Google’s new adventure game takes a top-down trip through ancient Mesoamerica

On Sep 23, 2022

In a screenshot from The Descent of the Serpent, a character disguised as a wolf is standing in a mountain environment. — *I love the cute characters in the game.* | Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge

Google’s Arts & Culture division has released a charming new educational game all about ancient Mesoamerica. The game, The Descent of the Serpent, is available to play right now in your browser or via the Google Arts & Culture iOS and Android apps.

There’s a light plot to Descent of the Serpent, shown in a short video that plays at the beginning of the game. While exploring a museum, a large artifact is stolen by Tezcatlipoca, the Lord of the Smoking Mirror, and a living statue asks for your help to recover 20 icons included on the artifact to prevent floods from taking over the world. You, naturally, agree, and the statue says they’ll send you back in time to ancient Mesoamerica.