Chained Descent
Manually descend into claustrophobic horror in an ancient diving bell with scarce oxygen.
In Chained Descent, players awaken in a vintage diving bell, gradually mastering rudimentary controls to navigate the oppressive depths of the ocean.
- All Reviews:
- No user reviews
- Release Date:
- To be announced
- Submitted by:
- @LukeLit
- Developer:
- Metal Games
- Publisher:
- Metal Games
Playtest available — full release coming soon
Planned Release Date: To be announced
Interested?
About This Game
In Chained Descent, players awaken in a vintage diving bell, gradually mastering rudimentary controls to navigate the oppressive depths of the ocean.
Set amidst a haunting, claustrophobic underwater labyrinth, Chained Descent places you in the eerie solitude of an ancient diving bell, descending into relentless darkness. As you navigate the narrow confines of a vertical tunnel, every measured sway and controlled descent becomes a testament to your will to survive. What begins as rudimentary side-to-side movement gradually unveils a richer tactical repertoire through chain-assisted navigation, enabling you to steer through obstacles that lurk in the abyss. Every decision is critical, as dwindling oxygen, scarce fuel, and the weight of cryptic clues left by previous explorers remind you that each moment is a fight for survival. The art direction reinforces this isolation with a striking visual narrative: a vintage diving bell rendered in brooding silhouettes against deep blues and blacks, intensifying the confined terror and distinctly avoiding any platformer-like distractions.
Key Features
- Unlock complex movement mechanics as players descend, transforming initial clumsiness into mastery.
- Scavenge wreckage from previous victims, piecing together a haunting narrative of survival.
- Manage scarce resources like oxygen and light, creating tension with every decision.
- Experience a visually striking 2D aesthetic that immerses players in a dark, atmospheric world.
- Engage with cryptic communications from your captor, enhancing the psychological horror.
The Hook
“In the crushing silence of the deep, each breath is a defiant stand against encroaching darkness, as survival teeters on the brink of oblivion.”
References
Similar games and reference walkthroughs live in the Wiki below — Similar Games (14).
⛓️ Chained Descent — Game Wiki
Genre: Lovecraftian survival-horror descent (prisoner in a diving bell)
Engine: Phaser 3 + React/Vite (TypeScript)
Platform: Web (Steam/itch.io planned)
Target Session: Slice is short; full fantasy is multi-chasm campaign
Status: Vertical slice exists — soul/intent must be restored (see )
Wiki Standard: Golden template for Metal Games gamejam wikis
Honest status (read this first)
| What exists today | What does not exist yet / was lost |
|---|---|
| Playable vertical slice (one trench) | Multi-chasm overworld + progression as playable code |
| Steam MVP scaffolding | Step 3 build against CURRENT carve only (do not inflate) |
| Step 1 accepted + Step 2 carved (2026-07-11) | Studio process lock (metalgames-site#16) |
| Track B Step 0 scrapes (IGN/GameFAQs Dredge, Jaws, Limbo) | FAQ numeric TBD rows (design debt) |
Creative north star (locked 2026-07-10): — Lovecraftian prisoner in the bell, at Navigator’s mercy; wake up inside the bell; overworld to different chasms with Dredge-style return-deeper progression; story. Do not ship copy or walkthroughs that gut this.
Process: CD was built slice-first (cautionary). Track B: https://github.com/LukeLit/chained-descent/issues/5 — Step 1 accepted · Step 2 carved 2026-07-11. Next: Step 3 build CURRENT only. Do not inflate Steam MVP as the game.
Pages
| Page | What's In It |
|---|---|
| Soul SSOT — Lovecraftian prisoner / Navigator mercy / wake-in-bell / multi-chasm | |
| IGN-style hub — Step 1 ACCEPTED · Step 2 carved; jump to chapter pages | |
| One page per chapter (Ch00–Ch09) with Next/Prev — not a mega dump | |
| GameFAQs-shaped Q&A — accepted with WT; numeric TBD debt | |
| CURRENT extract only — Alpha 0→2400 from accepted master | |
| Single-page archive / print form of the accepted master | |
| Superseded archive — do not use; opens Walkthrough hub | |
| Core systems: bell motion, navigator commands, resources, hazards, salvage, failure states | |
| Game-wiki reference catalog: vehicles, controls, resources, hazards, salvage, regions, unlocks | |
| Object health, segmented ledges, and bell/chain object physics (Phase 1) | |
| Stats, items, and the between-run surface hub (Phase 2) | |
| Data-driven narrative beat catalog and trigger contract | |
| Reusable image placeholder convention, gamejam wiki pipeline, agent anti-patterns | |
| Plan Alignment Review 2026-07-07 | Tech design review comparing the current plan against the local implementation |
| Visual language, SVG-first pipeline, atmosphere philosophy | |
| Comparable titles + Step 0 min1/rec3 | |
Index into references/ Step 0 archives | |
| Proof-game progress, shippable milestones, next-jam hardening | |
| Steam MVP | Slice -> Steam roadmap (map, story beat system, meta v2, packaging) |
| Agent cheat/harness contract; real-path death→hub gate (no F2 as proof) | |
| Screenshot gate before UI redesign | |
| GameJam Refresh 2026-07-06 | Ready-to-paste listing copy + screenshot capture checklist |
| Decision history, what changed and why, playtest results |
The Pitch (30 seconds)
You pilot a fragile vintage diving bell suspended from a chain into a vertical underwater shaft. The chain makes movement momentum-based — sometimes delicate, sometimes a wrecking ball. Oxygen ticks down. Your lamp burns fuel. Every meter deeper is a bet: grab the salvage and burn O₂, or keep dropping and hope you have enough to surface. The ones before you didn't come back. Their notes are still down there.
Closest comp: Iron Lung meets Limbo. Solo dev submarine horror with 2D atmospheric platformer DNA.
Two hands on the descent: A surface Navigator owns the chain — vertical motion (stop, reel up, ascend, descend) is requested through timed hold commands that fill a circular meter — while the Pilot in the bell steers left/right and nudges descent speed. Two roles, one lifeline.
Beyond one run: Salvage feeds an emerging meta layer — spend recovered scrap at a surface hub on hull, fuel, gear, and descent upgrades between dives, so each run starts a little stronger than the last.
Current Vertical Slice At A Glance
| Area | CURRENT Behavior |
|---|---|
| Session | 3-5 minute successful run target |
| Route | One shaft — seven segments from depth 0 to terminal depth 2400 ( bands, not campaign chapters) |
| Loop | Hub → Map → Descent → extraction floor → ascent → surface return |
| Controls | Momentum steering, brake/suspend/reel, accelerate, tap-toggle lamp, hold-to-salvage |
| Resources | Oxygen, fuel, integrity, pilot health |
| Salvage | Four authored nodes: supply crate, ruined bell, collapsed locker, navigator's cache |
| Hazards | Cave walls, ledges, mines, rocks/pipes, wreckage fork dividers, flooding |
| GEAR | Fuel / Bomb / Harpoon / Grappling Hook usable in-run (keys 1–4); feel/tuning still operator-owned |
| Future Guard | Multi-region shafts, creature AI, bell fleet, illustrated death cinematics are labeled future unless scoped |
Reusable Gamejam Wiki Pattern
Chained Descent defines the standard for the remaining Metal Games gamejam entries:
- Start with the implemented build as
CURRENT. - Add a player-readable walkthrough plus a systems-readable mechanics page.
- Catalog entities in a wiki-style reference page.
- Add image placeholders before final screenshots/art exist.
- Keep full-game/future material labeled and separated from shipped-slice behavior.
- Prefer full-game-before-slice for new titles (Step 0 → 1 → 2 → 3). CD is the cautionary slice-first case — do not copy that process failure.
See for the repeatable page set, placeholder format, screenshot/export pipeline, and agent anti-patterns.
Proof-game tracking + next-jam hardening: (milestones, lessons learned, bootstrap checklist).
Steam track: Steam MVP with sprint + tasks docs at docs/plans/steam-mvp-sprint.md and docs/plans/steam-mvp-tasks.md.
Store pack (stubs): docs/steam/README.md — capsules/screenshots still TODO.
Pipeline backlog (blocked work): docs/process/cd-pipeline-backlog.md.
Quick Links
- GitHub Repo
- GameJam Page
- Pitch Deck
- — slice player questions
- Steam store pack — checklist + packaging stubs
Steamworks Assets
Export-ready images for your Steam store page. Upload or generate here — these are not shown in the public media carousel.
Required assets: 3/5
60% completeMissing: Small Capsule, Vertical Capsule
Store
RequiredSmall Capsule
462×174
Search results, top sellers, genre lists
RequiredVertical Capsule
748×896
Seasonal sale pages, portrait layouts
Page Background
1438×810
Optional faded backdrop behind store page
Screenshots
3 uploaded · Steam recommends 5+
Library
Library Logo
1280×720
Transparent PNG on 1280×720 canvas
Download Library LogoDownload Logo originalUpload preserves a full-res original and a Steam library-ready derivative.
System Requirements
Minimum:
- OS *:
- Windows 10 or newer
- Processor:
- Dual-core equivalent
- Memory:
- 4 GB RAM
- Graphics:
- Integrated or low-end dedicated GPU
- Storage:
- 500 MB available space
© 2025 Metal Games. All Rights Reserved.
Chained Descent is developed by Metal Games.
Languages:
| Interface | Full Audio | Subtitles | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | ✓ |
- Title:
- Chained Descent
- Genre:
- Horror, Indie
- Developer:
- Metal Games
- Publisher:
- Metal Games
- Release Date:
- To be announced
Submission Stats
- Votes
- 2
- QA Score
- 80%
- Fairness
- 85%
- Rank Score
- 0.95
Target Audience
Ideal for fans of survival horror and atmospheric, puzzle-driven adventures, reminiscent of SOMA and Alien: Isolation.
