movement, which allows you to fly in any direction, and the constant resource management of your ship's weapons and energy shields. The pacing is relentless; you are almost always under fire from multiple directions, requiring quick reflexes and spatial awareness to survive. It feels like being dropped into a chaotic, three-dimensional puzzle where every corner could hide a new threat or a desperately needed power-up.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".