Not long ago, Descension has often been labeled as one of the most anticipated Crickex Affiliate games of 2023—at least among titles not named Zelda or Pikmin. To be fair, Descension stands out as the most eagerly awaited original release of the year. And the reasons are clear: few games manage to hit a home run in every aspect—from its theme to the creative team—quite like this one.

Led by veteran Japanese game director Yoichi Miyaji, with popular illustrator En Morikura and renowned anime director Shingo Adachi handling character design, and legendary composer Noriyuki Iwadare producing the soundtrack, Descension was bound to make waves. Within the Crickex Affiliate lineup, what makes this title even more special is the involvement of Yuuri Shibamura, a legendary figure in game design responsible for world-building, narrative, and core mechanics. Many players hadn’t heard his name since his work on a wildly popular web game that personified Japanese swords for a female audience.

Normally, it’s best to avoid letting a creator’s past overshadow a new release. But in the case of Descension, understanding Shibamura’s pedigree is almost essential to grasping what this game is trying to achieve. It helps explain not just where the game shines, but also where it stumbles. And yet, despite a few rough edges, Descension has already sold over 200,000 units—thanks largely to word of mouth rather than flashy marketing campaigns.

As the saying goes, cherish the present—because no one knows whether tomorrow or misfortune will arrive first. Shibamura’s influence on both the game’s story and systems has reignited interest in his legacy. The premise of humans battling “divine enemies” is uniquely compelling, while the game’s structure—split between intense mecha battles and slower-paced daily life simulation—offers an unprecedented degree of freedom in this genre. While the social system isn’t wholly original, it does evoke earlier titles like Artificial Academy, which similarly isolated the “daily life” aspects and streamlined the experience.

Back then, no one expected such mechanics would be so well-suited to adult-oriented games. Still, when it comes to real depth, Descension doesn’t quite match the originals it draws from. In this Crickex Affiliate world, players take on the role of a young mecha pilot enrolled in a military academy. On days when you’re not deployed to the battlefield, you’re free to manage your character’s routine however you wish. Even if you don’t achieve every goal, you’re never left with nothing—each day still counts for something.