Below is a fine game. From Canadian indie studio Capybara, Below is a game that’s been long in development. Announced in 2013 and intended for release in 2016, the game was infinitely delayed so that Capybara could take the time to polish the game. The completed product was released on December 14th, 2018 and, believe me when I say, it is well-polished.

Below is gorgeous to look at. Each area is different, with different terrain and elements that immediately make it stand out. For example, the introductory area is a small beach that leads to a wide, grassy plateau, whereas level four is an icy tundra. This is magnified by the fact that your character, one I fondly (and not-so-fondly) called Lil’ Dude, is quite small on the screen, allowing you to be enraptured by the vistas around you.

Until you die, of course, because you weren’t looking.

Below does not hold your hand when it comes to explaining things, nor does it give you a ‘tutorial section’ to figure things out. That is something that I both enjoyed and didn’t—I enjoyed seeing what items I could put together in my inventory to craft something entirely new, and then watch that new item in action, but, at the same time, I did not enjoy the fact that it explains nothing—it took me two hours into the game to realise that I could switch my weapon by pressing X.

Designed to be ‘difficult, but fair’, is only one of those two things. The combat is engaging, with the levels slowly introducing newer and more difficult monsters, but the random presence of spike traps and death pits that kill you—out of nowhere—and force you to start over from scratch will grate on your nerves as you wonder why you picked up the game to begin with. Furthermore, the fast-travel system in the game is obtuse: You need to collect 25 bits to be able to turn a fireplace blue, which allows you to travel from that point to the previous fireplace… for 25 bits. If you die, you are permitted to use the fireplace once, probably, for 25 bits, that will then allow you to pick up where you left off. Die again, and you’re forced to start from scratch.

There simply isn’t much to engage you in Below. The exploration offers no substantial rewards for your perseverance, and dying seems so arbitrary that both that playthrough and starting over feels like a wasted effort. You spend so much effort on simply making sure that the lil’ dude is fed, warm, and full of water, that exploring feels time-consuming more than exciting. There are no rewards, quests, or anything of the sort; not that the game or game style requires it, but, with the absence of things to do, Below quickly runs out of steam.

Too much focus is placed on the survival and rougelike elements, creating a game that is frantic and fast-paced; yet, going too fast punishes the player. The game is imbalanced and difficult in ways that seem needless. Some people will enjoy this game; the sense of achievement that you get from clearing an area, or finding a way deeper down is a feeling quite like any other, but the pace of Below is contradicted by its desire to have you explore—a quick pace and exploration do not go hand-in-hand.

Below is a beautiful game, and it is clear that a lot of love and attention has gone into making it brilliant. It plays well, runs smoothly, has engaging combat, but that doesn’t make up for its flaws.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t mention the music of Below, which is a mixture of drones, ambient noises, and soft, sad sounds that meld together in an exquisite fashion to create a sombre, melancholy atmosphere that amplifies the mood of the game and its subterranean areas. The music director, Jim Guthrie, worked on the music of Below for five years and its easy to see the effort that has gone into the game over the years.

All in all, I would recommend this game for people who like a challenge like no other, because Below is a game quite unlike any other. That’s not a commendation, but it is by no means an insult.

TAV Score

B

Below is available on Steam. You can also check out Below’s soundtrack by Jim Guthrie on Spotify.