Descenders is an indie title featuring downhill mountain biking, from the creators of the bizarre title Action Hank and publishers of the outlandish Hypnospace Outlaw.  Descenders hosts procedurally generated worlds that primarily differ based on three criteria; Steepness, Curves, and Stunts.  As you progress through a career run, you’ll have to choose which course you’ll run next depending on preference and competence, ever-striving towards the goal of the boss jump that each environment hosts, and enticing sponsors with your skills.

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The development team RageSquid have hosted a modding competition that began on December 5th of this year; the best course will receive a $100 Steam Gift Card for them to spend as they wish; a sizeable chunk of money for crafting something that everyone gets to enjoy, considering that most modders never see a penny.  The mods themselves are not hosted on Steam’s Workshop, an odd facet considering the ease of access it provides.  Instead, courses are hosted through Descenders website.

There’s currently 46 hand-crafted courses available for download on the website, and RageSquid found five top courses worthy of mentioning decided from community votes, with one receiving the Steam funds (just in time for the Steam Winter Sale).

In fifth place came user Kingkrautz, for replicating the 2017 Redbull Joyride in a course named, not surprisingly, Redbull Joyride 2017.  It’s a relatively short course with 12 jumps, and accurately portrays the event for which it is named.  For better or worse, it’s a near-perfect imitation of the course that riders were on themselves, with fan sections for you to mow through should you choose.

In fourth place, Beaver Mountain by Z50 Productions.  It’s a far cry from the realism found in Redbull Joyride 2017, where everything seems massive in scale and built for sheer joyriding.  The jumps are gigantic, steep drop-offs and there’s a healthy chance that you’ll crash more time than you’ll complete it.  It also features multiple trails, which is a rare find in the other maps.  While one trail is considered to be the primary, smaller trails dot the landscape allowing bikers to choose their destiny, and explore just a bit more than is typically found in the title.

Third place sees Tile Run by user Siro, and it’s likely the least realistic of the group.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, however, as bikers take to a narrow path through bizarrely deadly machinations across the course.  Featuring near-verticle walls for players to ride to get to next areas, sharp turns, and large drops, it’s a wonderland that’s frankly far too short and demanding to progress; you either stay the precise path, or you fall.

The second-place winner is Descentopia by Dogtorque, although it’s listed on the website as Descetopia.  Descetopia is is a city-themed wonderland of jumps, hills, and a copious number of ways to kill your biker.  There are wild stunts to be found, and players would be hard-pressed to entirely explore the playground that Dogtorque has crafted.  The developer of this course even included a little story of the city, where the mayor hired cheap builders to turn the city into a mecca for mountain biking.

Finally, first-place goes to Spe for his Stoker Bike Park that was inspired, by his words, by the ‘most overexposed bike park’.  This map features two primary trails, and Spe has been updating the course as time progresses (and states that he continues to do so).  Of all the courses, Stoker Bike Pari feels the most like actual downhill mountain biking, with various jumps and skinnies for bikers to attempt ad infinitum.

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RageSquid has hinted that they’re looking at continuing the competition next year, and that more support is to come to the title Descenders in the future.  Until then, enjoy the ride.