7.0
Below is a roguelike that excels at making players truly feel like they’re a lone adventurer on a dangerous island filled with secrets. I liked its simple, colorful art style, its music, and atmosphere, but the gameplay pushed me away.
Below
Capybara Games · Apr 7, 2020
About
Test your adventurer mettle against The Isle’s procedural subterranean labyrinths. Explore a large, interconnected underworld crawling with cunning wildlife, deadly traps and stalked by a shadowy presence. Survive the perils of The Depths and unearth what lies below... or die trying..
Trailers & screenshots
Scores by platform
Critic reviews
- 6.0Unfortunately, neither mode really does a good job of giving you a real reason to progress deeper. The combat, though weighty and satisfying, gets monotonous fairly quickly. The motivation to explore is almost entirely up to you, as the game really doesn’t see fit to tell you much. Yes, the environments are gorgeous, but Below winds up having the opposite problem of many games, in that there isn’t enough hand-holding. We found ourselves constantly craving more information, only for Below to not provide it.
- 6.5It is a game that asks you to stick with it for a while, and you'll be rewarded with an atmosphere that allows you to interpret things your way. Given some of the game's shortcomings, not everyone will have the commitment to playing until they encounter that "Eureka!" moment. As such, Below gets a cautious recommendation if you weren't already sold on the idea.
- 6.0Below has a lot of things going for it artistically and that will help it to stand out from a growing library of rogue-likes, but it does struggle beyond its aesthetics. Some games attempt to tell a story and explain mechanics visually. The world in Below is more ambiguous than it is interesting, sadly. Some things can be discerned from exploration, but the game’s mechanics shouldn’t be coated in that same ambiguity.
- 6.5After waiting for Below for over five years, I’m left conflicted. On one hand, it’s a beautiful and deeply engrossing roguelike with fantastic art direction and stunning music from Jim Guthrie. But it also doesn’t quite jive with some of its gameplay systems and, at times, feels like a confusing mixture of ideas.
- 6.0Below's extreme demands for patience and tolerance remain right through to the game's mysterious ending. But despite its assured aesthetic and the initial pleasures of discovery, Below will eventually turn into a slog for all but the most committed of players.
Related games
Rate this game
Drag or use arrow keys to rate
to rate this game.